Chauncey grew up on a farm in rural northern California. At 18 he ran away and saw the world with a backpack and a credit card, discovering that the true value of any point or mile is the experience it facilitates. He remains most at home on a tracto.
Chauncey Crail ContributorChauncey grew up on a farm in rural northern California. At 18 he ran away and saw the world with a backpack and a credit card, discovering that the true value of any point or mile is the experience it facilitates. He remains most at home on a tracto.
Written By Chauncey Crail ContributorChauncey grew up on a farm in rural northern California. At 18 he ran away and saw the world with a backpack and a credit card, discovering that the true value of any point or mile is the experience it facilitates. He remains most at home on a tracto.
Chauncey Crail ContributorChauncey grew up on a farm in rural northern California. At 18 he ran away and saw the world with a backpack and a credit card, discovering that the true value of any point or mile is the experience it facilitates. He remains most at home on a tracto.
Contributor Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
| Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel Rewards
Updated: Jun 13, 2024, 9:55pm
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The Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * is an excellent card for Morgan Stanley customers looking to maximize above-average earnings on groceries, gas and transit. Although it’s marketed as exclusive to Morgan Stanley customers, the card’s benefits are exactly the same as the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Terms apply, see rates & fees), except the Morgan Stanley version also offers a $100 annual bonus for those who spend at least $15,000 a year on the card.
Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * Welcome Bonus $250 credit Annual Fee $0 for the first year, then $95 Regular APR 19.24% - 29.99% variable Credit Score Good, ExcellentAll information about Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor
All information about Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn $250 back after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first six months of Card Membership. You will receive the $250 back in the form of a statement credit
The Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * offers excellent cash-back rewards on groceries and gas but is available only for Morgan Stanley customers. Eligible Morgan Stanley clients must have an eligible brokerage account or an eligible E*TRADE account. If you meet those qualifications and get the card, you’ll be rewarded with earnings of 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year), then 1%, 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, including taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
Other perks include a welcome offer of $250 back in the form of statement credit after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first six months of Card Membership and an annual $100 bonus for spending $15,000 on the card each year.
It’s that last perk that distinguishes this card from its identical counterpart, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. The $100 annual statement credit is only available to holders of the Morgan Stanley card who meet the annual spending requirement and is enough to apply toward the card’s annual fee. But earning a $100 statement credit should not be the reason to get this card. The main reason to get this card is if you’re spending a significant amount on groceries, since no other card offers as high a rewards rate in this area of spending. If you’re already doing business with Morgan Stanley, and can meet the annual spending requirement to earn that $100 statement credit, that’s just icing on the cake.
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All information about Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor
The Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year), then 1%, 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, including taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
The Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * also comes with a welcome bonus of $250 back in the form of statement credit after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first six months of Card Membership.
Rewards earned with the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * are referred to as Blue Cash Reward Dollars and may be redeemed for cash back in the form of a statement credit. There is no minimum redemption amount.
To determine the rewards potential of the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * we look at the bonus categories and calculate what an average household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage earners bring in $118,438 annually and have about $39,337 in annual spending that can reasonably be put on credit cards.
Forbes Advisor estimates that a household in this income category spends $7,243 on groceries per year, which at 6% on the first $6,000 in grocery spending and 1% on the rest earns $372.43. Our average household spends $679 a year on streaming services, earning an additional $40.74. The $3,562 on transit and gas our sample household spends would translate to $106.86 in cash back, and the $27,853 spent on other purchases would earn cash back of $278.53. This means the card would earn a total of $798.56 per year in addition to the first-year welcome bonus.
All information about Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor
The Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable APR of 19.24% - 29.99% applies. A balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer will apply, whichever is greater.
All information about Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor
Where the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * headlines with cash back in specific categories, the Citi Double Cash card’s strength is the ability to earn 2% cash back on all purchases—1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off. We’d recommend pairing two cards like these for maximum earning potential on all your spending.
Rewards on the Citi Double Cash come as ThankYou Points, which can be converted to cash back, used to book travel or transferred to one of Citi’s travel transfer partners.
Those who frequently spend in the bonus categories offered on the Blue Cash Preferred, but don’t want to pay an annual fee, may want to consider the Preferred’s no annual fee sibling card, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (Terms apply, see rates & fees).
With this card you’ll earn 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and online retail purchases in the U.S. (on up to $6,000 in each category per year in purchases, then 1%), and 1% cash back on other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout. The biggest differences between the two is that the Blue Cash Everyday has no annual fee. However, you’ll earn less at U.S supermarkets and on gas. You’ll also be trading elevated transit rewards for bonus earnings on U.S. online retail purchases. Those who spend at least $31 a week on groceries and other supermarket items will come out ahead with the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred in spite of its $0 for the first year, then $95 annual fee.
Costco shoppers interested in earning points on gas can leverage the Costco Anywhere Visa to earn 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 spent annually, 1% thereafter, 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases, 2% cash back on purchases from Costco and Costco.com and 1% cash back on all other purchases. A Costco membership is required to apply.
For those whose annual gas bills won’t exceed $9,333 (the threshold at which earning 3% on gas is more profitable than earning 4% with a $7,000 cap), the Costco Anywhere Visa will earn more on purchases of gas. Whether the remaining categories fit spending habits or budgets is up to individual consumers.
The Costco Anywhere Visa does not have a low introductory APR like the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card * does, but apart from the Costco membership required, it does not have an annual fee and unlike the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred Amex, it does not charge foreign transaction fees.
All information about Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor