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Key takeaways
- Both the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offer excellent rewards-earning opportunities for everyday purchases.
- These are tiered cash back rewards cards, so you need to keep up with different categories as well as spending caps to max out your rewards.
- Only the Blue Cash Preferred card charges an annual fee (after the first year), but you can likely offset it and more with earned rewards.
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express are designed to help you earn rewards on everyday expenses. Both cards allow you to earn cash back for purchases made at grocery stores, gas stations and more. However, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards comes with more flexibility, while the Amex Blue Cash Preferred comes with exceptional rewards rates on select category purchases.
Main details
| Cards | Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card | Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome bonus | $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. | Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months. |
| Rewards rate |
|
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| Intro APR | 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases | 0% on purchases for 12 months |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. |
| Foreign transaction fees | 3% | 2.7% |
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards vs. Amex Blue Cash Preferred highlights
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards and the Amex Blue Cash Preferred are two of the top cash back cards available, offering competitive rewards tailored to different spending categories. Both could fit well into the average American household and are a good option for grocery spending, gas and other everyday expenses. Here’s how the two cards compare in different categories.
Welcome bonus winner
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With the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card, you can earn $200 in online cash rewards after you spend $1,000 during the first 90 days of account opening. With Amex Blue Cash Preferred, you can earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
Because the Amex Blue Cash Preferred offers a welcome bonus that’s $50 higher, it wins in this category. However, the qualifying spend is considerably higher than that required by the Customized Cash card — although you do get twice as much time to earn the bonus as you do with the Customized Cash card. Because of that, you’ll earn substantially more cash back per dollar spent with the Customized Cash card’s welcome bonus, even though you’ll earn less overall.
If you think you’ll have trouble meeting the higher minimum spending threshold that’s required by the Amex Blue Cash Preferred, then you’d likely be better off with the Customized Cash.
Rewards rate winner
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When it comes to rewards, the better choice for you will depend on your spending habits and how strategic you are with when and where you use your card. However, because the Amex Blue Cash Preferred offers higher rates of cash back in its boosted categories, it wins.
With the Blue Cash Preferred, you can get 6 percent cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year, then 1 percent back) and 6 percent cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. The highest rewards rate for the Customized Cash Rewards card, on the other hand, is only 3 percent for its custom category (on up to $2,500 in combined 3 and 2 percent category purchases each quarter, then 1 percent).
The Amex Blue Cash Preferred’s lack of a spending cap in most categories (besides the U.S. supermarket category) also makes it more lucrative than the Customized Cash card, which caps both its 2 percent and 3 percent category earnings.
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The previous categories leave room for individual preference and spending habits, but the annual fee winner is clear-cut. The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card does not charge an annual fee, while the Amex Blue Cash Preferred charges $95 per year ($0 intro annual fee for the first year).
Foreign transaction fee winner
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The Amex Blue Cash Preferred charges a 2.7 percent fee on foreign transactions, whereas the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards charges a 3 percent foreign transaction fee.
Neither is your best choice for traveling abroad or making online purchases in foreign currency. Instead, globetrotters should reach for a card with no foreign transaction fees.
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The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card is the clear winner when it comes to 0 percent intro APR offers. This card offers a 0 percent intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers (19.24 percent to 29.24 percent variable APR thereafter). Note that balance transfers must be made within the first 60 days, and an introductory 3 percent balance transfer fee applies (after intro balance transfer fee expires, fee for future balance transfers is 4 percent).
In comparison, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred offers a 0 percent intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers (19.24 percent to 29.99 percent variable APR thereafter). Balance transfers must also be made within 60 days.
Which card earns the most?
How much you’ll earn depends on your spending habits and ability to max out each card’s yearly or quarterly spending caps. Let’s take a look at a spending example.
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards vs. Amex Blue Cash Preferred spending example
Here’s how much you might earn with each card on $15,000 in annual spending when we assume the following spending break down:
- $6,000 at U.S. supermarkets ($1,500 per quarter)
- $2,600 at U.S. gas stations
- $4,000 at restaurants ($1,000 per quarter)
- $400 in streaming services
- $2,000 in non-category purchases
Let’s also assume that, with your Bank of America Customized Cash card, you choose “dining” as your 3 percent category for the entire year.
| Bank of America Customized Cash annual cash back earnings | Amex Blue Cash Preferred annual cash back earnings | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | $120 | $360 |
| Gas stations | $26 | $78 |
| Restaurants | $120 | $40 |
| Streaming services | $4 | $24 |
| Non-category purchases | $20 | $20 |
| Total annual cash back | $290 | $522 |
As you can see, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred has the edge when it comes to earning rewards on your spending — provided you are able to maximize your spending in the boosted 6 percent categories.
However, this is also assuming that you keep the same 3 percent category chosen for your Customized Cash card all year. In reality, you might fluctuate this category, making your cash back earnings look different from month to moth. Even with the fluctuating 3 percent category, though, the Blue Cash Preferred will likely still come out on top due to its high cash back rate at U.S. supermarkets.
Keep in mind that the Blue Cash Preferred card does come with an annual fee of $95 ($0 for the first year). However, even after paying the annual fee, you would still net $427 in cash back using this example.
Why should you get the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards?
In addition to the no annual fee and intro APR offers, it’s worth noting that the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards allows you to swap your preferred spending category once a month based on your spending patterns. Let’s say one month you plan to make more online purchases than usual, and another month you plan a vacation and have higher travel expenses. With the Customized Cash Rewards card, you’ll be able to choose accordingly to optimize your rewards. If you’re looking for a flexible rewards credit card, this card could definitely be worth it, but it will take some planning to maximize the offerings.
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The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card offers benefits like:
With the Preferred Rewards program, you could earn 25 percent to 75 percent more rewards in each category, depending on your membership tier. At the highest reward tiers — Platinum Honors, Diamond and Diamond Honors tiers — your 3 percent category boost could actually become a 5.25 percent category boost. But, you’ll need at least $100,000 in eligible Bank of America accounts to qualify.
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Rewards earned with this card can be redeemed for statement credits, direct deposits to an eligible Bank of America account or credits to an eligible Merrill account.
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A good to excellent credit score (670 to 850) is recommended for this card.
Why should you get the Amex Blue Cash Preferred?
If your spending habits align with Amex Blue Cash Preferred, and if you’re able to spend enough each year to recoup the cost of the annual fee (after the first year), this card could certainly be worth it for you.
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The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card benefits include return protection, purchase protection, extended warranty protection and car rental loss and damage coverage.
It’s worth noting that return protection is a rarer benefit these days. With this benefit, if you cannot return an item to a merchant within 90 days of purchase, Blue Cash Preferred may offer you a refund of the full purchase price, excluding shipping and handling. Return protection covers up to $300 per item and a maximum of $1,000 each calendar year.
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Cash back rewards are earned in the form of reward dollars, which can be redeemed for statement credits or at Amazon.com checkout.
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To qualify for the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, it’s recommended that you have a FICO score of 670 to 850, which is considered to be in the good to excellent range.
The bottom line
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card may be worth it if you value the flexibility to choose which categories you earn rewards in or if you are a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member. On the other hand, if you spend a significant amount on groceries and gas and don’t mind paying an annual fee after the first year, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred may be a better choice.
The information about the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards was updated on September 17, 2024.
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