I find AMEX Everyday points cards to be rather lackluster. I wish they had a mr card with a similar structure to the BCP. Looking to pool points annually for a nice trip. That could be done with just the charge cards, but I would like a third player as a catch all. 1 point on most transactions is terrible. The grocery benefit on the Everyday Preferred is outdone by the Gold. No wonder people seem to gravitate to the Chase setup. Amex has some holes in its lineup.
@wasCB14 wrote:
@increasingmyfico wrote:I find AMEX Everyday points cards to be rather lackluster. I wish they had a mr card with a similar structure to the BCP. Looking to pool points annually for a nice trip. That could be done with just the charge cards, but I would like a third player as a catch all. 1 point on most transactions is terrible. The grocery benefit on the Everyday Preferred is outdone by the Gold. No wonder people seem to gravitate to the Chase setup. Amex has some holes in its lineup.
If you reach the 30 transactions with EDP, you get 1.5x on most spend and 4.5x at supermarkets.
That said, once I finish my re-upgrade spend on EDP I'm going to be SDing it until it's time to re-downgrade. BCP is already there from a Nov/Dec upgrade.
One underrated thing about ED/EDP and BCE/BCP is you can play upgrade/downgrade games and get bonuses over and over without creating any new accounts.
I actually overlooked that. 30 is a lot but that might be a good play. A consumer version of the BBP would also be good. Thanks for the tip.
@increasingmyfico wrote:I find AMEX points cards to be rather lackluster. I wish they had a mr card with a similar structure to the BCP. Looking to pool points annually for a nice trip. That could be done with just the charge cards, but I would like a third player as a catch all. 1 point on most transactions is terrible. The grocery benefit on the Everyday Preferred is outdone by the Gold. No wonder people seem to gravitate to the Chase setup. Amex has some holes in its lineup.
I have a few suggestions, @increasingmyfico. One thing I notice about your profile is that you have the BCP and the Gold card. An experienced AMEX forum member once advised me that with AMEX, it's best to stick with either cash back or MRs instead of dividing spend between both. The BCP is earning 6% on groceries but the Gold's 4x MRs can be worth 8% or more if you can redeem for 2 ccp with a higher $25K cap.
The Everyday Preferred is the MR-point equivalent to the Blue Cash Preferred. It earns 3x MRs on $6K groceries similar to the BCP's 6% cash on $6K groceries. The EDP's 3x MRs are worth 6% if you can redeem for 2 ccp. @wasCB14 made a great point also about the bonus on this card with frequent swipes.
A great uncategorized spend card for MR earning is the Blue Business Plus which earns 2x MRs on up to $50K annually. I believe I've read that AMEX isn't picky about personal charges on their business cards.
Your statement that 1 MR as a base is terrible was telling. It is ... if you are redeeming for cash, gift cards, or through the AMEX travel portal for 1 ccp or less. If you aren't getting 1.5 or higher cpp earning with AMEX, you might be better off with Chase URs, the US Bank Altitude Reserve, or cash back at 2% or higher.
@increasingmyfico wrote:I find AMEX Everyday points cards to be rather lackluster. I wish they had a mr card with a similar structure to the BCP. Looking to pool points annually for a nice trip. That could be done with just the charge cards, but I would like a third player as a catch all. 1 point on most transactions is terrible. The grocery benefit on the Everyday Preferred is outdone by the Gold. No wonder people seem to gravitate to the Chase setup. Amex has some holes in its lineup.
Well, AMEX Gold does have grocery year round, so if your grocery store codes correctly, that's better than Chase, where you only get grocery one quarter. If you get the EDP, then use that for all non-restaurant, non-grocery, non-airline charges. The AF on the EDP takes out much of the added value from the potential 1.5 points. Typically when overall spend categories are measured, it's often very close, among the points families, about how many points one can earn.
If you want to switch to Chase, that's going to take a few well-planned apps to shift over there, but it may make you happier longer term?
