The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express review

Best for Membership Rewards on groceries with no annual fee

• Rewards rate: 2X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year, then 1X), 2X points on prepaid rental cars booked through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases
• Welcome offer: 10,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first three months
• Annual fee: $0
• Purchase intro APR: 0 percent purchase APR for 15 months
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
• Regular APR: 12.99 percent to 23.99 percent variable

For frequent supermarket shoppers, the Amex EveryDay credit card is the best card to earn American Express Membership Rewards points for no annual fee—especially with its 20 percent extra points feature. Use your card 20 or more times on purchases in a billing period and earn 20 percent more points on those purchases less returns and credits.

Overall, the Amex EveryDay performs best when it’s supporting stronger Membership Rewards-earning American Express cards in your wallet. It could be a solid introductory rewards card, but its low annual rewards spending cap makes switching to a premium credit card or a competing cash back card more than worth the extra elbow grease.

Amex EveryDay current welcome offer

After spending only $1,000 within your first three months, you can earn 10,000 Amex Membership Rewards points.

Membership Rewards points are worth the most when they’re redeemed through the American Express Travel portal or partner travel programs, valued at 2 cents each on average, according to The Points Guy. That means this welcome bonus can be worth up to $200, but it can drop in value if you spend points on non-travel rewards.

Offers worth $200 seem to be the current average intro bonus for credit cards with no annual fee, but keep in mind this offer’s travel-oriented footnote.

Rewards

The Amex EveryDay earns Membership Rewards points, which are renowned as some of the most valuable rewards in the credit card world. If you’re gearing up for your next trip, this card is a decent resource to earn travel rewards just by stocking your pantry.

Earning rewards

Earning rewards with the Amex EveryDay credit card is easy since there are only two bonus categories to keep track of: 2 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets and on prepaid rental cars booked through the American Express Travel portal. Unfortunately, this rate reverts to 1 point per dollar once you spend more than $6,000 per year (that’s $500 a month) at U.S. supermarkets. Any other purchase will also gather 1 point per dollar.

Luckily, the 20 percent extra points feature can earn you an additional 20 percent points back each month if you make 20 or more separate purchases with your card in a billing period.

But even if you maximize the 2X-point U.S. supermarket category’s $6,000 spending limit in conjunction with the extra points feature, you’ll only earn a total of 14,400 points (worth about $288 toward travel).

Redeeming rewards

On paper, Membership Rewards points have a lot of redemption options to choose from. But in actuality, your points are worth much less if you don’t use them to book travel through the Amex Travel portal or find a transfer partner program with a 1:1 conversion rate.

You can choose to redeem for statement credits, gift cards and merchandise, or spend them to cover card charges or online shopping purchases with select retailers (like Amazon.com and rental cars through Amex Travel). Instead, we recommend saving up your points for travel opportunities down the road. If you feel like you’d rather have cash back in hand than sit on your travel rewards, you might want to consider a cash back card.

How much are points worth?

Your points are worth the most when you find the right travel booking or transfer partner to reach The Points Guy’s 2-cent potential valuation.

Outside travel, American Express’ rewards calculator shows that your point value can drop steeply on select redemptions, but 0.6 to 0.7 cent values are common for choices like statement credits or online merchant purchases.

Amex EveryDay: Benefits

As an entry-level card, you won’t find the Amex EveryDay card brimming with valuable travel perks. Nevertheless, the standard American Express features it comes with might be helpful for your normal shopping needs.

Pay It Plan It

The Pay It Plan It alternate payment features could be handy in a pinch if you want to keep recent purchases separate from your balance.

Pay It lets you take care of purchases under $100 immediately, which makes it easier to track your rewards spending on small items. Plan It is a bit more substantial, allowing you to shift qualifying $100+ purchases to fixed-payment plans over an extended period. Just make sure the monthly installment plan fee isn’t more expensive than the interest would have been.

Complimentary ShopRunner membership

Once you sign up for ShopRunner, you’ll receive free two-day shipping and returns on items with more than 100 participating retailers.

Travel and shopping protections

The Amex EveryDay card only comes with two travel or shopping protections:

• Car rental loss and damage insurance: When you pay with your card and decline the auto rental agency’s coverage, your rental vehicle can be covered for damage or theft in eligible territories.
• Purchase protection: You can be reimbursed for the cost of repair or replacement in case your covered item is damaged or stolen within 90 days of the purchase date.

Rates and fees

Low interest rates and no annual fee makes the Amex EveryDay an easy card to maintain while you get the feel of a rewards program. The 15-month 0 percent intro APR on purchases (12.99 percent to 23.99 percent variable afterward) could also be helpful if this is your first rewards card and you have large purchases or travel coming up.

The downside is that it comes with a 2.7 percent foreign transaction fee, so you’ll want to use it sparingly during your time abroad. It’s also worth noting that this card isn’t accepting balance transfers at the moment.

How the Amex EveryDay compares to other no annual fee cards

The Amex EveryDay credit card’s rewards rate is just decent for a no annual fee card, and the $6,000 annual spending cap for your 2X-point category stunts this card’s rewards potential. A flat-rate cash back card may be a better value in the long run.

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a sibling cash back card that could be a more valuable alternative if you want flexible rewards. It has the same $6,000 annual rewards spending cap for its 3 percent cash back U.S. supermarket category (then 1 percent back), but it also earns an unlimited 2 percent back at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores.

If you’re truly dedicated to travel and grocery rewards, you’ll discover far better benefits and reward opportunities with a premium card that charges an annual fee.

Best cards to pair with the Amex EveryDay

If you’re serious about collecting Membership Rewards points, you’ll have to bite the bullet and spring for a card with an annual fee. You should consider an upgrade to the Amex® EveryDay Preferred Credit Card first for its stepped-up reward features.

After that, the American Express® Green Card would be a great partner card to flesh out your bonus categories for day-to-day expenses. The Green card earns unlimited 3X points on restaurants, transit and travel. Plus, it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees and offers other great travel benefits, like an annual credit for CLEAR.

Bankrate’s Take—Is the Amex EveryDay worth it?

The Amex EveryDay credit card is easy to use and accessible if you want a low-cost first rewards card, but the spending cap makes it a sluggish engine for Membership Rewards points. Even by maximizing the 2X U.S. supermarket category, your rewards will hardly make a dent in one airplane ticket by the end of the year—even with the 20 percent extra points feature each billing cycle.

The Amex EveryDay would be a better investment if this wasn’t your only American Express card, but plenty of other cash back cards could deliver more valuable long-term rewards on groceries as solo cards. Ultimately, taking on an annual fee for a premium card is almost a necessity if you want access to better Membership Rewards opportunities and features for travel.

Pros

• No annual fee
• 20 percent extra points on that monthly statement’s spending if you make at least 20 separate purchases within one billing cycle
• Diverse list of travel redemption and transfer partner choices

Cons

• $6,000 annual rewards spending cap on your main 2X-point U.S. supermarket category (then 1X points)
• Membership Rewards point value drops if you redeem for anything outside travel
• 2.7 percent foreign transaction fee

All information about The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express, Amex® EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.