Amex EveryDay versus Amex EveryDay Preferred credit card comparison

• American Express Membership Rewards are one of the most valuable types of credit card points, but many cards that earn them have high annual fees.
• Two exceptions are the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express with no annual fee and the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express with a $95 annual fee. 
• Both cards have a unique feature: You can earn bonus on the points you earn each month if you make a minimum number of purchases in a billing cycle (20 on Amex EveryDay and 30 on the EveryDay Preferred).
• You need to earn 6,333 Membership Rewards points to cover the EveryDay Preferred’s annual fee.
• See Business Insider’s list of the best rewards credit cards » 

American Express offers several different credit cards that earn Membership Rewards points, a valuable credit card currency that you can use to book travel through Amex or through airline and hotel partners. The American Express® Green Card, American Express® Gold Card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express are some of the more popular Amex Membership Rewards cards, but they also come with some pretty hefty annual fees — from $150 to $550.

However, Amex also has two more entry-level cards that earn valuable MR points: the Amex EveryDay Card with no annual fee and the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card, with a $95 annual fee. 

If you want to earn Amex points without paying a hefty annual fee, one of the two EveryDay cards could be right for you. We’ll break down their biggest differences to help you decide.

*on up to $6,000 spent at US supermarkets per year, then 1x

The two cards offer a similar welcome bonus, which is available to eligible new cardholders. Both the Amex EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred cards have a minimum spending requirement of $1,000 in purchases over the first three months of having the card.

The Amex EveryDay Card has a welcome bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points, while the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card gives 15,000 Membership Rewards. It may appear that the EveryDay Preferred card has a better bonus, but remember that you will need to factor in its $95 annual fee.

The Amex EveryDay Card only has two bonus categories: 2 points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (for the first $6,000 each year, then 1 point per dollar) and on travel purchased through the American Express travel portal. All other purchases earn only 1 point per dollar.

The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card earns 3 points per dollar at US supermarkets (for the first $6,000 each year, then 1 point per dollar). It also earns 2 points at US gas stations on travel purchased through the American Express travel portal.

It’s no secret that credit card companies are looking for ways to make sure that their cards are at the top of consumers’ wallets. Both the Amex EveryDay Card and Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card cards offer a bonus depending on the number of purchase transactions you make in each monthly billing cycle. This benefit is unique to these two cards; there aren’t any other credit cards that offer a bonus based on the total number of transactions you make each month.

With the Amex EveryDay card, you can earn a 20{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} bonus on your monthly rewards if you make at least 20 purchase transactions in one monthly billing cycle. You’ll get a 50{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} bonus on your transactions with the Amex EveryDay Preferred card if you make at least 30 purchase transactions in a billing cycle.

To decide which card is better for you, consider your spending habits at US supermarkets and US gas stations. If you estimate the value of Membership Rewards at 1.5 cents apiece, you’ll need to earn at least 6,333 additional Membership Rewards points to offset the $95 annual fee on the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express.

Since the US supermarket points bonus is limited to your first $6,000 in annual purchases, it will be hard to recoup that amount unless you are regularly meeting the 30-transaction amount to get the 50{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} bonus. If you don’t think that you can regularly do that, you may want to consider the Amex EveryDay Card or a cash-back card.

If you’re considering the Amex EveryDay card, remember that there are many cash-back cards that earn 2{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} cash back on all transactions, not just spending at US supermarkets. One such card is the no-annual-fee Citi® Double Cash Card.

The key to maximizing the value of the Amex EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred is to make sure you meet the monthly transaction bonus targets. If you meet the monthly target each month, then 4.5 Membership Rewards points (3 points + 50{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} bonus) at US supermarkets is competitive with other credit cards, like the American Express® Gold Card (with a $250 annual fee (See Rates))

If you’re not going to use these cards as your everyday cards and you won’t meet the monthly transaction minimum to earn the points bonus, there are better cards for grocery spending, including the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.