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The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (a Money Crashers partner) is a no-annual-fee cash back credit card with a very generous rewards program. Blue Cash Everyday offers 3% cash back (up to $6,000 per calendar year) on U.S. supermarket purchases, unlimited 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores, and 1% cash back on everything else. Rewards come as statement credits once you hit the $25 redemption minimum.

Although applicants do need very good credit, Blue Cash Everyday doesn’t require near-perfect credit, as is the case with more generous cards.

Blue Cash Everyday competes with a number of popular cash back and points-based rewards credit cards. These include general cash back cards like the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express and the Capital One Quicksilver Credit Card, as well as general rewards credit cards such as Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, American Express EveryDay, and Amex EveryDay Preferred.

Key Features

Welcome Offer

You get a statement credit worth $150 when you spend at least $1,000 within three months of opening your account.

Cash Rewards & Redemption

U.S. supermarket purchases, up to $6,000 total per calendar year, earn 3% cash back. Supermarket purchases above the $6,000 spending cap earn an unlimited 1% cash back. U.S. gas station and select U.S. department store purchases earn an unlimited 2% cash back. All other purchases earn an unlimited 1% cash back.

Once you earn at least $25 cash back, you can redeem it for a statement credit. You can also redeem for gift cards and general merchandise in variable amounts. Note that American Express does not include big-box superstores such as Walmart and warehouse club stores such as Costco in its definition of grocery stores.

Introductory APR

Blue Cash Everyday comes with a 0% purchase and balance transfer APR for 15 months from account opening. To qualify for the promotional rate, balance transfers must be requested within 30 days of account opening. Following the introductory period’s end, the variable purchase and balance transfer APR ranges from 14.49% and 25.49% APR, depending on your personal creditworthiness and prevailing interest rates.

Important Fees

There is no annual fee. Balance transfers and cash advances both cost the greater of $5 or 3% of the transferred or advanced amount. Foreign transactions cost 2.7% of the total transaction amount, regardless of currency denomination. Late and returned payments both cost up to $39.

Travel Benefits

Blue Cash Everyday comes with some useful travel benefits, including a 24/7 roadside assistance hotline; rental car loss and damage insurance coverage when the full amount of the rental is charged to your card; 24/7 global concierge service for cardmembers traveling more than 100 miles from home; and travel accident insurance (death only).

Shopping Benefits

Blue Cash Everyday has some useful shopping and purchase protection benefits, including extended warranties on items with original warranties set to last five years or less; return protection for rejected returns made within 90 days of original purchase (up to $300 per item and $1,000 per calendar year); and loss and damage coverage for items purchased within 90 days (up to $1,000 per item and $50,000 per calendar year).

Credit Required

This card requires excellent credit. You won’t be approved if you have any notable credit blemishes.

Advantages

1. No Annual Fee. Blue Cash Everyday doesn’t have an annual fee, unlike Blue Cash Preferred (its American Express stablemate) and Capital One QuicksilverOne. Among cash back cards without an annual fee, Blue Cash Everyday has one of the most generous cash back schemes around.
2. Valuable Cash Back Rewards. Speaking of generous cash back schemes, Blue Cash Everyday’s cash back program is quite rewarding for cardholders who can fully utilize it. With a $6,000 spending limit, the 3% U.S. supermarket cash back category pays you up to $180 per year, after which you still earn unlimited 1% cash back at supermarkets. If you’re shopping for a family, it’s not hard to approach or exceed this spending limit. Meanwhile, the unlimited 2% U.S. gas station and select U.S. department store category is great for funding everyday purchases, particularly for fashionable shoppers and frequent drivers. If you focus your spending on the 2% and 3% categories, you can rack up the rewards faster than with a flat 1.5% cash back card, such as the Barclaycard CashForward™ World Mastercard® and Capital One Quicksilver.
3. Cash Back Spending Categories Don’t Change. Blue Cash Everyday’s cash back categories never change – you can always expect 3% at the U.S. supermarket (up to the cap), 2% at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores, and 1% everywhere else. By contrast, Chase Freedom changes is cash back categories quarterly, sowing confusion for cardholders who don’t keep up with the category schedules.
4. Solid Intro APR Promotion. Blue Cash Everyday comes with a 15-month purchase and balance transfer APR promotion. That’s better than Capital One Quicksilver and QuicksilverOne, which only offer 0% APR promotions for a limited time.
5. Great Travel Benefits. Blue Cash Everyday has more than its fair share of traveler-friendly benefits. From the rental car insurance coverage to the 24/7 global assist hotline for travelers more than 100 miles from home, this card won’t leave you in a lurch if your vacation doesn’t go exactly as planned – whether you’re driving, flying, or taking the train.
6. Great Shopping Benefits. Blue Cash Everyday has a great lineup of shopping benefits. Its return protection policy covers individual items up to $300 each and $1,000 per year, and its new purchase loss and damage coverage is worth up to $1,000 per item and $50,000 per year.

Disadvantages

1. Inflexible Cash Back Redemption Options. The only cash back redemption option here is a statement credit. By contrast, Capital One Quicksilver and QuicksilverOne let you redeem for statement credits and bank account deposits; Bank Americard Cash Rewards Credit Card offers statement credits, bank account deposits, and paper checks; and Citi Double Cash Card allows statement credits, bank account deposits, paper checks, and gift cards. Note that you can also redeem your cash back points for non-cash items, including gift cards and general merchandise, but those options aren’t ideal for consumers who prefer hard cash.
2. Mediocre Welcome Offer. Blue Cash Everyday’s three-month welcome offer isn’t anything to write home about. You have to spend $1,000 to get $150, redeemable only as a statement credit. By contrast, Chase Freedom’s three-month welcome offer asks you to spend just $500 to get $150, redeemable for cash deposits, statement credits, gift cards, and merchandise.
3. Comes With a Penalty APR. Blue Cash Everyday charges penalty interest, a major drawback for cardholders who occasionally miss payments. Many of its peers, including Chase Freedom, don’t have penalty APRs.
4. No Credit Monitoring or Scores. Blue Cash Everyday has no credit monitoring or score updates as part of its cardmember benefits package.
5. Comes With Foreign Transaction Fees. This card’s 2.7% foreign transaction fee is a bummer for cardholders who travel abroad. With no foreign transaction fees, Capital One Quicksilver has superior options for frequent international travelers.

Final Word

If you don’t fly or stay at hotels often, and spread your spending across a wide range of categories, a cash back rewards credit card is probably a better choice than a travel rewards card or similarly specialized credit card. However, even if you have more specific spending needs, such as travel or business expenses, Blue Cash Everyday is a good card to keep in your wallet.

With 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is great for people who eat lots of meals at home. With 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores, it’s nice for folks who drive long distances and buy clothing or household goods regularly. And, with 1% cash back on everything else, it’s not bad for, well, everything else. When it comes to cash back cards, you can definitely do worse than Blue Cash Everyday.