The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express ranks among the top cards for everyday purchases, thanks to its 3% cash back rate on U.S. supermarket purchases on up to $6,000 in purchases each year. While it’s far from the most rewarding credit card in the grocery category, it’s one of your best options for earning cash back at supermarkets within the U.S. without having to pay an annual fee.
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: A good shopping companion
For cardholders who want a good no-annual-fee card for everyday purchases, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers a few appealing features:
3% cash back on U.S. supermarket purchases for a annual fee
The main reason to apply for the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is that it rewards you generously for U.S. supermarket purchases. The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers a cash back program with 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%). 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and at select U.S. department stores. 1% cash back on other purchases. Though the supermarket bonus is capped at $6,000 in purchases per year, it’s a pretty generous limit, amounting to $180 in cash back on top of your other earnings.
Cashback welcome bonus
As an extra incentive to apply, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers a fair welcome bonus: If you can manage to spend around $300 per month to reach the spending threshold, you’ll have a nice chunk of cash to help pay off your balance.
Redeem cash back easily
Nothing beats the flexibility of cashback rewards, and American Express makes it easy to redeem your cash back. Once you earn at least $25 in cash back, you can log in to your account and redeem rewards as a statement credit, or apply them toward gift cards or merchandise.
Get extra time to pay off a balance
If you’re looking to finance a new purchase or pay off a balance at 0%, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express comes with a longer-than-average introductory offer: New cardholders get an APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers ( APR thereafter).
If you’re anticipating a major purchase, the card’s introductory APR combined with its welcome bonus can help you meet your budget.
Protect your purchases
Aside from its cashback rewards, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express has you covered in case a purchase is damaged or stolen. The card offers up to $1,000 per purchase and to up to $50,000 per year in coverage for eligible purchases.
Value Penguin’s verdict: A solid option for food and gas
If you want a dedicated card for supermarkets and gas stations and don’t want to pay an annual fee, The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express may be the way to go.
You’ll earn a substantial amount of cash back before you hit the $6,000 earning cap. Even better, you can juggle this card with a flat-rate cashback card — like the — to earn extra cash back on purchases not covered by the card’s bonus categories.
However, it’s not our top choice for supermarket purchases (read more about the Blue Cash Preferred card below). If you’re willing to pay an annual fee, or you’re looking for the best all-around cashback credit card, see our recommendations below.
Alternatives to the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
For a card with a annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers good rewards on U.S. supermarket and gas purchases. Still, there are better options for supermarket purchases, and more rewarding cards for everyday purchases:
Earn more cash back on U.S. supermarket purchases
The offers twice as much cash back on U.S. supermarket purchases: The card also offers 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions and 3% cash back on transit including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more. All these earning categories make it a rewarding option for a wide variety of purchases.
It does come with a annual fee, but that fee is well worth it. If you max out the card’s $6,000 annual limit on U.S. supermarket purchases, you can earn $360 in cash back on that category alone. Plus, the card comes with a generous welcome bonus:
Earn cash back twice
If you want a single card to use on every purchase, the is much more rewarding than the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. The lets you
Unlike the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, the doesn’t offer any kind of welcome bonus. However, its high rate of cash back easily beats the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express in the long term.
5% cash back on everyday purchases
On the other hand, if earning categories appeal to you, the Discover it® Cash Back is one of the best bonus category cards. The card lets you Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Since the categories rotate and require enrollment each quarter, you’ll have to do a little more maintenance with the Discover it® Cash Back.
However, the extra effort pays off, especially for new cardholders. Discover automatically matches all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year, meaning all the cash back that you earn in year one is doubled.
Comparison Tool
Our comparison tool can help you evaluate how each credit card works for your budget and spending habits. Check out the different options below and click on the gear icon to adjust the spending amount in each category.
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