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The American Express Cash Magnet® credit card is useful for making expensive purchases without paying interest given its introductory purchase APR of 0% for 15 months. Additionally, it offers a straightforward cashback rate of 1.5% without caps or limitations, and doesn’t charge an annual fee.
Quick Review
The American Express Cash Magnet® card is a straightforward credit card that offers a 0% introductory APR for purchases, unlimited 1.5% cashback rewards, and no annual fee. It also offers a welcome bonus of $200 when you make $2000 of purchases in the first 6 months.
The simple cash back rewards program is easy to manage, because you don’t have to think about categories for your purchases or worry about maximum cashback limits. However, the rewards program has a relatively low rate compared to other rewards cards, offering only 1.5% back. In addition, the $200 bonus may take a while to earn since you need to reach $2000 of purchases in 6 months. Along with the cashback rewards, you get access to Amex offers, a program that allows you to earn higher rates of rewards on certain purchases.
The American Express Cash Magnet® offers a few other notable perks, including:
- Car rental insurance
- Send & Split™ (which allows you to send money or split bills)
- Pay It Plan It® (letting you finance purchases over $100 with a fee of 1.33% per month)
One major downside of the card is that it doesn’t offer introductory APR for balance transfers, meaning this is not a suitable card for anyone looking to consolidate credit card debt.
American Express Cash Magnet® Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Credit card issuer: American Express National Bank
- Regular APR: 17.74%–28.74% (variable)
- Introductory APR: 0% for 15 months
- Annual fee: $0
Additional Information
- $200 rewards bonus if you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 6 months
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back rewards
- Additional reward offers through the American Express® app
- Car rental insurance
- 24/7 emergency assistance when you travel
- Exclusive access to ticket presales and member-only events
- You can Send & Split™ payments through Venmo or Paypal
- No deductible fraud protection
- Manage your finances with year-end summaries and cash back reward tracking
- Spread the payments for purchases out over time with Pay It Plan It®
American Express Cash Magnet® Feature Breakdown
Fees
- Annual fee: $0
- Balance transfer fee: $5 or 3% (whichever is greater)
- Cash advance fee: $10 or 5% (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: 2.7%
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
- Returned payment fee: Up to $40
- Introductory plan fee: 0% introductory fee on each purchase moved into a plan during the first 15 months
- Regular plan fee: 1.33% of each purchase moved into a plan based on the plan duration
Notably, this card charge’s the American Express foreign transaction fee of 2.7%. Amex and other credit card issuers offer rewards cards with no foreign transaction fees, so if you frequently travel abroad, consider a different borrowing option.
Interest Rates
- Purchase APR: 17.74%–28.74% (variable)
- Introductory APR: 0% for 15 months
- Cash advance APR: 26.74% (variable)
- Balance transfer APR: 17.74%–28.74% (variable)
- Penalty APR: 29.99%
Rewards
The American Express Cash Magnet® card offers 1.5% unlimited cash back on your purchases. Rewards are earned as reward dollars which can be redeemed directly as a statement credit.
You can earn an additional $200 statement credit if you spend $2000 on eligible purchases within your first 6 months of card approval. This statement credit will be applied 8-12 weeks after you reach $2000 in purchases.
Introductory Offer
The American Express Cash Magnet® card comes with a 0% APR introductory offer. Along with 15 months of no interest on purchases, the American Express Cash Magnet® won’t charge fees for items added to the Plan It® program during this introductory period.
Welcome Bonus
You can earn a welcome bonus of $200 when you make $2000 of eligible purchases within the first 6 months of using your card. This bonus comes in the form of a statement credit that is applied 8-12 weeks after the $2000 in purchases has been met.
Pay It Plan It®
The American Express Cash Magnet® card offers two additional ways to finance purchases through the American Express® App, so you can fund big buys without racking up heavy interest charges (after the promotional APR period ends).
For purchases over $100, Plan It® lets you choose to split up the payment into monthly installments with a fixed fee and no interest charges. When you make your purchase, you’ll be offered 1-3 plan duration options and will be charged a fixed finance charge (called a plan fee) every month that your plan is active.
You can have up to 10 active payment plans at one time, so choose what purchases you want to add to a plan wisely. As the 1.33% fees are low compared to the regular APR, this is a great way to pay off expensive purchases without getting charged mounds of interest.
Send & Split®
The American Express Cash Magnet® card’s Send & Split® feature allows you to send payments from your card to Venmo and PayPal users. It also allows you to split a purchase with friends, and to receive payments to your card or to your linked Venmo or PayPal account.
Other Benefits
The American Express Cash Magnet® offers some additional benefits, including:
- Car rental insurance
- Global Assist® 24/7 hotline for emergencies while traveling
- Access to ticket presales and member-only events through American Express Experiences
- Access to additional offers through Amex Offers
- A mobile app to manage your card account and track your spending
Credit Reporting
American Express reports to credit bureaus every month, meaning your Amex borrowing activities will be used to update your credit report.
Qualification Requirements
The American Express Cash Magnet® card requires good to excellent credit to qualify. What’s considered a good credit score varies based on the scoring model used, but it’s roughly 670 or above.
Application & Approval
Applications can be done online or over the phone. However, if you want to get an offer you received in an email or that you saw online, you must apply online through the specific link given online to receive the bonus.
To apply, you will need to provide the following personal information:
- Name
- Residence (no P.O. boxes)
- Social Security number
- Email address
- Phone number
- Total annual income
If you apply online, American Express will give you a decision in minutes. You can use the online status site or call (888) 826-3471 to check your application.
Should You Get the American Express Cash Magnet®?
FinanceJar verdict
The American Express Cash Magnet® is a good, straightforward credit card with no annual fees, a 15 month introductory 0% interest rate on purchases, and unlimited 1.5% cash rewards on purchases.
However, if you can’t benefit from the promotional APR period, we recommend using your good credit to score a rewards credit card with higher cashback rates. Also, if you need a 0% APR credit card to make a balance transfer, you’ll want to find an alternative.
Who is this card for?
- People making a large purchase: The introductory purchase APR of 0% for 15 months is useful if you’re planning on making a major purchase, such as planning a wedding or furnishing an apartment. This gives you over a year to pay off your expenses, and subsidizes some of the cost through cashback rewards and the $200 welcome bonus.
Comparable Cards
If you are wondering whether the American Express Cash Magnet® is the right card for you, here’s a look at how it compares to other rewards cards.
