3% back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and on U.S. online retail — each on up to $6,000 a year — with no annual fee. The free little sibling of the Blue Cash Preferred.
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Drag your typical monthly spend. 3% at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and on U.S. online retail (each capped at $6,000 a year), 1% on everything else, with no fee to subtract.
Rewards post as Reward Dollars, redeemable as a statement credit. Each cap is a calendar-year cap across the whole card account, and a purchase only earns 3% if the merchant’s code falls in the category. Rates and caps per American Express’s published terms [as of October 2026 — verify current terms].
Your household spends steadily at a traditional supermarket and on gas, you shop online at U.S. retailers, you do not want an annual fee, and your grocery bill is not big enough for the Blue Cash Preferred’s 6% to clear its $95 fee.
You buy groceries mainly at Walmart, Target or Costco (none count as supermarkets), you travel abroad, or your spend is spread across everything — a flat no-fee 2% card earns more for less thought.
The Blue Cash Everyday is issued by American Express and carries a $0 annual fee [as of October 2026 — verify current terms]. It earns 3% at U.S. supermarkets, 3% at U.S. gas stations and 3% on U.S. online retail purchases, each on up to $6,000 in purchases a year (then 1%), and 1% on everything else [as of October 2026 — verify current terms]. American Express changes the welcome offer and any introductory APR often, so we do not quote them here [NEEDS VERIFICATION: current welcome offer and intro APR on americanexpress.com]. It scores 7.8/10 on the Cards Made Simple methodology.
We analyzed 139 owner comments across 4 YouTube reviews, published between 2022 and 2026. Of the comments our scorer could rate for sentiment, 33 were positive and 1 negative; 3 comments mentioned the card by name. This is a very thin sample: only 3 comments named the card directly, and the most-liked comments under these reviews were viewers recommending other cards from their own wallets. Read it as texture, not a verdict. The clearest endorsement (49 likes) was short: “The refreshed BCE makes it one of the best no annual fee cards imo!”
A second comment (43 likes) came from someone rebuilding: “I’m rebuilding my credit and quite interested in building a relationship with Amex.” Worth a caution — this is an unsecured card with a full credit check, so it is a next step after a builder card, not a substitute for one. Among the complaint themes, app and software issues led (22 mentions), then price and value (7) and customer service (3).
With no annual fee there is nothing to recover. The calculator above assumes $400 a month at U.S. supermarkets, $150 at U.S. gas stations, $200 on U.S. online retail and $1,000 on everything else — about $390 a year in Reward Dollars. Every 3% slider stops at $500 a month because each cap is $6,000 a year; spend past that and the extra earns 1%. The Disney streaming credit is extra and only applies if you enroll and already pay for Disney+, Hulu or ESPN, so we leave it out of the total.
The Blue Cash Preferred pays 6% at U.S. supermarkets on the same $6,000 cap, for a $95 annual fee after the first year [as of October 2026 — verify current terms]. The extra 3% on groceries is worth $95 once you spend about $3,167 a year at supermarkets — roughly $264 a month. Below that, the Everyday wins on groceries alone; above it, the Preferred starts paying, before counting its other categories. That break-even is the whole decision for most families.
American Express defines the categories by merchant code. Superstores, warehouse clubs, convenience stores and meal-kit delivery services are not supermarkets. Gas bought at a superstore, supermarket or warehouse club does not earn the gas rate. And “online retail” means goods from U.S. retail websites — it excludes travel, restaurants, supermarkets, gas, car dealers and other services, even when you pay online [as of October 2026 — verify current terms]. Purchases through third-party buy-now-pay-later plans do not earn the bonus rate.
Three useful 3% categories with separate caps, no activation and no fee is a genuinely good free card for a household. The online-retail category is rare on a no-fee card and covers a lot of modern spending. That is why it scores 7.8/10 on rewards value and 9.0/10 on fees and APR.
The category exclusions are wide enough that a Walmart-and-Costco household earns mostly 1%. The foreign transaction fee makes it a domestic-only card. Perks beyond the streaming credit are thin. Those are why fine print scores 7.2/10 and perks and protection 6.8/10.
Five factors go into every CMS score. Rewards value measures what the card actually returns at realistic spend, not headline multipliers. Fees and APR weighs the annual fee against the credits and earn that offset it. Perks and protection covers insurance, credits, and statement benefits. Approval reality reflects the credit profile the issuer actually approves. Fine print catches caps, exclusions, enrollment requirements, and category definitions that quietly change the math.
Rewards value scores 7.8/10, fees and APR 9.0/10, perks and protection 6.8/10, approval reality 7.6/10 (good-to-excellent credit is typical; Amex publishes no minimum) and fine print 7.2/10 — an overall CMS score of 7.8/10. Scores follow the published Cards Made Simple scoring methodology, which weights real reward math over headline rates and reads the fine print so you don't have to.
Get it if: Your household spends steadily at a traditional supermarket and on gas, you shop online at U.S. retailers, you do not want an annual fee, and your grocery bill is not big enough for the Blue Cash Preferred’s 6% to clear its $95 fee.
Skip it if: You buy groceries mainly at Walmart, Target or Costco (none count as supermarkets), you travel abroad, or your spend is spread across everything — a flat no-fee 2% card earns more for less thought.
| Card | CMS score | Annual fee | Top rate | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amex Blue Cash Everyday | 7.8/10 | $0 | 3% groceries, gas, online | No annual fee |
| Amex Blue Cash Preferred | 8.2/10 | $95 | 6% groceries | Cash back |
| Capital One Savor | 8.1/10 | $0 | 3% dining, groceries, fun | No annual fee |
| Citi Double Cash | 8.1/10 | $0 | 2% everything | No annual fee |
| Chase Freedom Flex | 8.3/10 | $0 | 5% rotating | No annual fee |
Against the Blue Cash Preferred (8.2/10, $95 annual fee): double the supermarket rate for a fee. Spend more than about $264 a month at U.S. supermarkets and the Preferred pulls ahead. Read the Blue Cash Preferred review →
Against the Capital One Savor (8.1/10, $0 annual fee): 3% on groceries too, plus dining, entertainment and streaming, and no foreign transaction fee — but no gas or online-retail category. Eat out a lot: Savor. Drive and shop online a lot: Everyday. Read the Capital One Savor review →
Against the Citi Double Cash (8.1/10, $0 annual fee): 2% on everything. If less than about a third of your spend lands in the three 3% categories, the Double Cash earns more. Read the Citi Double Cash review →
See the full rankings on the best credit cards for groceries list and the best no-annual-fee cards list.
A solid free household card, if you shop at real supermarkets. 3% on groceries, gas and online retail with no annual fee is a strong default for a household that is not yet spending enough to justify the Blue Cash Preferred. The category exclusions and the foreign transaction fee are the price of admission — check where your groceries actually come from first.
Links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Card details as of October 2026 — verify current terms with Amex before applying. This content is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Credit card terms, rates, and offers change frequently. Verify all details with the card issuer before applying.
3% on groceries, gas and online retail with no annual fee is a strong default for a household that is not yet spending enough to justify the Blue Cash Preferred. The category exclusions and the foreign transaction fee are the price of admission — check where your groceries actually come from first.
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