Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
October 18, 2024: The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express features a welcome offer for new cardmembers. New cardmembers can earn a $250 bonus after spending $3,000 on the card within 6 months—a relatively easy-to-earn bonus.
But American Express may show you a better offer when you hit its website. We have details on all offers below so that you can earn the best bonus available to you.
Best public offer: $250 after $3,000 spent in 6 months
Annual fee: annual_fees
See Rates and Fees
Best welcome offer: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is earned as a statement credit.
Better offer: You might be able to get a better targeted offer
All information about non-affiliate offers on the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express was collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
While our affiliate link above matches the best public offer available on the card, it might be worthwhile to shop around for a better offer. We’ve historically seen a $300 offer after spending $3,000 within six months by going directly to the American Express website in an Incognito or Private Browsing window.
This offer may or may not currently be available, but we were able to confirm is the last time we updated this article, on October 18, 2024.
My take: An easy to earn bonus on a great card
While $250 isn’t the biggest welcome incentive available, Amex does give you 6 months to meet the $3,000 spending requirement, making this bonus relatively easy to earn. But the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express isn’t a card you get solely for the welcome offer.
The card is my go-to card for gas (at U.S. gas stations) and groceries (at U.S. supermarkets) thanks to its generous rewards in both categories. I also use the card for my Disney+ subscription thanks to the monthly statement credit I earn by charging my subscription to the card. Finally, I prefer to use the card for purchases of larger, more expensive items, thanks to the trifecta of Amex consumer insurance protection benefits: extended warranty, return protection, and purchase protection.
If you can get the larger targeted bonus to show for you on the Amex website, go for it. Otherwise, there’s really no reason to wait on this card. Since we’ve started tracking the bonus on this card, Amex hasn’t offered any limited time welcome offers. If you’re delaying getting the card in order to hope for a larger bonus, you’re probably losing money by not using the card for your groceries and gas.
About the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Annual fee: annual_fees (See Rates and Fees)
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers some of the best cash back rewards at U.S. supermarkets, plus an excellent suite of consumer insurance benefits.
Welcome offer
Best welcome offer: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is earned as a statement credit.
Rewards
- 6% on groceries at U.S. supermarkets.
on up to $6,000 per year of purchases, then 1%. - 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
- 3% on gas at U.S. gas stations.
- 3% on transit, including taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, busses, and more.
- 1% on other purchases.
Rewards are earned as cash back reward dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.
Benefits
Consumer insurance benefits
- Purchase protection. Covers eligible purchases against theft or accidental damage up to $1,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per account per calendar year. Exclusions and terms apply.
- Return protection. Covers eligible purchases up to $300 per item and $1,000 per account per calendar year if the seller of an item won’t take it back within 90 days from the date of purchase. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Terms and restrictions apply.
- Extended warranty. Provides up to one year of coverage equivalent to the manufacturer’s original warranty on eligible items with warranties of 5 years or less. Coverage limited to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per account per calendar year. Terms and restrictions apply.
Travel insurance benefits
- Car rental loss and damage insurance.
- Global assist hotline.
Partner benefits and statement credits
- $84 Disney Bundle Credit. Receive $7 back monthly after spending $9.99+ each month on an eligible auto-renewing U.S. subscription to the Disney Bundle. Enrollment required.
- Amex Offers. Receive statement credits or extra rewards with targeted offers from select merchants. Enrollment required.
The Blue Cash Preferred is featured on our lists of the best cards for groceries, the best cards for gas, and cards with a Disney+ credit. For more on the card’s rewards and benefits, check out our overview of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card.
A few notes on applying for American Express credit cards
Here are a few things that you should know about applying for American Express cards.
- Amex will let you know if you’re ineligible for the new cardmember welcome offer when applying. If you don’t qualify for a welcome offer for any reason, American Express will inform you during the application process and let you withdraw your application before they perform a “hard pull” on your credit report. If you withdraw your application, the withdrawn application will have no impact on your credit score.
- No hard pull if they deny you. If Amex denies your credit card application, they usually won’t issue a hard pull on your credit report. This means that your credit score won’t decrease because of the denied application.
- One welcome offer per card per “lifetime”. Most Amex card terms say that you’re ineligible for a welcome offer if you’ve ever had the card before. Some targeted offers do not have this lifetime language. Readers and other blogs have reported that Amex may internally define “lifetime” as 7 years—if it’s been 7 years since you’ve had a card, you might be eligible to get a welcome offer again.
- Some cards allow one welcome offer per card “family”. Some American Express cards, like the personal Platinum card or the Charles Schwab Platinum card have language that prohibits you from earning a welcome bonus if you’ve ever had a card from the same card family before.
- Maximum 5 Amex credit cards and 10 pay-over-time cards. You can have a maximum of 5 American Express credit cards at one time. In addition, you can hold up to 10 American Express pay-over-time cards (like the Platinum, Gold, and Green cards.) These limits are known to occasionally be flexible for some cardmembers, some of the time.
- You might be able to get a better welcome offer than the public offer. American Express offers some customers targeted offers. See our post on how to get the best welcome offers from American Express and try those methods before applying for an American Express card. You might be able to get an elevated welcome offer.
- Check your application status online. You can check the status of your American Express card application online through the Amex website.
Frequently asked questions
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns cash back rewards. The card’s welcome bonus comes as a statement credit.
Perhaps the biggest perk of the Blue Cash Preferred is the rewards. The card earns 6% cash back on the first $6,000 purchases at U.S. supermarkets each year (then 1%). It also earns 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and 6% on select U.S. streaming services. The card also offers excellent consumer insurance benefits, including extended warranty, return protection, and purchase protection.
American Express card disclosures
- For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
- For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
Amex Extended Warranty benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase to an Eligible Card, Extended Warranty§ can provide up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your Card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Return Protection benefit disclosure: With Return Protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
Amex Basic Purchase Protection benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited to up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
