Pros & cons
Pros
- 10% cash back for the first 3 months, up to $2,000 in spend. Plus, earn $50 when you make a purchase on month 13.
- 4% cash back on gas and groceries.
- 2% cash back on all other purchases.
- 10 types of insurance included.
Cons
- Lower acceptance as an American Express.
- Cash back only paid out once per year.
Your rewards
Getting your welcome bonus
Based on $2,000 in monthly spending, you can get up to 10% in your first 3 months on up to $2,000 in spending which translates to an estimated $199.◊
For all welcome bonus details click here.
How you earn rewards
Each card earns rewards differently. Part of choosing your card is deciding what type of rewards you want to get. With SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express, here's how you earn rewards:
- 4% cash back on gas and groceries
- 2% cash back on all other purchases
For all reward details click here.
How much your rewards are worth
The dollar value of your rewards depends on the specific rewards program ‒ and what you choose to redeem your points for. For SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express in particular, if you spend $2,000 per month, here's our estimated annual rewards earned depending on which reward you choose:
| Statement credits | $612 |
Calculating your annual rewards
$24,000 annual spending x 2.55% return on spending = $612 annual rewards
$612 annual rewards − $119.88 annual fee = $492 net annual rewards
Details and eligibility
- Estimated Credit Score
- 660 - 724
- Personal Income
- N/A
- Household Income
- N/A
- Annual Fee ᔥ
- $119.88
- Extra Card Fee
- $0
- Card type
- Credit
- Purchase
- 21.99%
- Cash Advance
- 21.99%
- Balance Transfer
- N/A
Insurance coverage
- Extended Warranty
- 1 year
- Purchase Protection
- 90 days
- Mobile Device
- $1,000
- Travel Accident
- $100,000
- Emergency Medical Term
- 15 days
- Flight Delay
- $500
- Baggage Delay
- $500
- Lost or Stolen Baggage
- $500
- Hotel Burglary
- $500
- Rental Car Theft & Damage
- Yes
Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage, terms and conditions apply.
Learn more about the value of credit card insurance coverage.
Genius Rating
SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express's 4.5 Genius Rating is based on the weighted average of the following scores:
Methodology
All scores are produced by our math-based rating algorithm that takes into account over 126 credit card features.
Top cards from American Express
Our review
The SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express is one of the top cash back cards on the market right now and for good reason.
It has a simple formula – it offers among the best rewards you can get for a cash back credit card, coupled with no income requirements and a reasonable annual fee. As an all-around strong cash back option, here's what you can get if it's in your wallet.
Earning cash back with the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express
As the card name implies, when you make a purchase with the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express, you get cash back on every purchase.
How much do you get? Here's what you'll earn everywhere you shop:
- 4% cash back on gas and groceries
- 2% cash back on all other purchases
Very impressive. When other cash back cards offer bonus categories, your other purchases are topped out at earning 1%. But not here. You'll get 4% on a pair of common categories, while still earning 2% cash back everywhere else.
How does this translate to annual rewards? Based on a typical $2,000 monthly spend, you can get around $612 in cash back per year.
Your cash back gets paid out as a statement credit every year in September.
4 other benefits to the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express
There's plenty more to like about the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express. Here are 4 other things this card offers.
1. Excellent insurance
When it comes to insurance and cash back cards, they often don't mix. The insurance included on cash back cards often pales in comparison to what's included on travel credit cards.
But not here. You'll still get 10 types of insurance – you can check out the insurance tab above for the full details.
In fact, it's similar coverage to what's included with the best credit card in Canada – the American Express Cobalt Card.
2. No income requirements and a monthly fee
As an Amex credit card, it has no income requirements for you to worry. Similar Visa Infinite credit cards would need you to have a minimum personal income of $60,000 or $100,000 household to qualify.
If it's a World Elite Mastercard, they're even higher at $80,000 personal or $150,000 household.
To top it off, instead of an annual fee, you'll pay $9.99 per month.
3. Typical Amex benefits
Your typical Amex benefits are here.
For extra savings, Amex Offers are full of various deals you can take advantage of, usually with a lump sum of cash coming back your way.
For easier access to concert tickets, there's Front Of The Line, where members can get their own pre-sale access before the general public on many events.
4. Excellent welcome bonus
The welcome bonus is superb. You'll earn 10% cash back for the first 3 months, up to $2,000 in spend. Plus, earn $50 when you make a purchase on month 13. That's an easy $200 in cash back you can earn.
2 downsides to the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express
Seems too good to be true? There are 2 things to keep in mind – it's not perfect.
1. Lower American Express acceptance
There is no denying that Amex acceptance rates are a little lower than Visa and Mastercard.
However, it's not as bad as you think. In fact, Amex has created a map you can use to see what merchants in your area take Amex. It's an excellent tool to let you see if your favourite shops will take Amex or not.
You can also pair your Amex card with a no fee Visa or Mastercard and use it wherever your Amex card isn't accepted. Here are a couple of quick options to look at.
2. Rewards only paid out once per year
You'll watch the cash back rack up. But you'll only get access to it once per year.
Amex will apply what you've earned as a statement credit every September. Other cash back cards let users get their cash back on demand, but that isn't the case here.
Comparison to the SimplyCash Card from American Express
Amex offers a pair of cash back cards, the other being the no fee SimplyCash Card from American Express.
Here's how these 2 cards compare.
| SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express | SimplyCash Card from American Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome Bonus | 10% cash back for the first 3 months + $50 (terms) | 5% cash back for the first 3 months (terms) |
| Earn Rates | * 4% cash back on gas and groceries * 2% cash back on all other purchases | * 2% cash back on gas * 2% cash back on groceries (up to $300 cash back annually) * 1.25% cash back on all other purchases |
| Insurance Included | 10 types | 3 types |
| Annual Fee | $119.88 | $0 |
Which card is better depends on these 2 things. The first easy question to answer – do you want travel insurance? If so, you'll want the preferred version.
If not, it comes down to how much you spend, or in other words, whether it's enough to offset paying $119.88 in fees.
So here's a rough guideline. Here are the average earn rates for each card using our typical spending breakdown.
SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express – 2.55%
SimplyCash Card from American Express – 1.46%
Let's use our handy formula to determine the monthly spend you need to meet in order to offset the $119.88 annual fee.
Difference in annual fee / Difference in annual return / 12
Let's plug in the numbers.
$119.88 / (2.55% – 1.46%) / 12 = $916
Spending around $900 per month is our guideline as to which version you should get. Spend less? Get the no fee card. Spend more? The preferred version is the way to go.
Leave a review
For those of you who have it or had it in the past, feel free to leave a user review.
This is what we think of the card, but letting others read about real world experiences can aid in making the right decision.
FAQ
What does the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express offer for rewards?
The SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express is a cash back card, and offers the following earn rates on purchases:
- 4% cash back on gas and groceries
- 2% cash back on all other purchases
Your cash back gets paid out every September as a statement credit.
What benefits does the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express come with?
The SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express comes with a few benefits, including:
- 10 types of insurance, and
- Standard Amex benefits of Amex Offers and Front Of The Line.
What are the annual fee and income requirements of the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express?
The SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express has an annual fee of $119.88 that gets charged out as $9.99 per month, and no income requirements.
Key benefits
User reviews
Reviewed by 24 Canadians
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I love it
The new card offers a 4% rebate on groceries and gasoline! 2% rebate on all other purchases. The card is a monthly card and has a much lower base rate than other premium cards. The card includes up to $1,000 in mobile device coverage (note that the device fee must be charged to the card and if you pay for the device monthly through a delivery service, all charges must be credited to the card to qualify for coverage). In the retail industry, the Express Card is accepted at most well-known retailers and restaurants. Note, purachase in Walmart with 2% rebate!!!!!!!
The new card with the 4% cashback on groceries and gas is excellent! 4% cash back on groceries up to $1,200 in cash back per year and no limit on gas cash back at 4% or anything else at 2%. The travel insurance coverage is similar to other premium cards that these days carry annual fees of $139 and higher. In contrast to other premium cards with far lower base earn rates, this card has a modest annual fee of $119.88 (charged monthly). The card includes mobile device insurance up to $1,000 (keep in mind the cost of the device must be charged to the card or if you are paying monthly for your device via courier, the payments must all be posted on the card to take advantage of this coverage). I live in Toronto so acceptance rate for Amex is high. Loblaw-owned supermarkets are the outliers in not accepting Amex (with Shoppers Drug Mart being the exception) but every other large supermarket chain does accept it including the discount banners of Sobeys (Freshco), Metro (Food Basics), and even Walmart. Retail wise virtually all well-known retailers accept it as do most restaurants although some small mom-and-pop stores may not.
My main objective was to gain cashback and while the Amex did give cashback, it wasn't on every type of purchase. They're also really strict with paying back. So I decided to switch and now I'm really happy with my KOHO MasterCard. I get Cash back on expensive groceries, earned interest on my entire account, and have tools to build my credit history. I also received $20 the moment I joined. No questions asked when I joined KOHO.
I’ve had my Amex card for well over 10 years. I pay the balance in full every month so I’ve never paid a penny in interest. If you are going to carry a balance there are cards that will give you better rates. The perks have changed over the years but I’ve always got far more than the annual fee in cash back. I am very happy with the 4% on gas and groceries and we are now putting almost all our groceries on the Amex card (except Costco unfortunately). With the price of gas these days, it’s nice to know you are saving 6 cents a litre when you pull up to the pump.
Now, for two items you have not addressed that to me, make the Amex card by far the best card to have in my wallet. First and most important to me, payment on the card is a very simple process. I go on the Amex app, enter the payment amount and the date I want to pay and that’s it, done! I’m not left try to figure out how long the bank will take to transfer funds, Amex absorbs that time. If I say make the payment on the due date Amex applies the payment on that day and collects the funds from my bank account. With other cards I have to guess how long it will take and I’ve been caught with the bank transfer taking longer and getting an overdue email or paying it plenty early and having the cc company tell me I have not made my payment only to find they applied the payment to the previous month. Very frustrating!
Secondly, less import but still very nice, Amex has great statements and year end reports which I find very helpful (especially at tax time).
All in all, a great card…I wouldn’t leave home without it!
