American Express Blue Sky vs Blue Sky Preferred
The popular Blue Sky has been out for several years, but not too long ago Amex introduced the “Preferred” version… how do they compare? Which one is best for you? Find out with this Blue Sky vs Blue Sky Preferred matchup.
First, let’s start with the original AmEx Blue Sky…
Rewards – You will be earning them 33% faster than most credit cards!
Like most cards, the Amex Blue Sky gives 1 point per dollar. However the difference comes when you redeem… for every 7,500 points you get $100.00 (so basically every point is worth 1.33 cents instead of the typical 1 cent).
The $100 comes in the form of a statement credit that can be applied to virtually any travel purchase you make with your card. So let’s say you want to buy a $300 plane ticket and pay for it with points. Simply buy the ticket on your own any way you like (through the airline, through a travel website like Expedia, etc) and pay for the purchase using your Blue Sky card. Then call up AmEx and tell them you want to cash out 22,500 points to pay for that flight – in exchange they will issue you a $300 statement credit.
This is such a versatile rewards program because it gives you the freedom to spend your points on virtually any travel purchase you want, from any company you want.
Travel Benefits – When you pay with the AmEx Blue Sky card you get all kinds of free benefits: rental car collision coverage, room guarantee for any hotel, free breakfasts at JW Marriott and Renaissance hotels, and travel accident insurance.
Annual Fee – There is no annual fee
Now let’s look at the AmEx Blue Sky Preferred…
Rewards – Same as above, plus you earn higher rewards on categories!
You get 2x points on dining, hotel, and car rental. Being that each point is worth 1.33 cents, that’s like getting a 2.66% rebate on those categories of spending… extremely lucrative, especially the dining category!
Travel Benefits – You get all of the benefits of the original card, plus a free $100 airline allowance every year.
You can use that $100 allowance to pay for things like luggage fees, in-flight food/entertainment, headphones, blankets, etc. Considering that you have to pay $50 roundtrip just to check one bag on most airlines, this free $100 every year is a very useful benefit!
Annual Fee – The Blue Sky Preferred has a $75 annual fee, but when you think about it, that annual $100 allowance more than makes up for it!
Blue Sky vs Blue Sky Preferred… who wins?
Well you’re going to come out ahead with both cards, since they both offer above-average rewards. I personally opt for the Preferred card since the annual fee doesn’t really matter when you take into account the $100 annual allowance. Either way, the choice is yours. Both of these are great American Express cards!
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