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The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express for military waives the annual fee, has a modern look and offers 3% to 6% cash-back rewards categories.
This Amex cash back card waives the annual fee for military troops or their spouses. (Terms Apply)
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
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- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 but waived for military + spouses with Military Lending Act
- Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
- 6% cash back on US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year (then 1%), including most OCONUS Commissaries
- 6% cash back on select US streaming services, including Apple Music, Netflix, Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Prime Video (full list here)
- 3% cash back on transit like taxis, Uber, Lyft, parking, tolls, trains, buses, etc
- 3% cash back on US gas stations (including OCONUS NEX or AAFES)
- 1% back on other eligible purchases, terms apply
- Get $7 back each month after using your Blue Cash Preferred Card to spend $12.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription to The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Enrollment required.
- Terms Apply
This is my #1 recommended cash rewards card for military personnel and their spouses. The annual fee of $95 is waived for military families with Amex's SCRA and MLA policy, which is the same policy that waives annual fees on The Platinum Card® from American Express (review).
Cash back is given as “Reward Dollars” that can be redeemed for statement credit, gift cards, or merchandise.
I prefer statement credits, usually at the end of the year around Christmas time. I will save the cash back for the entire year and then use it to offset the increased expenses of the holidays.
I will definitely add this card as my default payment method for my Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video account.
Blue Cash Preferred 6 Percent Groceries
If you spend $500 per month on groceries, you could earn $360 per year in cash back (6% of $6000 spend). If you are only getting 1% cash back with a different card, then that same $500/month spend would mean only $60 in cash back.
Some examples of US supermarkets where you can get 6% cash back are:
- Safeway
- Gristedes
- Foodtown
- Foodland
- Publix
- Meijer
- Shoprite
- Stop and Shop
- Vons
- Whole Foods
- Winn-Dixie
- Online supermarkets such as FreshDirect
Military Commissaries on base are also eligible for the 6% cash back. This works both in the States and on bases outside the States such as Ramstein, Kadena, or Kunsan. Here's the full list of Commissaries that code as grocery stores on credit cards.
Note that superstores such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart and warehouse clubs such as BJ's, Costco, and Sam's Club DO NOT count as supermarkets according to Amex. Shopping at these locations does not earn 6% cash back.
Blue Cash Preferred 6 Percent Streaming Services
6% cash back on streaming services including:
- Amazon Music
- Apple Music
- Audible
- CBS All Access
- Direct TV Now
- ESPN+
- Fubo TV
- HBO Now
- Hulu
- iHeartRadio
- Kindle Unlimited
- MLB.TV
- NBA League Pass
- Netflix
- NHL.TV
- Pandora
- Amazon Prime Video Unlimited
- Showtime
- Sling TV
- SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite,
- Spotify
- YouTube Music Premium
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
Check here for the latest “Select U.S. Streaming Subscriptions” that count towards the 6% cash back.
Amex Blue Cash Preferred MLA
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is an excellent “forever card” that you should add to your wallet. I've moved it to the top of my top recommended cash back cards for US military personnel and spouses.
The Blue Cash Preferred makes an excellent supplement to your core Amex travel card portfolio which should include the The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card.
This card gives you 6% cash back on your most basic life purchases of online streaming and groceries. It doesn't have any rotating categories to track or sign up for. As a bonus, the annual fee is waived for military servicemembers.
Currently the Amex Blue Cash Preferred is offering one of the highest bonuses ever seen for this card.
Learn how to apply for the Amex Blue Cash Preferred or see the other best cash back cards for military.
Amex Blue Cash Preferred FAQ
Yes, the Blue Cash Preferred annual fee of $95 is waived for military servicemembers and their spouses. This is to comply with the Military Lending Act (MLA) law.
Yes, this is a great cash back card that every military servicemember should have in their wallet. The welcome bonus is definitely worth earning with the minimum spend required.
Military Commissaries count as supermarkets for Blue Cash Preferred. Also Safeway, Gristedes, Foodtown, Meijer, Shoprite, Stop and Shop, Vons, Whole Foods, Winn-Dixie, and online supermarkets such as FreshDirect.
Yes, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred has a credit limit. Usually it's treated as a credit card with a fixed credit limit, sometimes as high as $10,000 or more.
Yes, the Amex Blue Preferred is free for active duty military and their spouses.
Can you break down the Blue Cash vs the Gold card? Both target the “U.S. Supermarket” category as a large part of their reward deal. I am betting you would recommend getting both but where would this fall on your ordering of the best cards for military members to get(https://militarymoneymanual.com/best-credit-cards-active-duty-military/)? Should one get this before or after the Gold Card and what would you use each for?
For those wondering, I found an answer. On the breakdown of the Gold Card that I found on Aug 26, 2022 it says “If you value Amex MR points at 2 cents or greater, this is an even better return on supermarket spending than the Amex Blue Cash Preferred with 6% cash back on US supermarkets ($95 annual fee waived for military).”
So if comparing for Supermarket spending then Gold beats Blue Cash Preferred but Blue Preferred has the streaming category that Gold doesn’t have meaning that Blue Cash Preferred would still have some use.