Credit Tips: American Express Blue Credit Card Review

Posted On: August 9, 2006

Author: usmsci
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:29 pm
Post subject: Amex Cash Blue and Amex Clear.. Accepted…

was approved for both with $2,000 CL(i know kinda low) and a 0% for 6 months on BT’s with no BT fee and 3.99% for the life of the BT on the cash blue and 4.99% for the life of the BT on the Amex Clear which isnt bad.

On the web site you can earn up to 15 months of 0.0% for the cash blue and 12 months 0.0% on the Amex Clear and i only got 6 months for each and she said it was dependent on my credit score which at the time they pulled my report(Equifax) my credit score was 673.

she also said i had up to 3 months to do the BT so i will wait 2 months for some other BT cards to expire, pay those cards off then do a BT on both of those.

good idea??

the benefits of the AMEX Cash Blue cards state:
Quote:
Earn Up to 5% Cash Back
It’s never been this easy to earn 5% cash back. That’s because we just improved Blue Cash. Now, whether you choose to carry a balance or not, you can earn up to 5% cash back. What’s more, you can earn cash back even faster at the places you may frequent the most like supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores. There’s no minimum so you can start earning cash back right away
.

AHH but there is a catch…if your balance is between $0 and $6,500 you only get 1% for purchases. you only get the 5% if your balance is above $6,500.00. Now maybe i am stupid but please esxplain to me how having a balance of $6,500 and paying APR’s of 9.99% and 13.99% on a balance that big will be of any help when you are only getting 5% cash back. it doesnt seem to add up to me as a good deal. what do you think?

AMEX clear just send you a $25 gift card everytime you spend $2,500 or 1% which is 1 point for every $1..which isnt that great either. Looks like my Chase Flex Rewards will be my best card from here on out to pay all my bills with and charge everything to, then pay it all off at the end of the month.

Author: Polonius
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 9:05 pm
Post subject: American Express Blue Credit Card Review

You’re not reading the Blue Cash terms correctly. According to
this link:

With Blue Cash®, every purchase you make can earn cash back. Calculate your cash back with our simple, two-level earning program.
Once your total annual spending reaches $6500 you can:
1) Earn a full 5% cash back on all subsequent supermarket, gas stations and drugstore purchases*
2) Earn a full 1.5% cash back on everything else

So you don’t have to carry a balance or pay any interest charges. You just have to spend using the card.

Author: usmsci
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 9:59 pm
Post subject: American Express Blue Credit Card Review

Polonius wrote:
You’re not reading the Blue Cash terms correctly. According to
this link:

With Blue Cash®, every purchase you make can earn cash back. Calculate your cash back with our simple, two-level earning program.
Once your total annual spending reaches $6500 you can:
1) Earn a full 5% cash back on all subsequent supermarket, gas stations and drugstore purchases*
2) Earn a full 1.5% cash back on everything else

So you don’t have to carry a balance or pay any interest charges. You just have to spend using the card.

aahhh ok thanks for clearing that up. sometimes the terms and conditions can sound all garbled up. SO this means as soon as i have charged more than 6500 on this card this all other purchases after that i will get 5% on? until then look to only get 1%.. right?

thank polo

Author: Polonius
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:10 am
Post subject: American Express Blue Credit Card Review

Quote:
SO this means as soon as i have charged more than 6500 on this card this all other purchases after that i will get 5% on? until then look to only get 1%.. right?
No, that’s not right. You will only get 5% on your gas station, supermarket, and drug store purchases after you’ve charged $6500 on the card. You only get 1.5% on other purchases at that point.

Sample: Suppose you charge $10,000 this year and never make a purchase at a gas station, supermarket, or drug store. You get .5% on the first $6500 and 1.5% on the remaining $3500–so that’s $32.50 plus $52.50 or $85 on the whole $10,000. (I think it’s based on a calendar year, so you have to do that by the end of 2006.) That works out to just .85%–not very good. If you charge the same with $1000 at gas stations during the first $6500 period, you get 1% on that $1000 or $10 plus .5% on the $5500.00 or $27.50 or $37.50 on the first $6500. You don’t get it retroactively–the higher percentage for gas etc. is only on the portion you spend OVER $6500 each year ON those products after you hit that number.

Hope that’s clear.

Author: Board Monitor
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 8:42 am
Post subject: American Express Blue Credit Card Review

Despite the tiers, our family got $950 back last year on Blue Cash! The average overall rebate for the year was about 1.75%. Not bad IMHO.
_________________
Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
http://www.CardRatings.com
20K+ Credit Card Reviews