American Express Cash Magnet card review

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The American Express Cash Magnet® Card is a no-annual-fee card (see rates and fees) that earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase, with no caps. It comes with a welcome bonus of a $150 statement credit after meeting minimum spending requirements. That’s a decent offer — especially if you prefer the flexibility of cold hard cash and would rather not have an annual fee.

If you’re looking for an everyday credit card without having to think about bonus spending categories, you can apply for the American Express Cash Magnet Card here.

Let’s take a closer look at the Amex Cash Magnet card’s bonus and benefits to see if it’s a good fit for your wallet.

The information for the Amex Cash Magnet card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

American Express Cash Magnet review

Current bonus

With the American Express Cash Magnet Card, you’ll earn $150 back (as a statement credit) after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Benefits and perks

The American Express Cash Magnet Card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no caps or limits. This is ideal for those who don’t want to put too much thought into their spending or keep track of airline and hotel loyalty programs.

You’ll earn 1.5% cash back for all of your spending, period. This is a great card to use for everyday expenses that don’t fall into bonus categories with other cards.

Amex Offers

You can add Amex Offers to this card, which provides cardholders with discounts and bonuses on everyday purchases. Because these discounts are applied as a statement credit after your purchase, you can take advantage of these discounts while also using shopping portals, promotional codes, and coupons. This means you can stack discounts and save some serious cash.

ShopRunner

The Amex Cash Magnet comes with a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which offers free two-day shipping and free return shipping at 100+ online stores, including Neiman Marcus, Ann Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. (enrollment required).

A ShopRunner membership normally costs $79 per year but you get a free subscription with any Amex card. This is a great perk for the regular online shopper. (enrollment required).

Purchase Protection

You can rest easy knowing that the big ticket item you bought using your Amex Cash Magnet card is covered against damage or theft for up to 120 days. You can get reimbursed for up to $1,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per account per calendar year.

Rental Car Insurance

The Amex Cash Magnet cardholders will get complimentary secondary rental car insurance, which covers against damages due to theft or collision to the rental car. This means that if you pay for the entire eligible rental car with your Amex Cash Magnet card, you can decline the collision damage waiver at the rental car counter and still be covered if the car is damaged or stolen.

But because coverage is secondary, it will only pay for what’s left after your own personal insurance coverage.

How to redeem rewards

There are certainly higher intro offers in the Amex card family, but this is a solid bonus for a no-annual-fee credit card. Your bonus comes directly as a statement credit on your account. And the 1.5% cash back you’ll earn is issued in the form of reward dollars, which you can cash out as a statement credit, gift cards or merchandise any time your reward dollar balance is $25 or more.

It’s worth pointing out that this card earns pure cash — you can’t transfer your rewards to Amex transfer partners like you can with cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards points.

Is the annual fee worth it?

The Amex Cash Magnet has no annual fee. Keeping no-annual-fee cards for the long term can increase your average account age and possibly boost your credit score. Read our post about how credit cards affect your credit score.

Who is the Amex Cash Magnet Card for?

Amex has a strict policy that allows you the opportunity to only earn the welcome bonus on each of their cards once per lifetime. In other words, if you’ve had this card before, you won’t be able to earn the bonus again.

However, Amex has recently tightened restrictions on those who routinely open and close credit card accounts. If you are one of those people, you can read our post on Amex’s tool that tells you if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus before you submit your application.

Cards similar to the Amex Cash Magnet Card

The Amex Cash Magnet card doesn’t come with options for converting reward dollars into Amex Membership Rewards point. To compare, consider the Chase Freedom Unlimited, for example. Similar to the Amex Cash Magnet, the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% cash back on purchases, with no limits and no annual fee.

But, the Freedom Unlimited has a huge advantage when you pair it with a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. When you combine the Chase Ultimate Rewards points you earn with the Freedom Unlimited with one of these cards, you can redeem them with Chase transfer partners or redeem them for paid travel at a higher rate through the Chase travel portal.

The information for the Ink Business Preferred has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

The American Express Cash Magnet Card is a great option for anyone looking for a single card for everyday spending without the hassle of bonus categories.  This card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no limit on the amount of cash back you can earn. And it currently offers a welcome bonus of $150 statement credit after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

For a no-annual-fee card, the Amex Cash Magnet offers a competitive intro bonus and a whole suite of valuable perks that normally come with premium American Express cards. But the 1.5% cash back rate isn’t the best around, especially when you consider alternative cards that either offer a higher earning rate or transferable rewards points.

If you’re interested in carrying a simple cash back card with no-annual-fee, the Amex Cash Magnet might be for you, especially if you’ve already earned the welcome bonus on other more valuable Amex cards. But if you’re more interested in earning travel rewards, consider the best travel credit cards first instead.

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For rates and fees of the American Express Cash Magnet, click here