Amex Blue Cash vs Everyday for those with low grocery spend.

[Anonymous]

Hypothetically, if you were going to use these cards for ONLY grocery purchases, and if your grocery spend is generally low (say $200 a month), which card would you use for the purchases and why? This person dislikes Barclaycard so Sallie Mae is not an option.

The way I see it, BCE gives you 3% on $200 = $6 cash back per month.

Everyday would give you 2X MR on $200 = 400 MR points per month.

People value MR points at 1.8-2c each, but only when redeemed for airline travel. Since I've never used MR points before, I'm not sure how to advice (both mine are cashback). Can you pay for tickets using some MR points (say 400x12 = 6000 at the end of one year) and the rest cash, and still get 1.8-2.0 cpp, or can you only redeem the MR points for tickets only when you have enough to pay for the entire ticket?

I guess in the case of the former, I would recommend BCE > Everyday given the spend, and in the case of the latter, I would recommend Everyday > BCE even for low spend since it's effectively 4% cashback for groceries.

[takeshi74]

What others do doesn't matter.  You need to decide based on your needs/wants/etc.  If you're considering MR then make sure you review redemptions so you can get an idea of what value you can get per MR point.  This is not a universal matter.  I have very little use for MR points which is why I have been reluctant to sign up for any of them.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Since I've never used MR points before, I'm not sure how to advice (both mine are cashback).

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Look at the MR site and it has examples of redemption costs.  It also indicates the ratio at which they transfer to partners.  You'll have to look at the travel partner sites to se how many points you'd need to redeem and compare to the cash value of what you might redeem for.  Booking through rewards portals generally results in lower value per point/mile though it really depends on the specific flight.  The higher value for travel comes from transferring.

Generally speaking though, with low volume of spend like that miles/points cards probably aren't worth it and cash back is probably a better fit.

[Anonymous]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

What others do doesn't matter.  You need to decide based on your needs/wants/etc.  If you're considering MR then make sure you review redemptions so you can get an idea of what value you can get per MR point.  This is not a universal matter.  I have very little use for MR points which is why I have been reluctant to sign up for any of them.

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As mentioned before, I'm not asking this for myself. Also, I've explained why I would recommend one over the other, and just wanted to know the logistics of using the MR points for airline travel redemption when you don't have enough to pay for an entire ticket:

Can you pay for tickets using some MR points (say 400x12 = 6000 at the end of one year) and the rest cash, and still get 1.8-2.0 cpp, or can you only redeem the MR points for tickets only when you have enough to pay for the entire ticket?

I guess in the case of the former, I would recommend BCE > Everyday given the spend, and in the case of the latter, I would recommend Everyday > BCE even for low spend since it's effectively 4% cashback for groceries.

[takeshi74]

Still doesn't matter.  The specific individual's needs/wants/preferences matter as always.

[Anonymous]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

Still doesn't matter.  The specific individual's needs/wants/preferences matter as always.

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Thanks, but the needs are clearly explained. These cards would ONLY be used for groceries (so no 20% bonus, etc). And travel redemptions are fine, as long as they can be redeemed at >1.5 cpp even when there isn't enough points to pay for an entire ticket.

[takeshi74]

No, they're not.  The person needs to look at the rewards program's redemptions and ensure that the person can leverage the options that result in higher miles/points values.  You can't just assume point/mile value.  In any case, as I stated, for that volume of spend I'd say it's not worth it.

[kdm31091]

In general, the less you spend, the harder it is to justify miles based cards. So in this situation I'd say go for the cash back card.

[Anonymous]

Considering the type of spend and low level of spend, I'd probably recommend BCE,

However, because you have to redeem in increments of $25, with such a low spend I'd wonder if AMEX is really the better fit for this person at all.  Of course, that's not the discussion here, but since AMEX doesn't allow redemptions for any random dollar amount once you hit minimum (it must be in increments of $25) it seems like it would take a long time to really reap the benefits.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the answers. But still, if someone can clarify this simple question, it would be quite helpful:

Can you pay for tickets using some MR points (say 400x12 = 6000 at the end of one year) and the rest cash, or can you only redeem the MR points for tickets when you have enough to pay for the entire ticket?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks everyone for the answers. But still, if someone can clarify this simple question, it would be quite helpful:

Can you pay for tickets using some MR points (say 400x12 = 6000 at the end of one year) and the rest cash, or can you only redeem the MR points for tickets when you have enough to pay for the entire ticket?

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Yes, you can pay with points to pay for part of the trip.

To use Pay with Points, you must charge purchase through American Express Travel to Membership Rewards program-enrolled Card. Points will be debited from Membership Rewards account, and credit for corresponding dollar amount will be issued to Card account used. If points redeemed do not cover entire amount, the balance of purchase price will remain on Card account. Minimum redemption 5,000 points.