Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express review: No annual fee credit card with strong grocery rewards

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

If you find yourself frequently filling your grocery cart while walking the aisles of your local supermarket, it can be a good idea to consider paying with a credit card that offers extra cash back on groceries.

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express ranks as the top no annual fee card* for groceries on our lists for the best grocery rewards credit cards and the best no annual fee cash-back credit cards.

While cards that have an annual fee usually come with a wider range of benefits, consumers using the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express can still enjoy noteworthy perks, such as car rental loss and damage insurance and free two-day shipping with ShopRunner (see rates and fees*).

When Select crunched the numbers and analyzed over 200 credit cards, we found that consumers can earn competitive rewards with the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express over a five-year period. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best cards.)

Below, we break down the rewards, benefits and fees associated with the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express to help you decide if it's the right card for you.

• Rewards
• Additional benefits
• Fees
• Bottom line

This card offers a competitive 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%). You also earn 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, (on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%) and 1% cash back on other purchases. There's also a newly added benefit for cardholders: 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases, on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%.

Here's an example of eligible spending in each category:

• U.S. supermarkets: Whole Foods, Stop and Shop and FreshDirect (excludes superstores, warehouse clubs and specialty stores)
• U.S. gas stations: Exxon, Shell and Murphy USA (excludes gas stations that are part of supermarkets or warehouse clubs)
• Department stores: Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Kohl's

New cardholders can earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on their new card within the first 6 months.

Select calculated how many rewards the average American can earn if they optimize the way they use their Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, who provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.

The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953).

Here's a breakdown of how much cash back you can earn in each category, annually:

• Groceries: $155
• Gas: $44
• Dining out: $37
• Travel: $22
• Utilities: $49
• General purchases: $40
• Total: $347

Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for statement credits.

Based on the annual spending budget from Esri, the average American can earn an estimated $547 in the first year of card membership (if you earn the welcome bonus) and an estimated $1,935 over five years, when earning the welcome bonus. This assumes that cardholders are redeeming cash back for a typical value of 1 cent each. Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value, and you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your spending habits.

The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express offers a variety of benefits that Amex cards are known for and that can save you money on merchandise, shipping and travel. Here are some ways you can save:

• Amex Offers: Receive discounts at participating merchants, such as restaurants, clothing stores and hotels, when you meet spending requirements and other terms. Offers vary by location and change frequently.
• ShopRunner: Get free two-day shipping on eligible items at over 100 online stores.
• Entertainment access: Trying to score tickets to your favorite band or a Broadway show? Amex provides exclusive pre-sale access and preferred seating for concerts, plays, sporting events and more.
• Travel insurance and protections: When cardholders pay for travel expenses with their card, they can benefit from car rental loss and damage insurance and a global assist hotline.
• Purchase protection: Merchandise purchased with your card may receive return protection, which helps if you try to return an eligible item within 90 days from the date of purchase and the merchant won't take it back.
• Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 plan fees on plans created during the first 15 months after account opening. Plans created after that will have a plan fee up to 1.33% of each purchase amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors.

Terms apply for all benefits.

The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express has no annual fee (see rates and fees). That's compared to the similar Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, which has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. (see rates and fees).

If you don't want to pay for a credit card, no annual fee credit cards are a great alternative that can often provide many of the same perks as cards with annual fees. For example, the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express offers many of the same additional benefits as the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express, such as ShopRunner and travel insurance.

This card has an introductory 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers from the date of account opening, then 19.24% - 29.99% variable; there's a balance transfer fee that's either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer (whichever is greater). Balance transfers must be requested within 60 days of account opening. We recommend always paying on time and in full to avoid interest charges (see rates and fees).

If you often spend on groceries, but aren't willing to fork over money for an annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a great no-annual-fee alternative. You can earn an estimated $155 every year at U.S. supermarkets, which may cover the cost of groceries for a week or two.

If you want to earn double the cash back on groceries, consider the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, Select analyzed 234 of the most popular credit cards available in the U.S. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.