Today American Express announced a refresh of its popular and award-winning Amex Blue Cash Preferred card. The updated Card was inspired by customer insights from a proprietary research study that found 91% of older millennials (ages 31-38) are spending more on their day-to-day compared to 5 years ago, on groceries (67%), streaming (35%) and commuting (34%). And that’s exactly the bonus categories that this card offers.

As such, the Card will offer rich new benefits, including more Cash Back for U.S. video and music streaming subscriptions like Hulu, Netflix and Apple Music (industry-leading 6% Cash Back) and transit like parking, tolls, subways and rideshares like Uber & Lyft (3% Cash Back). These benefits, which go into effect on May 9th, come without an increase to the $95 annual fee.

Signup Bonus

New eligible Card Members who apply and are approved on or after May 9, 2019, will receive a welcome bonus of $250 back after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of Card Membership (received in the form of a statement credit).

Application Page

Card Benefits

Starting May 9, 2019, The American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card will offer:

• 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 in purchases then 1%)
• 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions [NEW]
• 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations
• 3% Cash Back on transit, including parking, tolls, trains and rideshares [NEW]
• 1% Cash Back on other purchases (Cash Back is earned in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for a statement credit)
• New eligible Card Members who apply and are approved on or after May 9, 2019, will receive a welcome bonus of $250 back after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of Card Membership (received in the form of a statement credit)

Card Members who applied and were approved for the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card before May 9, 2019, will continue to receive 3% Cash Back at select U.S. department stores until July 31, 2019.

The new enhancements will come without changes to the Card’s annual fee of $95.

Card Design

Along with refreshing the benefits on the Blue Cash Preferred Card, American Express is also introducing a new sleek Card design aesthetic, featuring the Centurion iconography. The Card will also have a contactless payment feature designed for speedy, on-the-go transactions at the point of sale, and it will continue to include Pay It Plan It®, an innovative payment tool that gives Card Members control and flexibility over how they pay for the things they buy.

Guru’s Wrap-up

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card is getting two new bonus categories. You earn 6% Cash Back on streaming subscriptions and 3% Cash Back on transit, including parking, tolls, trains and rideshares. The cashback you earn on these categories should be unlimited. It will not be counted towards the $6,000 limit for the 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets. Nice additions, as those should be categories where almost everyone has some spending monthly.

On the other hand the card is losing the 3% Cash Back at select U.S. department stores. Current cardholders will continue to have that benefit until July 31, 2019.

Starting on May 9th, the card will also have a new signup bonus of $250. You get that bonus after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 month.

Overall, I see these as positive changes, and the annual fee of $95 is remaining the same. I also like the fact that they are changing the design. There’s way too much clear plastic in my stack of American Express credit cards. The Blue Cash Preferred website will be refreshed with the new Card details on May 9, 2019.