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NerdWallet > Rewards Credit Cards > American Express Blue Sky Preferred
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American Express Blue Sky Preferred
American+Express Blue+Sky+Preferred Credit Card

(4/5 - 44 Votes)
Net Annual Rewards
$312
of Blue Sky Points
Reward Rate
1.33%
Annual Fee
$75
Signing Promo
15,000 Blue Sky Points Bonus after spending $1,000 - within 3 months - redeemable for a $200 statement credit
"...You get twice as many points for eating out, hotels and car rentals, which means the card earns 2 and 2/3% for those categories. The points are pretty easy to redeem, I've gotten away with redeeming for rental cars, hotel rooms, and flights in the past...." (see all comments)
APR, variable*
Min APR:
17.24%
Max APR:
22.24%
Default:
27.24%
Cash Adv:
25.24%
Intro APR Promotions
Purchase:
0% for 12 mos
Transfer:
None
Summary
  • Earn 1 point per $1 spent on purchases
  • Points are worth about 1.33 cents each, since you can redeem 7,500 for a $100 statement credit applicable towards a travel expense
  • 2x points on eligible dining, hotel, and card rentals
  • $100 airline allowance each year to use on incidentals like baggage check fees, upgrades, in flight meals and entertainment

Compare To Our Most Popular Cards For The Category

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Compare To Blue Cash Preferred℠ Card from American Express

Why do we think you should consider this card?

Earn $150 cash back after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months of Cardmembership

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Reward Details & Calculator

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Rewards Type: Blue Sky Points

Signing Promotion
($200=15,000 points)/2 yrs
$100
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.33%
$287
Annual Fee, 2 yr avg
$75
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees)
$312

Calculate Interest & Finance Charges

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Use the sliders to the left to calculate balance transfer interest and APR interest for this particular card.

Finance Charge, Balance Transfer of $10,000*

Balance Transfer Fee, 3.0%
$300
APR, 24 months
$4,205
Total
$4,505

*Average APR for Balance Transfers of 18.7% includes transfer fees and APR promotions.

Effective Annual Rate, Purchases

Promo EAR, 12 months
0.00%
Ongoing EAR, 12 months
18.67%
Total EAR, 24 months
8.94%

APR Rankings

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APR
17.24%
ranks #1618 out of 1751 cards.
Average is 11.78%.
Balance Transfer Fee
3%
ranks #905 out of 1639 cards.
Average is 1.67%.
Cash Advance APR
25.24%
ranks #888 out of 1002 cards.
Average is 18.74%.

Rewards Rankings

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Annual Fee
$75
ranks #1720 out of 1773 cards.
Average is $9.
Base Reward Rate
1.33%
ranks #30 out of 963 cards.
Average is 0.99%.
Effective Reward Rate
1.33%
ranks #63 out of 958 cards.
Average is 1.04%.
Sign-up Bonus
$200
ranks #47 out of 1762 cards.
Average is $33.
Credit Card Review: American Express Blue Sky Preferred


Author:
STEPHEN

Like its Blue Sky brethren, Blue Sky Preferred allows you $100 of credit for every 7500 points you accumulate, offering .33% more than the generic 1% of travel cards. Along with the 1.33% rewards rate, both Blue Sky cards have a foreign exchange fee of 2.7% – though if this is an important feature to you, there are a growing number of cards with no foreign transaction fee such as the British airways card.

What makes it a Preferred card

What sets it apart as a big brother card besides the $75 annual fee  are the 7500 bonus points on signing, the 2x points earned for eligible hotel, dining, or car rental purchases, and $100 dollar annual airline allowance. The $100 dollar allowance offsets the $75 annual fee and can be spent on legroom upgrades, blankets, drinks, baggage costs and more.  Plus, AMEX throws in a complimentary breakfast if you stay weekends at any Marriott and Renaissance hotel worldwide.

What to watch out for

You’ll need to spend $500 dollars within the first 60 days to qualify for those bonus signing points. Also, the $100 dollar annual allowance is credited back to you after purchases made and the airline ticket must be purchased with your card.

Verdict

The 1.33% may make it better than average but there are many cards out there with better rewards rates than Blue Sky Preferred. Be sure to take a look at the Capital  One Venture and the Discover Escape (basically the same card) which offer a nice 2% reward rate with 2 miles per $1 spent. The Capital One Venture also has no foreign transaction fee if that is a deciding factor for you.

  • http://twitter.com/lbritt2 Leslie Britt

    You get twice as many points for eating out, hotels and car rentals, which means the card earns 2 and 2/3% for those categories. The points are pretty easy to redeem, I’ve gotten away with redeeming for rental cars, hotel rooms, and flights in the past.

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