Game Changer for MR Points 
Game Changer for MR Points When American Express introduced the Amex Everyday and Everyday Preferred cards, it was a game changer for those who carried Amex's charge card to earn membership rewards. One of the weaknesses of these charge cards was either the high annual fee or lack of extra bonus points for category spending. For example, the Platinum card gives you 5X on airline tickets but comes with a $550 annual fee (with other perks off course). The Amex Green Card gives you 2X on airline tickets and comes with a $95 annual fee. Only the new Gold Card gives you 3X on airline tickets, 4X on supermarkets and restaurants but comes with a hefty $250 annual fee.
This card has an $95 annual fee but also allows you to earn bonus points on a couple of categories. This give those who want to earn MR a greater choice of cards to choose from. Let's find out more.
Reward Details Reward Details Ok - let's get to the nitty gritty of this card. In terms of rewards, you will earn
- 3X at supermarkets (up to $6,000 in annual spending)
- 2X at gas stations
- 1X for everything else
However, you can earn even more points the following way. If you charge your card 30X a month (ie 30 transactions), you will get a 50% bonus. That means you will be earning
- 4.5X at supermarkets (up to $6,000 in annual spending)
- 3X at gas stations
- 1.5X for everything else
This is more than most credit cards on these spending categories. Here are some other details:
Annual Fee: $95
Intro 0% Offer: 0% APR for both purchases and balance transfers for 12 months.
Bonus points offer: Earn 15,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 within the first three months.
Peer Comparison Peer Comparison The cards that we are (and we should) compare this card with are the Amex Everyday (the no annual fee version), the Amex Green Card, the Amex Gold Card and the Amex Platinum Card. The reason is because all these cards allow you to earn Membership Rewards points. Some review websites compare this card with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred because they have similar annual fees. But I do not think it is a good comparison because even though there may be differences in how many points you can earn, they are essentially different reward points and programs. I am assuming that if you are reading this review that you have decided you want to earn Membership Reward points.
Ok, let's start with the American Express Everyday, the no annual fee version. The Amex Everyday allows you to earn 2X at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 in annual spending) and 1X on regular purchases. If you make 20 transactions a month, you get 20% bonus points. That means you will earn 2.4X at supermarkets and 1.2X on regular purchases. The Amex Everyday Preferred is better in the sense that you could potentially earn more points (3X at supermarkets and 2X on gasoline). You need 30 rather than 20 transactions to earn bonus points but when you reach the 30X, you will earn 50% bonus rather 20% bonus. To decide between the two cards, you have to know you spending and work out the math.
The American Express Green Card has a $95 annual fee (same as this card) and it makes for a very relevant comparison. The Green Card gives you 2X on travel and 1X on regular purchases while this card gives you 3X on supermarket, 2X at gas stations and 1X on regular purchases. And if you hit the 30X transactions a month threshold, you will earn 50% bonus points. So essentially, these two cards have different bonus category. If you are deciding between these two cards, you should list down your spending and see which will give you more bang for the buck.
The next card up from the Green Card is the American Express Gold Card. Amex used to have both the Gold Card and the Premier Rewards Gold Card. Since October 2018, Amex has consolidated the Premier Rewards Gold Card with the Gold Card and the card is simply now the Gold Card. The annual fee is $250. You can earn 3X on airline tickets, 4X at supermarkets (up to $25,000 annual spending) and 4X at restaurants. In terms of earning points, the Gold Card appears to be better because of the 3X on airline tickets and 4X at restaurants. However, with the Amex Everyday Preferred, you can earn 3X at gas stations and if you meet the 30X transactions a month criteria, you can earn 1.5X on regular purchases. Choosing between these two cards is a little tougher because the Gold Card has other perks that add real value as well.
The Platinum Card is the elite card among the Amex charge card family. It has a hefty annual fee of $550. You can earn 5X on airline tickets and 1X on other regular purchases. There are other perks as well that make the annual fee worth it to some people. From a points earning perspective, these two cards are actually complimentary and many folks actually combine these two cards to maximize their MR points.
Pros and Cons Pros and Cons The great strength of this card (in the MR earning context) is that you can earn more than 1X on gasoline and supermarket category. Furthermore, if you have 30 transactions a month, you will earn 50% more points.
This card also has a 0% introductory offer for both purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. This is actually not very common in the rewards point card world. Though it is not 15 months like some of the better intro offers, it is still pretty decent for those who would like to take advantage of 0% financing.
Some folks may not like the fact that the sign up bonus is rather "low" for a rewards card and that there is no mega 50,000 or 100,000 sign up bonus. Many will also moan of the fact that you need to use the card 30 times a month to get the 50% bonus. However, it is clear that Amex is targeting this card at those who want to use it as their main card. It is simply not targeted at "miles hackers".
Our Take Our Take If you are considering the Amex Everyday Preferred, it means you are either looking to pick one or two Amex credit cards that earns Membership Rewards, or perhaps you already have one of these cards and are either looking to add this card to your wallet or swap out of your existing card for this one.
There are certain circumstances where this should be your main (and if I may say only) card to earn membership reward points and there are other instances where it makes sense to get this card and use it with another Amex MR card to earn MR points.
The case for using this as your main card - The Amex Everyday Preferred will make a great standalone card for earning MR points if you do not fly often and if you spend want to earn extra points on everyday spending like grocery and gas. While the Amex Platinum and Premier Rewards Gold offer you 5X and 3X on airline ticket spending, you may be the sort of person that does not travel a lot but spend a lot on your credit card and want to earn and use MR points for airline miles transfers and get a nice flight on your annual vacation. In this case, it makes sense to get this card as your main card to earn MR.
There is another instance where it makes sense to consider this card as your main card even if you fly a lot. And that is when you do not earn 5X or 3X even when you buy airline tickets. How is that possible? Well, you can only earn 5X or 3X when you either buy the airline tickets directly from airlines or from Amex own travel portal. Some card members have reported that they have not received their 5X or 3X when they book their airline tickets through 3rd party OTA sites. In this case, have this card as your main card to earn MR points makes sense.
Combining Amex Everyday Preferred with Amex Platinum - The Amex Everyday Preferred also makes a good combination with the Platinum Card. As we mentioned earlier, many folks combine the Platinum and Premier Rewards Gold to earn extra points on airline tickets, groceries and gas (which you cannot do so just with either one card). The Everyday Preferred has a lower annual fee than the PRG and you can actually earn more points on both groceries and gas. Folks who have the Platinum/PRG combo might want to consider swapping the AEP with the PRG.
Switch from Green Card - Both the Amex Green Card and Amex Everyday Preferred have $95 annual fee. But the AEP allows you to earn bonus points on gas and supermarket expenses whereas the Green Card only allows you to earn 2X on airline tickets and 1X on everything. So from a MR points earning perspective, you will definitely earn more points with AEP than with the Green Card.
In conclusion, I would say that if you are looking for a card to earn MR points, you should definitely consider this one. There are other cards that allow you to earn MR points. Depending on your spending habits, this card may just be the right card for you.