American Express® surveyed consumers in June 2022 to find out what they wanted most out of an everyday credit card and discovered (to no one’s surprise) that people’s priorities have shifted in the past couple of years. 1
Cardholders want bigger cashback rewards on everyday purchases—which include gas, online products, food delivery, and streaming service subscriptions.
In response, American Express® has revamped their Blue Cash Everyday® credit card to offer more opportunities to save. However, it’s possible that not all of the changes will benefit you—that depends on your spending habits.
Table of Contents
New benefits of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card
The improvements to the Amex Blue Cash Everyday® card fall into four main categories. Here’s a breakdown of the new perks you can expect to come your way as a current or future cardholder.
Updated cashback rewards (mostly improved)
As you can see from the table below, the American Express® Blue Cash Everyday® card offers a higher rewards rate in a couple of key spending categories. 2
However, the improvement isn’t uniform across the board—a few categories are unchanged, and the rewards in one actually dropped.
Old vs. New Cashback Rewards on the Amex Blue Cash Everyday® Card
| Purchase Category | Old Rewards Rate | New Rewards Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 3% on up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1% | Unchanged |
| Gas stations | 2% | 3% on up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1% |
| Department stores | 2% | 1% |
| Online shopping | 1% | 3% on up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1% |
| Other | 1% | Unchanged |
Breaking down the rewards rates
If you’re one of the many consumers who’ve switched to mainly shopping online since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the new rewards for online purchases will probably hold a lot of appeal.
However, if you still prefer going to brick-and-mortar outlets, the card got a bit worse, since it no longer features a 2% cashback rate on purchases from department stores.
Cashback rates for gas: an improvement, unless you drive a lot
Although you can now earn 1% more on gas purchases, this benefit is now capped at $6,000 per year. You can earn a maximum of $180 at the improved rate and then 1% afterwards.
You used to be able to earn unlimited 2% cash back on gas purchases, so this change might be either good news or bad news, depending on how much you spend on gas.
You’ll earn more with the new system unless you drive a lot—you’d have to spend $12,000 per year on gas for the old rate to be better. In 2021, the average American’s gas purchases totaled just over $2,100, so you’ll almost certainly come out ahead with the new system unless you drive frequently for work and pay for the gas with your own card. 3
Annual statement credit on subscription services
Another significant change that American Express® has made to the Blue Cash Everyday® card is the addition of annual credit that you can use on subscription services with Amex’s partners.
This credit can save you up to $264 per year. Here’s how that breaks down:
- $84 Disney Bundle credit: If you spend $13.99 or more each month on Disney Bundle services (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+), you’ll receive a $7 monthly statement credit (equal to $84 annually) toward your subscription.
- $180 Home Chef credit: Home Chef is a company that prepares and delivers home meal kits with all the ingredients you need to cook at home. Now, when you make an online purchase from Home Chef, you’ll get a statement credit of up to $15 per month (equal to $180 per year).
New welcome bonus (bigger overall, but also more complicated)
If you’ve never had the American Express® Blue Cash Everyday® credit card before, you can earn welcome bonuses equivalent to $250. This welcome bonus comes as two distinct offers:
- $100 back: If you spend $2,000 within the first 6 months of opening your account, you’ll get $100 back as a statement credit.
- 20% back on PayPal purchases (up to $150): When you add your new Amex Blue Cash Everyday® card to your PayPal account and use it within the first 6 months of having the card, you’ll get 20% of the purchase back as a statement credit. The amount you can get back is capped at $150 (to get this, you’ll have to make $750 worth of PayPal purchases).
How the welcome bonuses have gotten more complicated
When the American Express® Blue Cash Everyday® credit card was initially relaunched in July, this welcome bonus was a straightforward $200 back when you spent $2,000 within 6 months. 4 It was only in October that this bonus dropped to $100 to make room for the 20% back reward for using PayPal. 5
15-month 0% intro APR
The American Express® Blue Cash Everyday® card now comes with a 0% introductory APR period that lasts for 15 months after you open your account.
This zero-interest offer applies to both purchases and balance transfers, making this card very attractive if you want to consolidate credit card debt. You can also just use it to make a large purchase without paying interest.
If you do move debt from other credit cards onto your new Amex Blue Cash Everyday® card, you’ll need to pay a balance transfer fee of 3% or $5 (whichever is higher) for each transfer.
Most importantly, if you can’t pay off the balance within that 15-month introductory period, interest will begin accumulating at the card’s standard variable APR (16.99%–27.99% as of October 2022). 6
Other changes to the Amex Blue Cash Everyday® card
Not everything about the new American Express® Blue Cash Everyday® card is better than it used to be. The new version of this card has slightly higher fees in some categories, as shown in the table below. 2 7
Fee Increases for the Amex Blue Cash Everyday® Card
| Fee | Previous Versions | New Version |
|---|---|---|
| Late payment fee | $38 | $40 |
| Returned payment fee | $38 | $40 |
| Plan fee (fixed financing) | 1.23% of each purchase moved into a plan | 1.33% of each purchase moved into a plan |
| Cash advance fee | $5 or 3% of the cash advance amount | $10 or 5% of the cash advance amount |
These higher fees may not have any consequences for you, depending on how you manage and use your credit card. However, if you plan on using an Amex fixed financing plan for a large purchase or using your card for cash advances, then these changes make the card less attractive.
Is the new Amex Blue Cash Everyday® card worth it?
Ultimately, the American Express® Blue Cash Everyday® card is one of the better rewards cards you can get with no annual fee. If you typically spend a lot at supermarkets, gas stations, and online shopping platforms, then you’ll be able to reap even more benefits.
It’s true that the updates to this card won’t benefit every consumer. If you frequently shop at department stores, the changes to the rewards system could actually cut some of the value of this card. The same is also true if you spend over $12,000 per year on gas (but that’s unlikely—if you’re like most people, you’ll only spend a fraction of that).
Overall, the changes to this card have substantially improved it for most consumers.
If you don’t have this card yet, then it may be worth comparing it with other no-fee everyday rewards cards or other Amex cards, such as the American Express® Blue Cash Preferred® card. That way, you can feel confident that you’ve chosen the best card for your spending habits and financial situation.
