topic Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries? in Credit Cards

Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 22:28:06 GMT

I figured after the $95 annua fee I will still approximately save around $50

Is it worth it? I currently have a BOA Cash Rewards card but only save 2% on groceries.

Am also considering the Chase Freedom which looks good as well

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 23:05:00 GMT

Seems like almost exactly a complete wash to me, as in it wouldn't significantly matter either way if you got it based on your grocery spend.

You'd be getting what, 4% greater cash back with card over what you're currently using? 4% on $2400 yearly spend is $96 which just covers the AF.

Now, if you drive a lot and spend a lot on gas and could gain something from the 3% back on that category that could slightly tip it in favor of being worthwhile, but only you know if that's really the case.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 23:18:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Seems like almost exactly a complete wash to me, as in it wouldn't significantly matter either way if you got it based on your grocery spend.

You'd be getting what, 4% greater cash back with card over what you're currently using? 4% on $2400 yearly spend is $96 which just covers the AF.

Now, if you drive a lot and spend a lot on gas and could gain something from the 3% back on that category that could slightly tip it in favor of being worthwhile, but only you know if that's really the case.

Right. Also take into account that the Amex coding as to what is a supermarket can be more restrictive than V/MC (especially with things like Target or Walmart)

Two things to consider though:

1) Where you do your groceries, can you buy useful gift cards for other things (such as other stores that you use, restaurants, Amazon, gas cards). If so, you can buy these at 6% as well, increasing the value of BCP

2) Sign up bonus. If the bonus is big compared to another card you might get, this can also make the BCP valuable.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 23:22:10 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Seems like almost exactly a complete wash to me, as in it wouldn't significantly matter either way if you got it based on your grocery spend.

You'd be getting what, 4% greater cash back with card over what you're currently using? 4% on $2400 yearly spend is $96 which just covers the AF.

Now, if you drive a lot and spend a lot on gas and could gain something from the 3% back on that category that could slightly tip it in favor of being worthwhile, but only you know if that's really the case.

And you could also consider the free BCE as baseline, in which case the BCP gets you 3% extra on $2400, which is $72 compared to a $95 AF

(Although on your spend I wouldn't recommend getting the BCE to get that extra 1% over your existing card)

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 00:00:57 GMT

Ok thanks guys; looks like it's not worth it to me.

I do already get 3% gas cash back at BOA which I believe is the same Amex Blue preferred. The amount of gas I spend on gas varies but on average maybe anywhere from $100 to $140 a month

I wanted to try an Amex card but none really offer the rewards that are suitable for me at the moment.; not into travelling so need for those either.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

kdm31091 — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 23:50:22 GMT

With your spend it's likely not worth it, as mentioned. The gains will be very small and Amex only lets you redeem in chunks of $25, meaning the realized gain may well be nothing since you cannot easily cash out all of your rewards.

I know some people like to have cards from each network but if none of Amex's cards suit you, don't try to force a square peg into a round hole. Network should be basically the last consideration as it does not matter as often as it seems.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 00:05:56 GMT

I pretty much only grocery shop at Trader Joes and Target (I have a 5% Red card). Trader Joes doesnt have gift cards as far as I'm aware of.

I don't spend a ton on gas maybe anywhere from $100- $140...

I am going to look into Chase Freedom... and forget about the Amex for now as my spend on groceries and gas is kind of low.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 00:21:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I pretty much only grocery shop at Trader Joes and Target (I have a 5% Red card). Trader Joes doesnt have gift cards as far as I'm aware of.

I don't spend a ton on gas maybe anywhere from $100- $140...

I am going to look into Chase Freedom... and forget about the Amex for now as my spend on groceries and gas is kind of low.

Yes, as far as I know, Trader Joe only sells their gift cards in their stores. Looking on giftcardgranny, you can get them at 2% discount, so about 4% with a 2% card.

https://www.giftcardgranny.com/buy-gift-cards/trader-joes/

Target cards are 6+% off, so over 8% with a 2% card

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 02:56:10 GMT

Buy your fuel cards at a supermarket that is a 6 percenter. I spend almost hundred bucks a week on gas so that would work for me.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 04:43:52 GMT

I spend almost $500 a month on gas. Is the BCE a good card to have? What's the cash back rewards?

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Absolution16 — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 05:08:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I spend almost $500 a month on gas. Is the BCE a good card to have? What's the cash back rewards?

I have this card. It is 2% cashback on gas, so it is nothing special when there is a card like the Citi Double Cash, which is just a flat 2% for everything. It does have a decent sign up bonus, but I think the card's strength is the 3% on groceries for the first $6,000 spent annually.

PenFed, BankAmericard Cash Rewards, and Costco Anywhere cards have better earnings for gas, I believe. There may be others too.

If your local grocery stores sell gift cards from different gas stations, you can take advantage of the higher earnings rate by buying gift cards there and then using that to spend at the pump. Also religiously buying convenience items at gas stations instead of going to local liquor store or 7-11 helps quite a bit.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 05:17:48 GMT

your answer is here: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725 and in my signature

:-)

@Anonymous wrote:
I spend almost $500 a month on gas. Is the BCE a good card to have? What's the cash back rewards?

325 on ft knox vs 2% on BCE $120

To the OP: looks like BCP would be $49 after AF vs $48 on the BCE. Have to consider Amex offers as well though. And also that you could be getting $3600/yr in gift cards from your grocery store which would amp up your net cash back to 265....but its usually cheaper to get gift cards elsewhere on sale.

Maybe you would benefit form the 3% at dept stores? I doubt it would be worth it.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

kdm31091 — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 12:42:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
your answer is here: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725 and in my signature

:-)

@Anonymous wrote:
I spend almost $500 a month on gas. Is the BCE a good card to have? What's the cash back rewards?
325 on ft knox vs 2% on BCE $120

To the OP: looks like BCP would be $49 after AF vs $48 on the BCE. Have to consider Amex offers as well though. And also that you could be getting $3600/yr in gift cards from your grocery store which would amp up your net cash back to 265....but its usually cheaper to get gift cards elsewhere on sale.

Maybe you would benefit form the 3% at dept stores? I doubt it would be worth it.

The problem is Amex Offers have no fixed value... you may have a month where you have two or three that are useful but you may also have six months with zero useful offers so it's kind of hard to include them in your calculation because there's no guarantee they'll be useful to you without going out of your way (which defeats the purpose).

Everyone's different but 3% on department stores is probably not going to be substantial enough to justify the BCP unless you're really spending a ton.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 13:31:23 GMT

@Absolution16 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I spend almost $500 a month on gas. Is the BCE a good card to have? What's the cash back rewards?
I have this card. It is 2% cashback on gas, so it is nothing special when there is a card like the Citi Double Cash, which is just a flat 2% for everything. It does have a decent sign up bonus, but I think the card's strength is the 3% on groceries for the first $6,000 spent annually.

PenFed, BankAmericard Cash Rewards, and Costco Anywhere cards have better earnings for gas, I believe. There may be others too.

If your local grocery stores sell gift cards from different gas stations, you can take advantage of the higher earnings rate by buying gift cards there and then using that to spend at the pump. Also religiously buying convenience items at gas stations instead of going to local liquor store or 7-11 helps quite a bit.

I have the Citi DC so maybe I'm ok. I use it for my gas. I shop a lot at Albertsons because it's directly around from my house. I'm in the garden right now but I plan on getting in with Amex in about a year so I've been following the threads on their cards.

Re: Is an Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth it if I spend around $200 a month on groceries?

Absolution16 — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 04:38:24 GMT

If you think you spend $6,000 at the traditional grocery stores (which includes buying gift cards and gas cards), then I'd go for the Blue Cash Preferred instead. The AF is steep at $95 I believe, but you make it back and some if you top off the 6% bonus from grocery stores. Also, that card rewards 3% at the gas stations, which also includes buying convenience items there without limits, as well as 3% on select department stores. Then there is AMEX offers which come in handy from time to time.

No grocery stores or gas stations around in SoCal that don't accept AMEX cards, so I think this card is a good one. Definitely less micromanagement required than my Everyday Preferred, with its 30-transaction 50% bonus. I like accruing MR points, so I went that route.

AMEX was awesome with the CLI too. After putting about 1.5k monthly for nearly 6 months, they granted my 3x CLI request and upped my CL from $6,000 to $18,000.

Good luck!