New AMEX EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred Credit Cards

American Express is introducing the AMEX EveryDay Credit Card and AMEX EveryDay Preferred Credit Card, with major ads featuring Tina Fey aired during the Oscars tonight. 

Here are the details for these new ways to earn AMEX Membership Rewards points for your next Singapore Suites award, followed by my take on these cards.

Here's the AMEX EveryDay card site.

AMEX EveryDay Credit Card

• 15,000 Membership Rewards points after $1,000 spend in 90 days (special offer through above link; usual bonus is 10,000 points)

• 2x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (not including warehouse stores like Costco), on up to $6,000 per year on purchases

• 1x points on all other purchases

• 20% bonus on all monthly spend after making 20 or more purchases in a billing period

• 0% introductory rate on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months

• EMV chip BUT rather useless, as there are Foreign transaction fees (as with all AMEX cards except the AMEX Platinum)

• No annual fee

AMEX EveryDay Preferred Credit Card ($95 annual fee)

• 15,000 Membership Rewards points after $1,000 spend in 90 days

• 3x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (not including warehouse stores like Costco), on up to $6,000 per year on purchases

• 2X on U.S. standalone gas stations

• 1x points on all other purchases

• 50% bonus on all monthly spend after making 30 or more purchases in a billing period

• 0% introductory rate on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months

• EMV chip BUT rather useless, as there are Foreign transaction fees (as with all AMEX cards except the AMEX Platinum)

• $95 annual fee

Pros of the AMEX EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred Cards

No Fee and Low Fee Cards That Earn AMEX Membership Rewards Points

It was about time that AMEX provided a no fee and lower fee card that can also earn Membership Rewards points, not just points that can be redeemed for merchandise or cash back. The unique selling point of the AMEX EveryDay credit cards are that they are stand alone, and you don't need to carry another AMEX Membership Rewards card with a high annual fee in order to transfer points out to partners. 

So if you currently have a good number of AMEX Membership Rewards points yet don't want to keep paying the high annual fee of an AMEX Platinum, you could apply for one of the AMEX EveryDay credit cards before closing your AMEX Platinum. That way you can keep your AMEX Membership Rewards points alive and not have to transfer them to an airline frequent flyer program before closing the AMEX Platinum account.

Transaction Bonus: Great for Those Making Lots of Small Purchases

Ever since Chase ended the old Chase Exclusives Program for the Chase Freedom card (even for grandfathered members) I've been missing a card that rewards transactions. The AMEX EveryDay Preferred gives you a 50% bonus on all spend after 30 transactions in a billing cycle, which is very easy to reach in a few days, living in NYC. 

3X on Supermarket + 50% Bonus After 30 Transactions = 4.5X

When you add  the 50% bonus of the AMEX EveryDay Preferred to the supermarket bonus, that's 4.5X, since you earn 3X at supermarkets. While I have been focusing more supermarket spend at Whole Foods due to 5X on all Whole Foods spend, the reality is my family still buys most of its groceries to the tune of ~$500 per month at Trader Joe's, due to better prices and unique products.

So for my family, it will work out to 500 x 4.5 = 2250 Membership Rewards points if we use the EveryDay Preferred card. Not a ton of points of course, but nice to get almost 5X for Trader Joe's spend, instead of just 3X.

Cons of the AMEX EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred Cards

Low Sign-up Bonuses

As you'd expect for the no fee card, there's a low signup bonus of only 10,000 points. I do think the EveryDay Preferred bonus should have been higher, given the $95 annual fee, although hopefully the fee will be waived the first year. And perhaps this is one where it's worth it to wait and see–maybe AMEX will raise the signup bonus on the EveryDay Preferred if signups fall below the projected numbers.

Bonus Categories Not as Useful for Travelers

You really can't compare the AMEX EveryDay Preferred card to the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve cards, which bonus travel, and to be fair, that's not AMEX's goal. While AMEX is known for its warranties and travel protections, these cards, as the British say, do what they say on the tin–they're meant for every day type purchases such as supermarket and gas spend. So no useful travel bonus categories.

$6000 Limit on Grocery Bonus

While the $6000 limit on the grocery store bonus isn't much of an issue for individuals and couples making actual grocery store spend, it could be limiting for large families. There's also the question of whether gift cards bought at grocery stores will receive the 3X (or 4.5X, if you qualify for the 50% bonus). I'm sure AMEX would prefer to not have folks buying tons of gift cards at a 4.5X at grocery stores, so that could well be a reason the $6000 limit is in place.

Foreign Transaction Fees are NOT Waived

While perhaps not an issue for the target demographic for these cards, and not surprising coming from AMEX where only the AMEX Platinum cards waive transaction fees, it's still a con that both of these cards incur foreign transaction fees.

What are your thoughts on the new AMEX EveryDay and AMEX EveryDay Preferred credit cards?

Related Posts

Compare AMEX EveryDay and AMEX EveryDay Preferred Cards

Singapore Suites A380 Review

AMEX Stingier: Rules for Signup Bonuses and FAQ