Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express Review

What the Blue Cash Preferred actually is

This is American Express's flagship grocery card, built around one headline number: 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, up to $6,000 in spending a year. After that cap it drops to 1%. You also get 6% back on select U.S. streaming services, 3% on transit and at U.S. gas stations, and 1% on everything else.

The fee structure is the catch. It runs about $0 the first year, then jumps to roughly $95 annually after that. So this isn't a fire-and-forget card. You have to spend enough on groceries to clear that fee, which most grocery-heavy households do without trying.

How it performs in real life

The 6% rate is the whole point, and the math is brutally simple. Max out the $6,000 grocery cap and you've earned $360 in a year. Subtract the ~$95 fee and you're still up $265 before you've counted gas, transit, or streaming. A family spending $500 a month at the supermarket basically lives inside the sweet spot.

Two things trip people up. First, 'U.S. supermarkets' is a defined category. Warehouse clubs like Costco and superstores like Walmart and Target don't count, which stings if that's where you shop. Second, rewards come as Reward Dollars you redeem as a statement credit, not a direct deposit or check. Minor friction, but worth knowing.

Amex acceptance has improved a lot and is near-universal at chain grocery stores now. The card also leans on the standard Amex Offers program, which throws occasional bonus deals at you. It's gravy, not a reason to apply.

The good and the annoying

Pros: the best grocery rate on the market, a genuinely useful 3% on gas and transit, a strong welcome offer most years, and solid Amex purchase and travel protections baked in. The intro APR period on purchases is a nice bonus if you've got a big expense coming.

Cons: the annual fee means it's wrong for light spenders. The $6,000 grocery cap limits the upside for big families. Warehouse clubs and Walmart-style stores are excluded. And foreign transaction fees apply, so leave this one home when you travel abroad.

Who should get it, who should skip it

Get it if you spend a few hundred dollars a month at regular supermarkets and want the simplest path to real cash back. For a typical grocery-spending household, it's the easiest card to justify on pure math.

Skip it if you do most of your shopping at Costco, Walmart, or Target, or if your grocery budget is small enough that the fee eats your rewards. In those cases the no-fee Blue Cash Everyday or a flat 2% card like the Citi Double Cash makes more sense. Frequent international travelers should look elsewhere too.

The verdict

The Blue Cash Preferred earns its keep for anyone who treats the supermarket like a second home. The fee is real and the exclusions are real, but the 6% rate is high enough that the card still wins for most grocery-focused spenders. Run your own numbers against the $6,000 cap and the annual fee. If you clear it comfortably, this is one of the few annual-fee cards that pays for itself and then some.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Blue Cash Preferred give 6% back at Walmart, Target, or Costco?

No. Those are classified as superstores and warehouse clubs, not U.S. supermarkets, so purchases there earn only the base 1%. The 6% rate applies to standalone grocery chains like Kroger, Safeway, Publix, and similar.

Is the annual fee worth it?

It's worth it if you spend roughly $130 a month or more at qualifying supermarkets, since 6% on that clears the ~$95 fee. The first year typically has no fee, giving you a low-risk runway to test whether your spending justifies it.

How do you redeem the cash back?

Rewards accrue as Reward Dollars and are redeemed as a statement credit against your balance. There's no direct deposit or check option, and you need at least $25 in Reward Dollars to redeem.