American Express Blue, Deciphering 4 Very Different Credit Cards

by Tim on August 30, 2010

There are four American Express Blue credit cards. Despite the similar names, they really have very little in common, other than their $0 annual fees and sparkling blue appearance. However, they all excel in their own ways, depending on exactly what your preferences are in a credit card. Below find our quick rundown on what each of these cards offers, followed by our own quick reviews on their pros and cons:

[Note: As of April 26, 2011 there are technically 5 different Amex Blue Cards. The Blue Cash is no longer offered to new applicants, and has been replaced by two new versions - the Blue Cash Everyday and the Blue Cash Preferred. For the most part, these new cards are basic cash back rewards cards just like the old version, except that the bonus rewards have been slightly modified. The Everyday now pays 2% on gas and department stores, 3% on groceries, and 1% elsewhere. And the Preferred pays 3% on gas and department stores, 6% on groceries, and 1% elsewhere. And many of the "cautionary notes" we allude to below are no longer applicable.]

Name	Quick Summary
American Express Blue Cash	5% back on gas and groceries & 1.25% on everything else, after you spend $6,500. 1% and 0.5%, respectively, before then.
American Express Blue for Business	0% intro purchase APR for 6, 9, or 15 months depending on your creditworthiness. Best intro APRs around for business cards, as you can see by sorting our business credit card page by APR.
American Express Blue Sky	1.33% reward rate, because you can redeem 7,500 points to offset $100 in travel purchases off of your statement.
American Express Blue	Easier to qualify for, earn Membership Rewards Express points, which are almost as good as normal Membership Rewards points, except that you can’t transfer points to popular hotel and airline programs. 0% purchase APR for 6 months

Here’s what you need to know about them.

Blue Cash – The King of Cash Back Cards

I’ve earned greater than 2% cash back on this card for the last 5 years. If you spend a boatload on gas and groceries, you will probably end up doing the same. The card pays a pathetic 1% back on gas and groceries and 0.5% elsewhere, before you hit $6,500 a year. But after that you get 5% back on gas and groceries and 1.25% elsewhere, which is unbeatable if you spend a few thousand a month. For more information, read our much more comprehensive review for the Blue Cash.

Blue for Business – Unbeatable Introductory Purchase APR

Nobody else offers 0% purchase APR for 15 months right now. Every once in a while (though not at the time of this writing), Citi dabbles in 0% for 18 months on some consumer cards, and you can see if this is the case in the future by cruising our low apr credit card page. Since working capital for your business is an out of pocket expense, why wouldn’t you borrow from Amex at 0% rather than taking out a small business loan?

Blue Sky – Uncomplicated 1.33% Rewards

We’ll admit that Blue Cash is a bit too complicated. Blue Sky is about as simple as you can get – earn 7,500 points and get $100 off of any travel expense charged to your card. No bonus categories, no annual fees, no multi-tier reward rates. To boot, we believe it’s slightly easier to qualify for than Blue Cash.

Blue – Get Membership Rewards (Sort Of) without the Crazy Fees

Amex has a line of charge cards, Green ($95 annual fee), Gold ($125), and Platinum ($450). Or you can get almost the same rewards, for $0 annual fee. The notable difference is that you don’t get the fancy concierge service or the option to transfer points to airline and hotel programs, but you still get the rest of the huge array of choices. Plus, you won’t look like someone who flushed $450 down the toilet to try to impress hotel clerks and waiters when you go out with your friends.