Card benefits change often, and this page may be out of date by the time you read it. Always check the bank’s page and your card’s guide to benefits for the current terms before you rely on a benefit.
The Blue Cash Preferred is American Express’s best cash back card for families: 6% back at U.S. supermarkets (on the first $6,000 a year) and on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% on gas and transit, a $10 monthly Disney streaming credit, and a $95 annual fee that’s $0 the first year.
It’s a simple card with real caps and a foreign transaction fee, so it’s worth doing the math before you pick it over the no-fee Blue Cash Everyday. Below is how it earns, the one credit, the protections in Amex’s own numbers, and my verdict.
Blue Cash Preferred at a glance
- Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)
- Current public offer: $250 back after $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months (as of October 14, 2026, per Doctor of Credit)
- Is it the best ever?: Probably not. Doctor of Credit says some people see $300 through a referral link, and Frequent Miler lists the card at up to $300 back. I don’t have a reliable record of older public offers for it yet.
- Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% of each purchase made abroad
- Best for: Households that spend at least a few thousand dollars a year at U.S. supermarkets and want simple cash back, especially if they already pay for Disney+, Hulu or ESPN streaming.
- Skip it if: You do most of your grocery shopping at Walmart, Target or Costco, you’ll use the card abroad (2.7% fee), or your supermarket spending is small enough that the no-fee Blue Cash Everyday’s 3% comes out ahead.
- Bank’s page: Blue Cash Preferred on americanexpress.com
Jump to: Highlights · Earning · Credits · Other perks · Insurance · Application rules · My take · The catch · Keep it? · Offer history · Quick Answers
The highlights
- Top tier: 6% back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 a year, then 1%
- 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
- 3% back on transit (taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses) and at U.S. gas stations
- 1% back on everything else; cash back comes as Reward Dollars for a statement credit or Amazon.com checkout
- $120 Disney streaming credit: $10 a month on Disney+, Hulu or ESPN streaming subscriptions bought on their U.S. websites (enrolled card)
- $0 annual fee the first year, then $95
- Secondary rental coverage, purchase protection, return protection and extended warranty; 2.7% foreign transaction fee
How it earns
| Category | Rate | Caps and fine print |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. supermarkets | 6% | Up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1%. Superstores and warehouse clubs (Walmart, Target, Costco) don’t count as supermarkets. |
| Select U.S. streaming subscriptions | 6% | No cap stated. |
| Transit (taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more) | 3% | No cap stated. |
| U.S. gas stations | 3% | No cap stated. |
| Everything else | 1% | — |
Top tier: 6% is the highest grocery rate of any card I review; the Gold’s 4x points and the Blue Cash Everyday’s 3% come next, and the hotel cards that pay 5x or 6x earn hotel points worth well under a cent each. Cash back comes as Reward Dollars, which you redeem as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout at the same value.
Credits and how to use them
| Credit | Amount | How often | Where / how | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disney streaming credit | $10 a month ($120 a year) | Monthly | Pay for a Disney+, Hulu or ESPN streaming subscription (bundles count) on the U.S. DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or Stream.ESPN.com websites with the enrolled card; no minimum purchase | It has to be billed directly on those websites, so a bundle paid through your phone or internet provider won’t trigger it, and the subscription auto-renews. |
Other perks
- Reward Dollars can be used at Amazon.com checkout at the same value as a statement credit.
- What are Amex Offers? They’re merchant discounts you add to your card in the Amex app or website (for example, a statement credit after spending a set amount at a store); they change often and are targeted.
- Amex presale and reserved tickets for select concerts and sports events.
- Global Assist Hotline for emergencies more than 100 miles from home (it coordinates help, but you pay for the services it arranges).
- Send & Split for paying friends through Venmo or PayPal from the Amex app (enrollment required).
- Balance transfers can be requested in the first 60 days after the account opens (fees apply).
Insurance and protections
| Benefit | What the bank says |
|---|---|
| Car rental loss and damage | Secondary coverage for damage or theft when you decline the rental company’s CDW; not available in Australia, Italy or New Zealand, and no liability coverage |
| Purchase protection | Theft or accidental damage within 90 days, up to $1,000 per purchase and $50,000 per calendar year |
| Return protection | Within 90 days if the store won’t take it back, up to $300 per item and $1,000 per calendar year (U.S. purchases) |
| Extended warranty | Up to one extra year on warranties of 5 years or less, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year |
| Trip delay, trip cancellation, baggage and cell phone protection | None |
For how this compares with other cards, see my card travel benefits comparison.
Application rules for this card
- The bonus is generally once per lifetime on this card: Amex’s terms say you may not be eligible if you have or have had the Blue Cash Preferred or its Morgan Stanley version (the Amex lifetime rule). Amex shows a pop-up before any hard pull if you’re not eligible, so you can withdraw without a credit inquiry.
- Family rule: the Blue Cash Everyday’s terms block its bonus if you have or have had a Blue Cash Preferred, so if you want both bonuses, get the Everyday first.
- This is a credit card, so it counts toward Amex’s limit of 5 credit cards, and Amex generally approves at most 1 credit card every 5 days and 2 every 90 days (Amex rules).
The full rules for every bank are in my credit card application rules guide.
My take
A $95 fee after the first year, but the $10 monthly Disney credit is easy if you already pay for Disney+, Hulu or ESPN, and in my eyes that takes the real fee to about zero. Even without it, the extra 3% over the Blue Cash Everyday pays for the fee once you spend about $3,200 a year at U.S. supermarkets.
In my opinion this is the best pure grocery card if you’d rather have cash than points, and 6% on streaming and 3% on gas and transit make it a good everyday card for a family. The $6,000 grocery cap is the limit: beyond about $500 a month at supermarkets, you’re earning 1%.
It’s not a travel card: there’s a 2.7% foreign transaction fee and no trip insurance, so leave it home when you go abroad.
The catch
The 6% stops after $6,000 a year at U.S. supermarkets, and Walmart, Target, Costco and other warehouse clubs don’t count. Cash back comes only as statement credits or at Amazon checkout, not as a bank deposit, and the 2.7% foreign transaction fee rules it out abroad.
The Disney credit is only worth something if you’d pay for one of those subscriptions anyway; Amex, like other banks with credits like this, hopes some people forget to use it.
Keep it after year one?
The fee to me is $95 minus the $120 Disney credit if you already subscribe, which is less than nothing, so I’d keep it. If you don’t use Disney+, Hulu or ESPN, keep it as long as you spend more than about $3,200 a year at U.S. supermarkets; below that, ask Amex to move you to the no-fee Blue Cash Everyday (a product change within the Blue Cash family), keeping in mind that a product change uses up the Everyday’s future bonus.
Offer history
Doctor of Credit and Frequent Miler both show up to $300 back for some applicants as of October 2026; I don’t have a reliable record of older offers yet.
Quick Answers
$0 the first year, then $95 a year, as of October 2026.
As of October 14, 2026 the public offer is $250 back after $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months. Doctor of Credit says some people see $300 through a referral link.
No. Superstores and warehouse clubs don’t count as U.S. supermarkets, so those purchases earn 1%.
Usually yes if you spend more than about $3,200 a year at U.S. supermarkets, because the Preferred earns 3% more there. If you already pay for Disney+, Hulu or ESPN, the $120 Disney credit covers the fee on its own.
Yes, 2.7% of each purchase made abroad, so it’s not a card to use when you travel outside the U.S.
Last checked: October 14, 2026. Card terms change often, so confirm on the bank’s page before you apply. There are no affiliate or referral links on this site, ever; links go to the bank’s own page.