Amex cash back - beware of offers!

[Anonymous]

that's the struggle i have with rewards cards.  i can get 2x-5x the reward at certain merchants, but those merchants cost more than others for the same or nearly the same item.  meaning i'll get 5x the reward at a hilton room, but it'll cost me more than 115% the cost of a comparable room elsewhere.  holds true for crate & barrel, macy's, and morton's.  and that includes frequent buyer card discounts that some of these merchants offer.

[Anonymous]

I'm considering signing up for the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred card.  I guess that is what's meant by BCP in earlier posts, still strying to figure out what is BCE.  I'm not trying to hijack this post, I share the same concern.  I get the OP was venting and trying to protect others from similar disappointing experience.

I came here looking for more of an economic analysis.  The BCP offer i can get that intrigues me is 6% cash back on groceries, that's it.  the t&c's stipulate $25 increments as earned.  i didn't see the 6% is delayed 6-8 weeks; please correct me if i'm wrong.  it does mention, that the increments cannot be applied to the mininum payment due.  that confuses me.  if i receive a $25 statement credit, but my statement balance is $25, and the minimum payment is $15, does that mean i still have to pay $10? i hope you can see where i'm going; this seems to lean more towards behavioral/consumer surplus spectrum of economics than return on investment economics.

Let's say i spend $5000 per year on groceries on this card.  i intend to pay the statement balance every month.  i get 6% cash back that's only available in $25 increments; not available to use towards the minimum payment.  what do i have to do/consider to have an extra $300 in my pocket at the end of the year?

[Anonymous]

BCE is Blue Cash Everyday. 

The cash back is delayed an additional statement. It gives 3% back at grocery stores, 2% back at gas stations, and 1% back everywhere else. 

If you redeem $25, it does not count towards your minimum payment. You must still pay the payment due on the statement from another bank. 

The best way to use the card is to pay your balance down to $0, and then apply the statement credit so you have a negative balance. From there, request a check (or sometimes they offer to ACH in my experience) so you can cash the check and use the rewards for whatever you want. Personally I dont' carry the blue cards anymore because of the $25 increments allowed to redeem, so if you have $48.99 in accumulated rewards, you can only redeem $25 of it. 

[MrDisco99]

Hi all.  OP here.

I finally was able to redeem $50 and clear out my cash rewards balance (with only $0.01 remaining) as statement credit.  The remainder of the balance I paid in full, which was greater than the minimum due so that is covered.

What is weird is my remaining statement balance still shows $50.  However, total balance shows $0.

I'm hoping it all zeroes out on my next statement.

Amex's cash rewards program is wacky.

[Jetboy]

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@AnonymousThe best way to use the card is to pay your balance down to $0, and then apply the statement credit so you have a negative balance. From there, request a check (or sometimes they offer to ACH in my experience) so you can cash the check and use the rewards for whatever you want.

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Thank you for this tip.