Credit card showdown: Amex EveryDay Preferred vs. Amex Blue Cash Preferred

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

American Express fields a diverse range of rewards credit cards, with options ranging from cash-back cards to premium products with benefits such as airport lounge access and annual travel statement credits. Right in the middle of the pack are the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express and the Amex EveryDay Preferred® Credit Card from American Express.

The first earns cash back of between 1% and 6% on purchases; the second earns Membership Rewards points that you can transfer to 19 airline and three hotel loyalty programs.

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Given their similar annual fees, welcome offers and earning structures, you might be trying to decide between these two cards. The good news is, there’s no wrong choice. You will just need to decide if a cash-back card or one that earns transferable points fits better into your rewards strategy.

Here’s how the two cards compare.

The information for The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Now for the details on each card and their respective benefits.

Annual fee

Both cards charge the same annual fee, $95 a year. Neither card waives its annual fee for the first year.

Winner: Tie.

Related: How my mom got her first rewards card after using cash for 50 years

Welcome offer

Now we get to the first major difference between the cards. New Blue Cash Preferred cardholders can earn a $250 statement credit after spending $1,000 in purchases on their new Card within the first 3 months.

Related: The best cash-back cards for 2020

The current welcome offer for the Amex Everyday Preferred is 15,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after spending $1,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of account opening. These are full-fledged, transferable Amex Membership Rewards points, which TPG currently values at 2 cents apiece. So we’d peg those bonus points at around $300 in value. However, if you redeem these points for cash back, such as for gift cards, travel, Amazon.com purchases, or simple statement credits, you get between 0.6 cent and 1 cent per point in value. So your best redemption option by far is to transfer them. We’ll get into this more below.

Both cards are offering intro APR offers on purchases for the first 12 months, which can come in handy if you need to carry a balance for a short period of time.

Winner: A bonus of 15,000 Membership Rewards points isn't that large, so you actually might be better off with the Blue Cash Preferred Card’s $250 statement credit.

Related: Credit Card Review: American Express Blue Cash Preferred

Earning

When it comes to cash-back credit cards, the Blue Cash Preferred is a top all-round earner. The card racks up multiple percentage points in numerous categories including:

• 6% back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per calendar year; then 1x)
• 6% back on U.S. streaming subscriptions
• 3% back on transit (parking, tolls, ride-hailing services, subway, etc.)
• 3% back at U.S. gas stations
• 1% everywhere else

There are two things to pinpoint about this earning formula. First, it features a wide array of bonus-eligible categories where consumers tend to spend a lot, such as supermarkets and gas, which can really rack up statement credits quickly.

Second, getting 6% back even on a single category is a pretty phenomenal rate of return. You probably won’t see a huge return on your spending for streaming services unless you subscribe to a ton of them, but that grocery bonus could net you $360 cash back if you max it out each year.

Related: The best American Express credit cards for 2020

The Amex EveryDay Preferred offers some pretty attractive bonus opportunities as well. The card accrues 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar on up to $6,000 per year at supermarkets and 2x points per dollar with no cap at gas stations as well as on certain purchases through AmexTravel.com, such as prepaid hotel stays and cruises. It earns 1x per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

Related: A guide to earning transferable points and why they’re so valuable

And, for every billing cycle in which you use your card to make 30 purchases or more, you get a 50% points bonus. That brings your potential earning up to 4.5x per dollar at supermarkets and 3x at gas stations. Since these are full Membership Rewards points, we peg those figures at 6-9.5% return on spending in the bonus categories and 3% back on everyday spending. Nonethtless, how much value you get from your Membership Rewards points will really depend on how you redeem them.

Winner: It’s hard to argue with the Blue Cash Preferred’s simple 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6K per calendar year; then 1%) and 3% back at U.S. gas stations — especially since you have to track your transactions to maximize the Amex EveryDay Preferred Card’s 50% boost after 30 transactions.

Related: Why the Amex Blue Cash Preferred comes out on top during the pandemic

Redemptions

With the Blue Cash Preferred Card, you can redeem your rewards for cash back when your balance is over $25 in one of three ways:

• Receive a statement credit
• Redeem for gift cards
• Shop with your rewards

The best strategy is usually just to redeem for a statement credit since you can buy the gift cards from a retailer with your credit card, earn even more cash back on those purchases, and then redeem your points for those purchases.

With the Amex EveryDay Preferred, you earn American Express Membership Rewards points that you can transfer to dozens of airline and hotel partners:

Related: How to redeem American Express Membership Rewards for maximum value

You can also make direct redemptions of your points sort of like cash back, but this is not usually a great deal. For flights booked through AmexTravel.com, you get a rate of 1 cent apiece, but just 0.7 cents per point for other bookings such as hotels and car rentals. For statement credits against purchases, you only get 0.6 cents per point, and around 0.7 cents per point on Amazon.com purchases.

Winner: Amex EveryDay Preferred. If you’re just looking for cash back, the Blue Cash Preferred is hard to beat. However, for the versatility of being able to transfer your points to 19 airline and three hotel partners, or just book direct through AmexTravel.com, you can’t beat good, old-fashioned Membership Rewards points.

Related: Credit card review: The Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card

Other benefits

Neither of these cards is packed with perks, but there are a few. Both offer secondary car rental insurance, return protection, purchase protection, extended warranty, and Amex Offers discounts as well as free ShopRunner membership. Unfortunately, both also charge foreign transaction fees of 2.7% (see rates & fees for the Blue Cash Preferred).

Winner: Tie.

Bottom line

The Blue Cash Preferred is one of the best cash-back credit cards currently available from any issuer thanks to its 6% and 3% categories and reasonable annual fee. But if you’re looking for a card that earns transferable points and opens up decent bonus-earning opportunities, the Amex EveryDay Preferred might be a better choice. Which card is right for you will come down to how you hope to redeem your points.

Related: Review of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred

Additional reporting by Chris Dong.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, see here.