Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express vs Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
Both cards pay cash back on groceries and streaming, and both target people with good-to-excellent credit, so they land on a lot of the same shortlists. They split on two things: whether you pay an annual fee, and how much you earn on food. The Blue Cash Preferred charges $95 a year (waived the first year) and pays 6% at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 a year. The Savor charges $0 and pays a flat 3% across dining, groceries, entertainment, and streaming. That gap decides most of it.
| Spec | Blue Cash | Capital One |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $95/yr ($0 first year) | No annual fee |
| Welcome bonus | $300 bonus | $250 bonus |
| Base rate | 1% | 1% |
| Top earn rates |
|
|
| Foreign tx fee | 2.7% | None |
| Statement credits | 1 credits | None |
| Rewards | Cash back (Reward Dollars) | Cash back |
Choose Blue Cash Preferred®
Choose the Blue Cash Preferred if a lot of your spending runs through U.S. supermarkets. It pays 6% back there on up to $6,000 per year (then 1%), plus 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% on transit, and 3% at U.S. gas stations. The Disney Bundle credit adds up to $10 back each month. The welcome offer is a $300 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in the first 6 months, and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. Two catches: you need enough supermarket and streaming spend to clear the $95 fee in year two, and the 2.7% foreign transaction fee makes it a weak travel card.
Full details →Choose Capital One Savor
Choose the Savor if you want no annual fee and broad, uncapped rewards. It costs $0 a year and earns 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming, and grocery stores (superstores like Walmart and Target are excluded), plus 5% on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 8% on Capital One Entertainment purchases. There are no foreign transaction fees, so it works abroad. The bonus is easier to hit: $250 after you spend $500 in the first 3 months, and you also get 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. Rewards don't expire for the life of the account.
Full details →Verdict
Heavy supermarket spenders who will clear the $95 fee should take the Blue Cash Preferred for its 6% grocery rate, while everyone else is better served by the Savor's $0 annual fee, broad 3% categories, and no foreign transaction fees.