Blue Cash Everyday® Card From American Express
REVIEW

This is a great card for families and folks who use their card on grocery spending, those who drive (and hence fill up their gas) and also those who shop quite a bit at department stores.

BCE Card Details

Cash Back Rewards : 3% at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%); 2% at U.S. gas stations and select department stores; 1% on other purchases.

Annual Fee : $0

Definition of Gas Stations, Supermarkets and Select Department Stores

One of the most frequently asked question about this card is the definition of supermarkets and gas stations. American Express explains that very clearly on their website. American Express specifically says that a supermarket offers a wide variety of food and household products such as meat, fresh produce, dairy, canned and packaged goods, household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies. Superstores, convenient stores, specialty stores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets. On their website, they gave the following examples:

Gristedes, Foodtown, Meijer, Pathmark, Shoprite, Stop and Shop, Vons, Whole Foods, Winn-Dixie, Online supermarkets such as FreshDirect.

American Express gave the following examples of stores that are not considered supermarkets:
Specialty stores (eg cheese shops and wine shops) Superstores (Amazon, Target and Walmart) Warehouse Clubs (BJs)

Below is a screen shot of my statements from my trip to Wholefoods. It was classified as grocery.



Amex defines gas stations as businesses whose key purpose is to sell gasoline to consumers. That means your usual stations like the following fall within the definition:

Gulf, Murphy USA, Murphy Express, Exxon, Mobil, Hess, Shell etc.

However, gas stations that are part of supermarkets (like Walmart, Kroger etc) will not earn 2% cash back.

Below is a screenshot of my statement showing my purchase at a Sunoco gas station.
 

Amex defines Department stores very strictly. In fact, they have given a specific list on their site as to which are considered department stores. Below is the list:

Bealls, Belk, Bloomingdale's, Bon Ton Stores, Boscov's, Century 21 Department Stores, Dillard's, J.C. Penney (JCP), Kohl's, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, Stein Mart

How To Redeem Reward Dollars

The cash back that you earn with this card is called reward dollars. You can redeem them as a statement credit, shopping items or gift cards. When I redeem them for statement credit, the amount will be applied to the next statement and not the current or upcoming one. Below are screen shots showing how you can redeem reward dollars.

The table above shows some of this card's competitors. As you can see above, the cash back credit card sector is offers 3 types of cards to consumers. The first type is very similar to the Blue Cash Everyday. You get more than 1% cash back (normally 2% or 3%) on a couple of categories and 1% for everything else. The Blue Cash series from Amex are cards like that. So is the BankAmericard Cash Rewards where you get 3% cash back on gas and 2% on supermarket and wholesale clubs (but with a cap of $2,500 in quarterly spending in these categories). Another type of card is the rotating categories. Chase Freedom and Discover IT are examples of such cards. You get 5% cash back on certain categories that changes every three months. You also have to enroll each quarter (which can be a nuisance). Then there are the 1.5% on everything cards. In fact, these are becoming more popular.

These are all good cards and which ever type you choose really depends on your preference.

The more important thing to note is that Amex has an annual fee version of this card (Preferred Version). The annual fee is $95 but you get to earn 6% cash back at supermarkets (vs 3%) and 3% at gas stations and select supermarkets (vs 2%). Whether you will be better off with the "preferred" or "everyday" version depends on your spending. You might just want to investigate this.

Pros and Cons of Blue Cash Everyday

Pros

• 3% cash back on US supermarkets
• 2% cash back at gas stations and select department stores
• No annual fee
• No need to enroll (unlike rotating category cards)
• Earn unlimited cash back
• Rewards can be redeemed for statement credits, shopping goods and gift cards
• Access to FICO scores - (this is for all American Express Card holders)

Cons

• $6000 annual cap for spending at supermarkets
• Cannot redeem cash back as check or deposit in bank account

Our take: Is Blue Cash Everyday A Good Card?

Choosing the best cash back card for yourself can be a little tricky. But at the end of the day it boils down to what type of card you would like to have and whether you just want to use one main card or use a few.

As mentioned earlier, when you are choosing a cash back card, you have a choice of straight 1.5% cash back card for all purchases, rotating category cards where you can earn 5% cash back on categories that change every 3 months, or a card like this one where you can earn more than 1% on certain categories (in this case, it is supermarkets, gas stations and "select" department stores).

If you decide that you would like to have a cash back card like this one, then we would have no hesitation recommending it. You can earn extra cash back from your supermarket shopping, filling up at the gas stations and your occasional shopping at department stores. This would make a great standalone card and from my experience, I have never been to a supermarket, gas station or department store that does not accept Amex. This is also the only cash back card (aside from the Blue Cash Preferred) that allows you to earn 2% cash back at department stores.

If you are the sort that likes to combine cash back cards and squeeze out the most rebates from your credit card spending, then this is another good card to add to your wallet. You can combine this card with a rotating category card and even a 1.5% card and really earn earn as much cash back as you can.

The real decision to make is if you should get Everyday or the Preferred version of this card. The preferred version comes with an annual fee, but allows you to earn higher cash back. Depending on your spending, that may make more sense.

To sum up, we give this card a 5 star rating and have no problems recommending this card to anyone looking to earn extra cash back on gas, supermarket and department store spending. I personally have 3 Amex cards and can vouch for their excellent customer service (especially when it comes to fraudulent transactions).

BCE Card Details

Cash Back Rewards : 3% at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%); 2% at U.S. gas stations and select department stores; 1% on other purchases.

Annual Fee : $0

Definition of Gas Stations, Supermarkets and Select Department Stores

One of the most frequently asked question about this card is the definition of supermarkets and gas stations. American Express explains that very clearly on their website. American Express specifically says that a supermarket offers a wide variety of food and household products such as meat, fresh produce, dairy, canned and packaged goods, household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies. Superstores, convenient stores, specialty stores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets. On their website, they gave the following examples:

Gristedes, Foodtown, Meijer, Pathmark, Shoprite, Stop and Shop, Vons, Whole Foods, Winn-Dixie, Online supermarkets such as FreshDirect.

American Express gave the following examples of stores that are not considered supermarkets:
Specialty stores (eg cheese shops and wine shops) Superstores (Amazon, Target and Walmart) Warehouse Clubs (BJs)

Below is a screen shot of my statements from my trip to Wholefoods. It was classified as grocery.



Amex defines gas stations as businesses whose key purpose is to sell gasoline to consumers. That means your usual stations like the following fall within the definition:

Gulf, Murphy USA, Murphy Express, Exxon, Mobil, Hess, Shell etc.

However, gas stations that are part of supermarkets (like Walmart, Kroger etc) will not earn 2% cash back.

Below is a screenshot of my statement showing my purchase at a Sunoco gas station.
 

Amex defines Department stores very strictly. In fact, they have given a specific list on their site as to which are considered department stores. Below is the list:

Bealls, Belk, Bloomingdale's, Bon Ton Stores, Boscov's, Century 21 Department Stores, Dillard's, J.C. Penney (JCP), Kohl's, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, Stein Mart

How To Redeem Reward Dollars

The cash back that you earn with this card is called reward dollars. You can redeem them as a statement credit, shopping items or gift cards. When I redeem them for statement credit, the amount will be applied to the next statement and not the current or upcoming one. Below are screen shots showing how you can redeem reward dollars.

The table above shows some of this card's competitors. As you can see above, the cash back credit card sector is offers 3 types of cards to consumers. The first type is very similar to the Blue Cash Everyday. You get more than 1% cash back (normally 2% or 3%) on a couple of categories and 1% for everything else. The Blue Cash series from Amex are cards like that. So is the BankAmericard Cash Rewards where you get 3% cash back on gas and 2% on supermarket and wholesale clubs (but with a cap of $2,500 in quarterly spending in these categories). Another type of card is the rotating categories. Chase Freedom and Discover IT are examples of such cards. You get 5% cash back on certain categories that changes every three months. You also have to enroll each quarter (which can be a nuisance). Then there are the 1.5% on everything cards. In fact, these are becoming more popular.

These are all good cards and which ever type you choose really depends on your preference.

The more important thing to note is that Amex has an annual fee version of this card (Preferred Version). The annual fee is $95 but you get to earn 6% cash back at supermarkets (vs 3%) and 3% at gas stations and select supermarkets (vs 2%). Whether you will be better off with the "preferred" or "everyday" version depends on your spending. You might just want to investigate this.

Pros and Cons of Blue Cash Everyday

Pros

• 3% cash back on US supermarkets
• 2% cash back at gas stations and select department stores
• No annual fee
• No need to enroll (unlike rotating category cards)
• Earn unlimited cash back
• Rewards can be redeemed for statement credits, shopping goods and gift cards
• Access to FICO scores - (this is for all American Express Card holders)

Cons

• $6000 annual cap for spending at supermarkets
• Cannot redeem cash back as check or deposit in bank account

Our take: Is Blue Cash Everyday A Good Card?

Choosing the best cash back card for yourself can be a little tricky. But at the end of the day it boils down to what type of card you would like to have and whether you just want to use one main card or use a few.

As mentioned earlier, when you are choosing a cash back card, you have a choice of straight 1.5% cash back card for all purchases, rotating category cards where you can earn 5% cash back on categories that change every 3 months, or a card like this one where you can earn more than 1% on certain categories (in this case, it is supermarkets, gas stations and "select" department stores).

If you decide that you would like to have a cash back card like this one, then we would have no hesitation recommending it. You can earn extra cash back from your supermarket shopping, filling up at the gas stations and your occasional shopping at department stores. This would make a great standalone card and from my experience, I have never been to a supermarket, gas station or department store that does not accept Amex. This is also the only cash back card (aside from the Blue Cash Preferred) that allows you to earn 2% cash back at department stores.

If you are the sort that likes to combine cash back cards and squeeze out the most rebates from your credit card spending, then this is another good card to add to your wallet. You can combine this card with a rotating category card and even a 1.5% card and really earn earn as much cash back as you can.

The real decision to make is if you should get Everyday or the Preferred version of this card. The preferred version comes with an annual fee, but allows you to earn higher cash back. Depending on your spending, that may make more sense.

To sum up, we give this card a 5 star rating and have no problems recommending this card to anyone looking to earn extra cash back on gas, supermarket and department store spending. I personally have 3 Amex cards and can vouch for their excellent customer service (especially when it comes to fraudulent transactions).