Blue Cash® Card from American Express Review

Overview

Let me be straight with you: the original Blue Cash from American Express is garbage, and I only put it on this site for historical reasons. It is a relic, probably a decade-plus old, and it is closed to new applicants, so nobody can even get it anymore. This review exists so you can see where the Blue Cash line came from, not because you should want this card.

The one thing it has going for it is no annual fee. But it has no welcome bonus, and its rewards structure is stuck in the past. If you somehow still hold one, this is not a card worth keeping over its modern replacements.

Our 1.5 out of 5 rating

Each score weighs the rewards rate, value after the annual fee, welcome offer, points flexibility, and perks, with every point valued at a flat 1 cent. This is our editorial assessment to help you compare cards, not a guarantee of approval or of the value you will get.

Rewards: how it earns

Here is the problem: the rewards are gated behind a spending wall. You earn almost nothing, around half a percent, until your total spending for the year hits $6,500. Only after that does the 5% on groceries, gas, and drugstores kick in. Realistically most people never clear that gate in a way that makes the 5% worth much, and by the time you do, the year is half over. Compare that to a modern card that just gives you a flat, high rate from the first dollar, and this structure looks ancient.

The fine print on rates: Tiered: 1% at U.S. supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores (0.5% elsewhere) on the first $6,500 of annual spend, then 5% at U.S. supermarkets, gas and drugstores (up to $50,000) and 1% on everything else.

Every point and mile above is valued at a flat 1 cent, the same honest standard we use for every card. Run your own spending through the calculator to see what this card would actually return for you.

Pros and cons

The welcome bonus

There is nothing here. The card is closed to new applicants, so there is no welcome bonus to earn, and there has not been for a long time. This is a legacy product, not something you sign up for.

Is it worth the annual fee?

To its credit, there is no annual fee, so holding it costs you nothing out of pocket. But free is not the same as worth keeping. The rewards are so far behind modern cards that even a no-fee card like the Blue Cash Everyday beats it. I ran the logic, and even if you spent $10,000 a year on groceries, the Everyday would still come out ahead, because its flat 3% does not make you clear a $6,500 gate first. So there is no fee to justify, but there is also no reason to hold it.

First-year value vs ongoing value

There is no lump-sum welcome bonus, so first-year and ongoing value are about the same, roughly $537 a year on typical spending after the fee. What you see is what you get from day one.

*First-year value counts the welcome bonus, estimated rewards, and annual credits, minus the annual fee; ongoing value is a typical year after. Every point at a flat 1 cent, on average spending.

Benefits and protections

Beyond the rewards, the perks and protections worth knowing about include:

• The original Blue Cash, replaced for new applicants by Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred in 2014
• Earns cash back as Reward Dollars, not Membership Rewards

Statement credits

This card does not come with recurring statement credits. Its value is in the rewards rate and welcome offer.

Who should get it, and who should skip it

Nobody should be seeking this card out, because you cannot, it is closed to new applicants and has been for years. It is on this site purely as a piece of credit card history, so you can see where the Blue Cash family started.

If you are one of the few still holding the original Blue Cash, my advice is simple: cancel it, or product-change to the newer version. Even the no-fee Blue Cash Everyday earns more for the vast majority of people, so there is no real reason to keep the old one around. That said, I do think it is kind of cool that you can still hold a card this old, which is exactly why I included it here.

Frequently asked questions

Best-card guides featuring this card