American Express is a DansDeals.com advertiser.
I’ve been notified that the Amex EveryDay Preferred Card will no longer be marketed through their affiliate channels as of 12pm EDT tomorrow.
The Amex EveryDay Preferred Card was generous when it launched in 2014. It offers 50% point bonus for making 30 transactions per month, which make for an effective 4.5 points per dollar on US supermarkets, 3 points per dollar on gas, 2.5 points per dollar on Uber, and 1.5 points per dollar elsewhere.
The points are transferable to over a dozen mileage programs.
But it was the launch of the 50% rebate on airfare redemptions with the AMEX Business Platinum Card that really made the Everyday Preferred card an extremely valuable tool for mileage collectors. That rebate makes each point worth at least 2% towards airfare.
AMEX also offers insider fares that mean you can get a value of 2.1-2.3 cents per point on select flights.
Additionally, if you also have an AMEX Consumer Platinum Card you can get 5 points per dollar on airfare from airlines or on AMEXTravel.com and that includes when you redeem points for airfare. You will only “lose” 1 point per dollar when your account is credited for the redemption, but that leaves you with an effective additional bonus of 4 points per dollar spent on airfare redemptions.
To illustrate, a flight from JFK to Bermuda on 5/3 is $126.10 but is just 11,610 points with insider fares. With a 50% rebate you’ll get back 5,805 points. When using points for flights you’ll actually be charged $116.10 for this flight and get that amount credited back. If you pay using a Consumer Platinum card you’ll also earn 581 points due earning 5 points per dollar on the $116.10 charge, though you’ll lose 116 points due to the $116.10 credit, leaving you 465 points ahead. The AMEX Business Platinum card also earns 5 points per dollar on airfare from AMEXTravel.com as of 3/30, though it’s too soon for reports on whether that also will earn the 5 points per dollar on airfare redemptions as the consumer card does.
That’s a value of 2.17 cents per point ($126.10/5,805) or 2.36 cents per point ($126.10/5,340) if you also get the extra 4 points per dollar spent. And of course you’ll also earn miles for the flight itself.
By putting your spending on an EveryDay Preferred Card and making 30 transactions/month you’ll effectively have earned 9.77%-10.62% on US supermarkets, 6.51%-7.08% on gas, 5.43%-5.9% on Uber, and 3.26%-3.54% per dollar elsewhere else towards a flight like that.
And that’s not even counting for the miles earned on the flight itself.
Flights to Israel can be a true bargain with the 50% rebate. Plus you don’t have to hunt for award availability like you do with traditional miles, which can be very tough for flights to Israel.
For example a flight from Miami to Tel Aviv via Newark is just 31,159 points round-trip after 50% back (you can get an additional 2,493 points back with the bonus effective 4 points per dollar). And of course you earn miles for the flight, in this case you’ll earn 13,555 miles round-trip if you credit your flight to United’s Star Alliance partner, Singapore. And with Everyday Preferred you can earn 1.5-4.5 points per dollar everywhere, making it even easier to earn the miles.
Or a business class flight nonstop on United’s brand new 77W Polaris layout from Newark to Tel Aviv is 167,429 points round-trip after 50% back (you’ll get an additional 13,394 points back with the 4 points per dollar). And of course you earn miles for the flight, 16,310 round-trip if credited to United. And with Everyday Preferred you can earn 1.5-4.5 points per dollar everywhere.
Is it all too generous? Perhaps.
The 50% rebate isn’t posting as fast as it once did, but DDFers have been able to get manually credited for the 50% by calling and asking.
Spending on Everyday Preferred and getting a 50% points rebate with a Business Platinum card is an excellent strategy in the days of miles that continue to be devalued by the airlines.
I’m not sure what this marketing move means for the future of the card, but you may want to signup for it sooner rather than later…
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43 Comments On "Are The Everyday Preferred Card’s Spending Benefits Too Generous To Market?"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
If I have both starwood and everyday cards, can Starwood points be converted to everyday preferred points (to enable me to get the 50% points back rebate)?
1. If I have the Amex business platinum would that also work for the rebate if I have the everyday preferred?
2. If I have chase reserve and business ink do I even need the united card? It’s up for renewal with a $95 fee any suggestion?
The 4.5x isn’t unlimited and doesn’t justify the AF for many.
Is there any reason why i dont see any Elal flights from Nyc-Tlv on Amextravel?
So means the everyday proffered points are more valuable than the Starwood?
I’m actually looking into opening one of these two…
@Dov:
No
@Mark:
1. The Everyday card gives 50% bonus on spending, the business platinum gives the 50% rebate.
2. It helps with award space and free bags.
@J:
It’s worth it just for the 1.5x thanks to the 50% rebate.
The other categories are gravy.
@Jay:
You can always call AMEX to book.
@Hanna:
They each have pros and cons, but everyday+business platinum is a very strong combo.
I currently have the business platinum and get the 50% back
are you sugesting that if i open an everyday card, and use that to book the flight on amex travel, and pay with my membership points, that will get about 4 points a dollar even though the card is never really charged since the points credit the charge?
So does the Biz platinum also earn 5% on airfare even if purchased directly with the airline and no through amextravel?
Does 6k on groceries reset calendar year or cardmember year
in the example above on Bermuda how can you earn the 50% rebate when paying with the consumer platinum card? Did you mean pay with Plat. Bus. card?
I paid with points with Amex Travel for NYC-TLV. When I canceled with-in 24 hours only the money was refunded not back to the points. When I called they said they usually don’t transfer back into points unless requested to do so. I requested and they immediately did it.
Dan im confused,does that mean that everytime i want to redeem points i most first pay the amount in cash then they charge me the full amount in points and then comes a rebate?
I’m a bit confused.
I have both the ACPC and the ABPC, but I understood that if I want to get the 50% bonus on a bussinjes class ticket or my designated airline coach ticket, I have to purchase the flight using my ABPC, but doing so won’t give me 5 points per dollar. Ave If I pay using my ACPC, granted I’ll earn 5 points points per dollar spent, I won’t get the 50% rebate.
How does one get, both the 5 points per dollar (4 points after the credit) and the 50% rebate?!
@evan:
The bonus 4 points works with the personal platinum (and possibly business platinum after 3/30).
The Everyday Preferred gets you 50% bonus points for regular spending.
@cook:
No.
@12hrs:
Calendar year.
@andy:
You can pay with any card. As long as you also have a Business Platinum you’ll still get the 50% rebate.
@mo:
Yup.
@David:
The cash refund is posted immediately.
The 50% points are rebated.
@Oscar:
Nope, pay with consumer platinum and you get the 5x. As long as you have a Business Platinum you get the 50% rebate.
@andy: I believe you dont need to pay with he business platinum to get the 50% back, you just have to own one.
Hi Dan, I need advise from my favorite professional.. My FICO score dropped from 750 to 631 in just 1 month! only negative factor in my entire credit score is this month’s going slightly above the limit on Amex consume card (after checking “spending power” of course, and planned to shift the charge to my Amex business card but merchant wasn’t able to). Does this make sense to you? HUCA’d multiple times with TransUnion and got nowhere, any advise? How do I proceed??
Thanks!
Is there a way to combine my stash of MR points with my spouse? The problem with the 50% rebate is, you need an awful lot of points to book say 2 people in business.
@Anonymous:
Correct.
@Eliezer:
You should pay off all of your bills (besides for a $1 to pay after it closes) before the statement even closes.
Your score will soar.
@Emgee:
There’s no easy way to do that anymore.
You can pay partially with points and get back 50% for whatever you used.
Am I missing something? Your post showed you using the 50% rebate on an AA flight and then again on a UA flight. I know you manage multiple cards, but is there a way to get the 50% back on more than your selected airline (or biz class tickets)?
@Dan, I wonder if this is the first step to them eliminating the Amex EDP card completely (or at least for new applicants).
@azhoopsfan:
You can change airlines if you haven’t used the $200 credit yet that year.
Or you can have multiple cards.
@Mark:
It’s possible. I don’t know what the story is here.
@Dan: huh are you sure with that?
@Elie:
What are you referring to?
Worth mentioning that spending over 5k on Business Platinum also gives you 1.5
@Matovu:
This post isn’t about the detailed benefits of each card, but regardless, there’s no need to do that with the Everyday Preferred card as it always earns at least that much with 30 transactions/month.
Also tell them about the meters
You wrote to pay everything off besides for 1 dollar. I thought it’s better to have more (like 5-10%) of your credit. Isn’t 1 dollar a bit low?
Thanks Dan. I did not know that and I was once told differently by an Amex rep.
I just flew from the west coast to ny, and my options were either a 25k anytime coach award on united (nothing else was available) or buy a business ticket for $580 a piece. I did the latter. Had I known I could have purchased using the Amex consumer plat. I would have earned 2324 miles just from the purchase alone, plus another 2605 miles for flying cross country and then 29000 from the 50% , rebate putting me just above 24k for this flight. Incredible.
@Anonymous:
Lots of good ways to reach 30 transactions.
Can also just add funds to your Amazon account.
@Abraham:
A dollar or two is all it takes.
@Oscar:
Incredible indeed.
1) Does the 50% bonus kick in after 30 transactions? Say you did 30 * 50 cent Amazon loads. Would that mean that any transactions (Grocery, Gas, Uber, everything else) after those transactions would be at the at the 50% multiple? Or do those transactions have to be in certain categories?
2) The current flavor of the card is capping grocery spend at $6,000 at 3x. So you can effectively only make 18,000 + 9,000 MR from those transxn with the bonus.
3) 2x at gas stations (isn’t that covered with PRG?)
@B:
1. No, everything that month retroactively gets the 50% bonus.
2. Correct, per card, per calendar year in that category.
3. It’s 3x at gas stations with the 50% bonus.
@Dan
So taking an assumption of 1 card per calendar year per person.
– Max Grocery MR is 27,000.
– Say you do $200 in gas per month (200*3), that would be 7200 MR.
– Say you do $100 in Uber per month (100*2.5), that would be 3000 MR.
—> Basically, you’re spending ~$100 for ~37k MR in ‘normal’ spending.
Doesn’t seem like a huge haul of points.
@B:
Why not use the card for everyday spending?
@Dan
Yes, that makes sense. 1.5x for all and every transaction without the need spend 1.5k on the AMEX Biz Plat. Although, this would be a very MR-centric point of view of getting points .
@B:
Need to spend 5K/transaction on AMEX Biz Plat for the sam 50% bonus.
Combined with the 50% rebate and potential extra 4 points per dollar on redeemed airfare, it’s a very tough to beat combo.
Can this work (50% back on Amex travel and 5 points) if I have only the business Platinum Card but not the consumer
@dan Is the everyday card still going to be avialabile from Amex
Just you won’t have the link for it or there getting ride of it?
@Dov: @Dan: cant you transfer spg to membership rewards or vice versa? i kinda think its possible somehow although probably not a good value
Tried to apply, but got “Cancelled” because reached limit for “approved cards in few months”,
I just got both SPG and Business SPG.
Never seen it before, any suggestions?
@dan apologies in advance if this was answered elsewhere…
I have an offer for the amex business gold – does this rebate work with that? or is it a card worth getting? in the past I have had offers for the business platinum as well.
I’m also looking at the united card because I dont have it yet.
which of these would be best? only want to add one new card atm..
@Dov: no
@yankel: Yes, you can transfer MR to SPG, but it is not a good value.
@Dan,
If you get 50% bonus points on every dollar spent on Everyday Preferred, and you also get 50% bonus value on Sapphire Reserved (for travel redemption), isn’t that a wash?