Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card Review: Earn Up to 50% Bonus Points

Usually, a credit card will have either a great rewards program or a long 0% intro APR intro. If you don’t want to choose between the two, then the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card is one to look at.

Although this card has several interesting perks, I’m not completely sold on it.

Up to three points per $1 -- With the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card, you earn:

• Three points per $1 at U.S. supermarkets, with a cap of $6,000 per calendar year.
  
• Two points per $1 at U.S. gas stations.
  
• One point per $1 on all other spending.

The card gives you the chance to earn some extra points in popular spending categories, even if its rewards rate isn’t quite as good as some of the premier rewards cards.

50% more points -- American Express didn’t pick this card’s name out of a hat. You actually benefit if you use your card every day. When you make 30 or more purchases in a billing period, all those purchases will earn 50% more points.

That means 4.5 points per $1 at U.S. supermarkets until you reach that $6,000 annual spending cap, three points per $1 at U.S. gas stations, and 1.5 points per $1 on everything else, taking the card’s rewards rate from good to outstanding.

0% intro APR -- For the first 12 months, all purchases and balance transfers have a 0% APR.

Travel and purchase protections -- American Express always does a good job with these, and the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card is no exception. It gets you roadside assistance, insurance on rental cars, return protection, theft and accidental damage protection, and extended warranty coverage.

$95 annual fee -- $95 is a normal annual fee amount for a good rewards card. Many other popular cards at least have their fees waived in year one, though, and that would be a welcome addition to this card.

15,000-point welcome bonus -- The spending minimum for this bonus is $1,000 in the first three months. Normally I put sign-up bonuses in the “What I like” section, but 15,000 points on a card that costs $95 per year is far below average. If you go through the cards with the best bonuses, you’ll find several with the same annual fee that offer much bigger bonuses.

Balance transfer fee -- Balance transfers cost 3% of the transaction amount. While most cards charge this, the alternative to the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card, the no-annual-fee Amex Everyday® Credit Card, offers free balance transfers.

2.7% foreign transaction fee -- A foreign transaction fee is disappointing considering the cost of this card.

It can be challenging to choose a rewards card due to all the different types of points and card features out there. But when in doubt, you should look for the card that will earn you the most points and give you the best redemption options.

The Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card can certainly help you rack up points with its bonus categories, especially if you use it frequently and get the 50% points bonus. It earns Membership Rewards® points, which are among the most versatile types of points and can be used for award bookings with many airlines and hotels.

The only area where the card falters is its welcome bonus. Those bonuses are a big part of earning points, as well, and the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card fails to impress in that regard.

Membership Rewards® points are a useful rewards currency that offer several redemption options.

These points are for travel bookings first and foremost, and you can transfer them to the loyalty programs of 16 different airline partners and three different hotel partners. Once you’ve transferred your points, you can use them to book award airfare or hotel stays. While you’ll typically get about $0.01 to $0.02 per point of value this way, it’s possible to get much more by choosing your award bookings wisely.

Other redemption options include airfare bookings through American Express Travel at a fixed-rate of $0.01 per point, other American Express Travel bookings at $0.007 per point, cash back at $0.006 per point, and gift cards, where value varies. Transfers to travel partners tend to be the best value.

If you’re interested in the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card, you may also be wondering if you should just go with the free alternative instead of shelling out $95 per year. The Amex Everyday® Credit Card doesn’t have quite the same bonuses available, as you’d expect. Here are its key differences:

• 10,000-point welcome bonus for spending $1,000 in three months.
  
• Two points per $1 at U.S. supermarkets with the same spending cap of $6,000 per year.
  
• One point per $1 on all other spending.
  
• 20% points bonus for using the card at least 20 times in a billing period.
  
• 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers completed in first 60 days and purchases.
  
• No balance transfer fee.

The Amex Everyday® Credit Card is the one to choose if the 0% intro APR is most important to you, whether for purchases or balance transfers.

Even with the annual fee, the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card could earn you more back if you spend a lot on groceries and gas, and especially if you make at least 30 purchases per month.

The Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card is aimed at people with good to excellent credit, and your likelihood of an approval will go up if your credit score is 670 or higher. American Express could approve you with a lower score, as some applicants with scores in the 600 to 650 range have reported approvals, but it’s better to raise your score first.

You may want to apply for this card in these situations:

• You expect to make 30-plus purchases with your card every month.
  
• You’re looking for an American Express Membership Rewards® credit card that costs under $100 per year.
  
• You want a card that can earn you solid rewards and has a 0% intro APR.

The biggest problem with this card is that it’s the credit card version of the jack of all trades, master of none. It’s a decent rewards card and a decent 0%-intro-APR card, but there are much better cards in both those categories. You could find a rewards card that earns greater rewards, or a 0%-intro-APR card with a longer intro period.

The one major perk of the Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card is the 50% points bonus. But I hesitate to recommend a credit card that encourages you to buy something every day, because that can put you on the fast track towards overspending and debt.