Compare the Features and Benefits of Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express and
Bilt Obsidian Card

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a rewarding cash-back card thanks to its range of useful bonus categories. Perhaps the most valuable bonus category is the ability to earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, on the first $6,000 spent annually on eligible purchases. Households who spend $500 or so can maximize this threshold to earn a tremendous $350 in reward dollars every year, and that’s before you consider the other bonus cash-back opportunities like 3% cash back on eligible purchases at U.S. gas stations. Still, you will want to subtract the $95 annual fee from that bounty.

The 6% cash back rate applies to select U.S. streaming subscriptions, which covers virtually every participating provider out there. From Apple Music to YouTube TV to Netflix to Prime Video, it’s likely that you subscribe to one (or more) of these popular live TV, movie or music streaming services.

Not to mention, you can enroll your card within your American Express account to get up to a $10 monthly statement credit after using your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred® Card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle subscription purchase, at disneyplus.com, Hulu.com, or stream.espn.com U.S. websites. Subject to auto-renewal.

You can also earn bonus cash back when you’re on the road. The Blue Cash Preferred provides 3% at U.S. gas stations and for local transit expenses, which includes anything such as taxis, rideshare services like Lyft and Uber, parking expenses, tolls, and train and bus fares.

Simply put, the cash back earnings add up swiftly with the Blue Cash Preferred, especially if you have a large household. You’ll earn cash back in the form of reward dollars, which can then be redeemed for any amount on your monthly statement credit through American Express. One reward dollar equals $1.

Other benefits on the card, such as purchase protection, return protection and access to Global Assist Hotline may be used less frequently, but will still come in handy when it’s least expected.

Best of all, there’s no annual fee for the first year of card membership, giving you time to test drive the card’s earning rates and benefits before you commit to paying the ongoing $95 annual fee. It is possible to downgrade after one year to the Blue Cash Everyday® Card if you find it more suitable.

Rates and Fees for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

The Bilt Obsidian Card sits in the middle of the three Bilt credit cards with its $95 annual fee.

You’ll earn valuable Bilt Rewards points with each purchase. One unique feature of this card is the ability to choose a 3X bonus category. You can choose (at the start of each year) whether you prefer 3X on groceries (up to $25,000 a year) or 3X on dining. You’ll then also get 2X on travel and 1X + 4% Bilt Cash on Everyday Spend.

It has no foreign transaction fees and the $95 annual fee can be offset by the $100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. It’s available once per half year as $50 statement credits for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.

Bilt Obsidian Card

Your Best Credit Cards values Bilt Rewards points at 1.8 cents each, although the personal value you get from each point may be higher or lower. With 1X points earned on all everyday spend, you are earning an approximate value of 1.8% worth of Bilt Rewards plus another 4% in Bilt Cash on top.

Many know Bilt for the ability to pay your rent and mortgage with the card. You’ll be able to earn points for paying any personal rent or mortgage with this card. Simply redeem the Bilt Cash you earn from all of your non-rent spend to earn 1X points on your rent or mortgage payment, which has no transaction fees. Applying $30 worth of Bilt Cash for every $1,000 in rent or mortgage payments paid will earn you points on that portion of the rent or mortgage payment, up to the full amount. You can redeem Bilt Cash for all or part of your payment.

We love Bilt Rewards for their strong list of transfer partners which include World of Hyatt, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and JAL Mileage Bank, among many others as mentioned above. You can also get 1.25 cents per point in value simply by redeeming Bilt points in their travel portal and they even offer “direct bookings” that offer loyalty benefits despite being a third party booking. Just look for “Member Rate” or “Home Away From Home” labels when searching hotels or “Direct Book” when searching flights.

If you are looking for a Bilt card that offers a huge 2X (+ 4% Bilt Cash) on Everyday Spend with premium benefits, you might consider the Bilt Palladium Card. If you want to explore a Bilt card with no annual fee, that’s the Bilt Blue Card.