BCE or BCP

[Wrigley2172]

Hi all, wanted to get some opinions on which of the blue cash cards to apply for next month/in June.
My gut is telling me the BCE since it would be "easier" to get especially for me with a very young and thin file but the website offers me the 250 back for 1k spend in 3 months so if you all thought I could get the preferred I would app for that and downgrade after a year since I know i can meet the spend and it turns the AF into a null factor. My DP's are as follows:
22 year old college student
3k CL on Discover card- will have $180 report for May so apox 6% UTI
Have had the card 2 years and 8months
12k income
AU on Dad's cap one card
No other debts
Fico scores are all between 760-765 from Experian this morning. The pre-quals I get are for platinum/gold and ED card

Thanks in advance

[simplynoir]

If the plan is to just get the SUB to offset the AF for the first year and have added earning power for grocery spend before downgrading when the AF hits next year then that will be fine. Just remember that the AF gets charged right away just in case that will be an issue. The UW for the BCE/BCP cards are pretty much the same and based on prequals being given you should be fine applying for it.

[Wrigley2172]

More or less that is the plan yes, I already had planned to add the BCE a few months ago as my new daily card but after seeing the SUB along with the extra earning power for the preferred I thought that would be a very nice card which I may end up keeping depending on how it works out. I wasent aware if the requirements were vastly different for the preferred. Hopefully thats not SUB chasing as I wanted to add the card anyway 🤞

[Anonymous]

I don't believe that the underwriting for the BCE verses BCP is any different, so getting the BCE shouldn't be any "easier" than the BCP.  I find the BCE to be an essentially irrelevant card.  I've had it since 2016, but after scooping up a 2% back card in 2017 (Citi DC) it's rendered the BCE basically just a 3% grocery card.  Since Discover and Chase (Freedom) give 5% back on groceries for at least half the year between them and I have both those cards, the BCE is completely useless for 6 months out of the year at a minimum. 

Now, if my grocery spend supported the BCP perhaps that card would be worth it... but I think the BCE is pretty worthless overall.

[mikesonthemend]

The Walmart I frequent classifies everything as groceries, even tires in the auto shop. I have read that this is not always the case. The BCP is on my list just for that reason, but I am a long way away for apping.

[Anonymous]

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@mikesonthemend wrote:

The Walmart I frequent classifies everything as groceries, even tires in the auto shop. I have read that this is not always the case. The BCP is on my list just for that reason, but I am a long way away for apping.

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I thought Amex overrode the MCC for Walmart stores and actually codes Walmart as discount stores, even ones that code grocery on VISA/MC?

[Wrigley2172]

I actually dont have the regular IT card i forgot to put that i have the gas/food card so I get 2% on gas/food and 1% on everything else so the BCE is basically what i already have with the added groccery earnings, but I plan on PC my Discover to the 5% and i think i will go with the preferred because I do more than half the shopping for my household since its only me and mom so the 6% would be very nice. One of my goal cards is the gold card but I cant afford the AF at the moment so i also wanted to get my foot in the door with Amex while also getting a card that I will use everyday.

[Anonymous]

The BCP, when you can get it to pop the $250 instead of $150 SUB, is definitely the better of the two. Even if you take two years to make up your mind on it, you still come out ahead after the two AFs and you get Amex offers and that foot in the door. 

[Wrigley2172]

I am indeed getting the $250 for 1k spend so I think BCP it is. I will have to wait and see when a dispute I have open about a late that never happened is settled and how my reports update. Luckily Disco is on my side and opened the dispute for me to correct their own error so now its just sit and wait for it to be settled then I can apply.
Thanks all the for replies!!

[HeavenOhio]

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@mikesonthemend wrote:

The Walmart I frequent classifies everything as groceries, even tires in the auto shop. I have read that this is not always the case. The BCP is on my list just for that reason, but I am a long way away for apping.

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BCE/BCP cards offer a "supermarket" reward, not a grocery reward. This is an important distinction because a merchant might "code" as grocery but not qualify as a supermarket. On a Visa or Mastercard, you might find that you can earn a grocery reward at a small butcher, spice shop, or cheese store. That isn't going to happen with AMEX.

AMEX specifically states that Walmart and Target are "superstores," and therefore, they don't qualify for the supermarket reward. Sam's and Costco don't qualify because they're "wholesale clubs."

You'll also find some gas stations that don't qualify as "US Gas Stations." A recent gas purchase at Meijer's earned me 1% for "fuel purchases." Meijer's can vary by location. Another member reported earning the 3% supermarket reward when buying gas at Meijer's.