How My Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card Makes Me Feel Like the Savviest Foodie

If you're looking to use credit cards to their best advantage, it's smart to match them to your spending as much as possible. Browse around here at The Ascent and you'll find our expert ratings and reviews for credit cards of all kinds. But if the prospect of firing up your stove and cooking something delicious makes your heart beat faster, I've got just the card for you.

Ooh, that grocery cash back rate

Groceries are the third-largest spending category in my budget -- after rent and my monthly health insurance premium. I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, and I love trying new recipes and reworking old favorites, especially when I'm cooking for the people I love. My hobby, combined with the higher grocery costs we've all been struggling with (thanks, inflation), means that getting this Amex card in particular has been a slam dunk for me. I feel like a savvy foodie every time I tap to pay for my supermarket tab.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns a whopping 6% cash back on purchases at U.S. supermarkets (terms apply). And while I spend most of those dollars at one of the big regional chain grocery stores in my area, I also like to visit others whenever I can.

The American Express website has a neat tool that shows me smaller retailers near me that also fall into the category of "U.S. supermarkets," so I know that if I make a trip to my favorite butcher shop or the natural foods store, I get that same 6% cash back rate. As of this writing, I've earned more than $65 back on grocery spending for 2024 -- and we're less than two months into the year.

Is there a catch?

You should know that you will pay an annual fee after the first year to access this kind of cash back on your grocery spending. The card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. (See rates and fees.)

But even if you spend so much on groceries that you bump up against the limit (you can only earn that 6% on your first $6,000 worth of grocery purchases in a year -- then you'll earn 1%), you'll more than out-earn the annual fee. Getting 6% cash back on $6,000 worth of groceries will net you $360.

This card has other great perks, too

Let's say you're less of a cook than I am and prefer to spend more of your food dollars on dining out (there are excellent credit card options for restaurants, too!). Is there any reason for you to consider the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express?

If you spend a lot of money on gas purchases or other transit costs, yes, this Amex card could also be a fit for you. The card earns 3% cash back on gas as well as taxis, parking, train fare, and other transportation expenses (terms apply). That's a generous rate indeed, and it could certainly make a long and expensive commute a bit more palatable.

You can also earn 6% cash back on select streaming service subscription costs, and a minimum of 1% cash back on any purchase you make with the card (terms apply). All in all, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is worth considering if you're in the market for a new cash back card. Just one word of caution for you: A card like this is best used by paying off your balance in full every month. Otherwise, the interest your balance earns will more than eat up any cash back you're earning.

Want to feel like a particularly savvy foodie? The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express might be a great fit for you, too.