Home › Credit cards › Amex Blue Cash Preferred

Amex Blue Cash Preferred: terms, score and downsides

Not credit advice. Facts and math from issuer pages and the CFPB, each with its date. Offers change; approval depends on your credit. Verify on the issuer's site.

Rubric score 66.3% across 78 cards. Issuer page ↗

Downsides first

• $95 annual fee ($0 intro first year, then $95)
• 2.7% foreign transaction fee
• APR up to 28.74% if you carry a balance
• Penalty APR Prime + 26.74% (variable)

Terms & fees

• IssuerAmerican Express
• Typecash back
• Annual fee$95 ($0 intro first year, then $95) americanexpress.com, 2026-10-11
• Regular purchase APR19.74%–28.74% variable americanexpress.com, 2026-10-11
• Rewards6% U.S. supermarkets (up to $6k/yr) & select streaming; 3% transit & U.S. gas; 1% other americanexpress.com, 2026-10-11
• Sign-up bonus (≈$)$250 $250 after $3,000 in 6 months americanexpress.com, 2026-10-11
• Intro APR18 months 0% intro APR up to 18 months on purchases and balance transfers (may be as short as 6) americanexpress.com, 2026-10-11
• Foreign transaction fee2.7% americanexpress.com, 2026-10-11
• Penalty APRPrime + 26.74% Variable: Prime Rate + 26.74% per Amex agreement rate table consumerfinance.gov, 2026-06-30
• Late feenot found files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Balance transfer feenot found files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Cash advance feenot found files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Credit needednot found
• Grace periodnot found
• Cash advance APRnot found

Complaint record (CFPB)

• Complaints, last 12 months11,574
• Trend▲ 14% (last 12 mo 11,574 vs prior 12 mo 10,155)
• Timely response (last 36 mo)99.5%
• Per $1B deposits (12 mo)67.47
• Top issueIncorrect information on your report
• Insurance statusFDIC-insured: American Express National Bank (cert 27471, active; deposits $171.6B as of 06/30/2026)

Company-level (AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY), all products, as of 2026-10-12. American Express complaints: full record → Shown for context; does not change the score.

Score breakdown

• Annual fee 8.0/10Annual fee $95 ($0 intro first year, then $95) (as of 2026-10-11). Rubric: $0=10, ≤$95=8, ≤$395=5, ≤$695=3, more=1 (perks/credits are not counted).
• Rewards rate 6.5/10Base 1% on everything, top category 6% (as of 2026-10-11; points/miles valued at 1¢). Score = base/2%×7 + min(top,6)/6%×3. 6% U.S. supermarkets (up to $6k/yr) & select streaming; 3% transit & U.S. gas; 1% other
• Sign-up bonus 3.3/10Bonus ≈ $250: $250 after $3,000 in 6 months (as of 2026-10-11). Score = value/$75, max 10.
• Intro 0% APR 8.6/100% intro APR up to 18 months on purchases and balance transfers (may be as short as 6) (as of 2026-10-11). Score = months/21×10.
• Regular APR 7.0/1019.74%–28.74% variable (as of 2026-10-11); midpoint 24.24%. Score = (34 − midpoint)/1.4, 0–10.
• Foreign transaction fee 3.0/102.7% foreign transaction fee (as of 2026-10-11).
• Regulatory record (CFPB) 10.0/10Issuer American Express: Base 10, no actions in last 5 yrs found. Note: No CFPB enforcement action found in the last 5 years in our search

0.143×8.0 + 0.143×6.5 + 0.143×3.3 + 0.143×8.6 + 0.143×7.0 + 0.143×3.0 + 0.143×10.0 = 6.63 → 66.3%

Is Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it? (break-even math) →Value for my spending →

Compare with

Amex Blue Cash Preferred vs Chase Freedom Unlimited · Amex Blue Cash Preferred vs Chase Freedom Flex · Amex Blue Cash Preferred vs Citi Double Cash · Amex Blue Cash Preferred vs Wells Fargo Active Cash · Amex Blue Cash Preferred vs Capital One Quicksilver · Amex Blue Cash Preferred vs Capital One Savor

No paid placement. No issuer pays VaultRubric for inclusion or rank; links go to the issuer's own page. Ranks come only from the published rubric below.

FAQ

What is the Amex Blue Cash Preferred annual fee?

$95 ($0 intro first year, then $95)

What is the Amex Blue Cash Preferred APR?

19.74%–28.74% variable

Estimates, not financial advice. Taxes, insurance, PMI and fees vary by lender, county and city; confirm with your lender, dealer and state agency before acting.