American Express Blue Cash Preferred vs Business Gold Card
Both are American Express cards. Here is every spend category, ranked by what each card actually returns.
Everything else
- Business Gold Card 2.0% 1x base rate
- Blue Cash Preferred 1.0% 1% base rate
Groceries
- Blue Cash Preferred 6.0% 6%, capped
- Business Gold Card 2.0% 1x base rate
Gas
- Blue Cash Preferred 3.0% 3%
- Business Gold Card 2.0% 1x base rate
Ground transportation
- Blue Cash Preferred 3.0% 3%
- Business Gold Card 2.0% 1x base rate
Streaming
- Blue Cash Preferred 6.0% 6%
- Business Gold Card 2.0% 1x base rate
Flights · portal
- Business Gold Card · American Express Travel 6.0% 3x
Hotels · portal
- Business Gold Card · American Express Travel 6.0% 3x
What the numbers are doing
Blue Cash Preferred's 6% on groceries runs out: it applies to the first $6,000 of groceries spend a year, and everything past that earns 1%.
Business Gold Card tops everything else at 2.0% only because this table values its points at 2 cents each. Value them at one cent and Blue Cash Preferred wins that category instead.
Business Gold Card lets you choose 2 categories to earn 4x on. This table assumes nothing is chosen yet, so it earns its base rate everywhere; choose in the generator to see where it lands.
| Category | Best card |
|---|---|
| Everything else | Business Gold Card2.0% |
| Groceries | Blue Cash Preferred6.0% |
| Gas | Blue Cash Preferred3.0% |
| Ground transportation | Blue Cash Preferred3.0% |
| Streaming | Blue Cash Preferred6.0% |
| Flights · portal | Business Gold Card · American Express Travel6.0% |
| Hotels · portal | Business Gold Card · American Express Travel6.0% |
Content preview. Apple Wallet controls the layout; visible categories vary by device. Categories that rank the same as Everything else are left off; every other category is in pass details.
Every category, every card
Everything else
- Business Gold Card — 2.0%
- Blue Cash Preferred — 1.0%
Groceries
- Blue Cash Preferred — 6.0%
- Business Gold Card — 2.0%
Gas
- Blue Cash Preferred — 3.0%
- Business Gold Card — 2.0%
Ground transportation
- Blue Cash Preferred — 3.0%
- Business Gold Card — 2.0%
Streaming
- Blue Cash Preferred — 6.0%
- Business Gold Card — 2.0%
Flights · portal
- Business Gold Card · American Express Travel — 6.0%
Hotels · portal
- Business Gold Card · American Express Travel — 6.0%
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Open this ranking in the generatorA cheat sheet in your Wallet that tells you which card to use. No account, no bank linking, no subscription.