A favorite rewards credit card recently made an announcement that should make new cardholders happy: Blue Cash Everyday from American Express is offering new cardmembers a special travel promotion, along with $300 cash back to welcome them to the Blue Cash Everyday family.
Cardmembers who make a travel purchase in the first six months they have the card will get the extra cash back bonus, which includes 5% back on $4,000 in eligible travel purchases. These are dollars spent on airfare, hotel rooms, car rentals from certain companies, vacation packages, cruises, and third party booking sites. That means folks can make their travel purchases online through Orbitz, Expedia, or other sites, rather than purchasing directly from the airline or hotel, as many cards require.
Other than travel purchases, people can also get $100 back on the first $1,000 they spend with the card, anywhere at all. This $100 will be given in the form of a statement credit.
The unveiling of these new perks was met with excitement from credit card industry watchers. “We are pleased to offer our new Blue Cash Everyday Cardmembers the opportunity to earn even more cash back on the travel purchases they love to make,” said Jed Scala, a senior vice president at American Express. “As always, our cardmembers are backed by the service and security of American Express whenever they use their card.”
Blue Cash cardholders get bonus cash back at gas stations, supermarkets, and select department stores; it is one of the best rewards cards out there, giving a generous cash back amount to members, and with no annual fee for the card.
Cardholders get three percent back at grocery stores, two percent back at gas stations, two percent back at select department stores, and one percent back everywhere else. There are some caps on the cash back, however. The three percent back at grocery stores is only good on up to $6,000 a year in purchases, and then reverts to one percent back. Cash back in given as Reward Dollars, which can only be redeemed as a statement credit; cardholders aren’t getting cold hard cash in the mail from American Express.
The card also charges a reasonable interest fee schedule. There’s a zero percent introductory offer on purchases for the first twelve months, subject to creditworthiness. After that, the annual percentage rate shifts to a variable rate, which is currently between 13 percent and 23 percent.
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