American Express EveryDay vs. Blue Cash Everyday: which is better?

If you’re an avid cook or live in a big house with a lot of mouths to feed, then the grocery bill is probably one of your biggest monthly expenses. If you love to earn rewards, you may be missing out on a great opportunity to maximize your spending. If you’re willing to use one card to pay for all or most of your grocery expenses, then you can earn substantial rewards just by filling your fridge.

American Express offers some of the best product-focused bonuses. Which one to choose? For cardholders who want a comprehensive grocery card but don’t want to pay an annual fee, the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express* and American Express Blue Cash Everyday® Card offer a solid value.

The Blue Cash Everyday Card is by far the best choice for most cardholders. And here’s why: if you want to earn as much as possible without paying an annual fee, and don’t mind receiving cash instead of membership rewards, the Blue Cash Everyday Card will be much more useful.

3% cashback at US supermarkets (up to $6,000), unlimited 2% cashback at US gas stations, and 1% cashback on everything else can add up quickly if you use Blue Cash Everyday every time you need to restock your kitchen. or fill up with gas.

Amex EveryDay vs. Blue Cash Everyday

	Amex EveryDay® Credit Card by American Express	American Express Blue Cash Everyday® Card
Interest rate	Doubling points in US supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year, then increase by 1x) 1X points for regular purchases 20% bonus when making at least 20 purchases in the billing cycle Terms apply	3% cashback at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year for purchases, then 1%) 2% cashback at US gas stations 1% cashback on regular purchases Terms apply
welcome bonus	10,000 points if you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months Terms apply	$200 if you spend $2,000 within the first 6 months. Terms apply
Annual fee	$0 (see rates and fees)	$0 (see rates and fees)
Estimated annual reward value (for someone who spends $15,900)	$235	$261
pros	Solid monthly reward bonus for big spenders You can transfer points to other travel loyalty programs.	Unlimited 2% cashback on the category of gas stations in the USA Nice welcome bonus Simple redemption
Minuses	No bonus points for other categories of everyday expenses U.S. supermarket category spending capped at $6,000	U.S. supermarket category spending capped at $6,000

Interest rate

If you’re comparing cards solely on how much you’ll earn from your regular grocery store stops, the Blue Cash Everyday Card is a winner.

Although Membership Rewards points are generally more valuable than cashback – we estimate that one point is worth an average of 1.19 cents – 3% cashback in US supermarkets (up to $ 6,000 per year, then 1%) on the Blue Cash Everyday card card. beats the higher Amex EveryDay rating.

Let’s say you make the most of the US supermarket category by spending around $500 per month on groceries. With Blue Cash Everyday, you can easily earn $180. If you spend the same amount on products with the Amex EveryDay Card, you will only earn $143 worth of points.

You may wonder about the 20% bonus per billing cycle on Amex EveryDay. Even this is not enough to save the map in this battle. If you manage to swipe at least 20 times in a billing cycle, you will earn $171 in points. To bridge that $9 difference between Blue Cash Everyday and Amex EveryDay, you’ll have to spend roughly $757 more on Amex EveryDay (at the rate of 1X after you hit your food spending cap).

Average reward when you spend $6,000 on groceries

Blue cash card for every day	American Express card for every day
$6,000 (groceries) x 0.03 (3% cash back) = $180.	$6,000 (groceries) x 2 (reward multiplier) x 0.0119 (point value) = $143. ($6,000 (Product Spending) x 2 (Reward Multiplier) + ($6,000 x 2 x 0.20 (20% Points Bonus))) x 0.0119 (Points Value) = $171.

Welcome Bonus

Amex EveryDay gives you 10,000 points after you spend $1,000 within the first three months. With each Membership Point worth approximately 1.19 cents, your welcome bonus is $119. In contrast, the Blue Cash Everyday Card’s introductory offer is $200 if you spend $2,000 over six months.

Yes, the Blue Cash Everyday spending goal is bigger, but you have six months to reach it. If split evenly, you would only need to spend about $333 per month to receive the welcome bonus, which is the same spending rate you would need to receive the initial Amex EveryDay Card offer. Basically, with Blue Cash Everyday, you can make more money with the same effort.

Repayment Options

You can use your Amex EveryDay Membership Rewards points in a variety of ways, including travel, dining and entertainment, or you can transfer your points to more than 20 issuer travel partners.

However, keep in mind that the value of points varies depending on how you use them. Amex EveryDay also specifically limits the types of purchases you can apply your credit statement to, so you may find this restrictive.

As for Blue Cash Everyday, redeeming your rewards is much easier, but you must have at least $25 in cash to do so. Options include a credit statement, a gift card, or the purchase of merchandise at a rate of $1 per reward dollar.

Amex EveryDay Card: Best for earning points or miles

Existing members of an airline or hotel loyalty program such as Aer Lingus or Hilton Honors can use the Amex EveryDay Card. While there are other travel cards with higher reward rates, this one is well worth it to top up your pile of miles (or hotel points) to take your next flight or stay free.

For cardholders who plan to use Amex EveryDay as their primary card, this is not worth it. As for the 20% bonus, a minimum of 20 purchases per billing cycle may not be feasible if you only use it for products. You can split one trip to the store into several transactions, but it’s not worth the extra effort. The lack of other bonus categories also makes it difficult to complete 20 separate transactions in a billing cycle, unless you mind the 1X bet.

In addition to transferring rewards to an Amex travel partner, this can be useful if you have another American Express card to cover your other purchases and only use Amex EveryDay for groceries. The good news is that Membership Rewards points are pooled into a shared account, not credit card accounts (like Chase Ultimate Rewards), so you don’t have to transfer points between cards.

Blue Cash Everyday Card: Best for Small Families and Simplicity

The Blue Cash Everyday Card also outperforms Amex EveryDay for other everyday expenses, offering 2% cash back on purchases at US gas stations. Groceries and gas are two of the top household expenses, and even better, the card allows cardholders to earn unlimited money back on gas.

The $6,000 spending cap on the U.S. supermarket category is a bummer, so you can only spend around $500 per month before you get the maximum 3% return. This is realistic for small families with one, maybe two school-age children or couples. However, if you know you can easily spend over $6,000 a year in supermarkets, you should buy a card that has no spending limits in its product category, such as the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards* credit card.

Another benefit of the Blue Cash Everyday Card is the easy redemption options. For some, having only three options may seem limiting. For busy parents who balance work, school fees, and trumpet lessons, or those focused on climbing the corporate ladder, limited opportunities can be a relief. Simplicity allows you to focus on the important things in life.

bottom line

In terms of value, the Blue Cash Everyday Card is superior to the Amex EveryDay Card. It even offers the best welcome bonus that gives you an extra $80 to spend as you please. Unless you’re an avid collector of membership rewards, you’ll almost certainly get more out of the Blue Cash Everyday Card.

*All information regarding the American Express Amex EveryDay Credit Card and the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been independently collected by CreditCards.com and has not been verified or endorsed by the issuer.