No Annual Fee, a Nice Welcome Bonus, and Simple Earning: American Express Cash Magnet Card Review

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The American Express Cash Magnet® Card is a no-annual-fee card that earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase, with no caps!

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.          

It comes with a welcome bonus of up to $250 back after meeting tiered 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.

The Up to $250 Welcome Bonus and Unlimited 1.5% Cash Back on All Purchases Makes This Card a True “Cash Magnet” for Folks Who Don’t Want to Worry About Bonus Categories

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.

American Express Cash Magnet $250 Bonus

Apply Here:   American Express Cash Magnet Card

With the American Express Cash Magnet Card, you’ll earn $150 back after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening, and an additional $100 back after spending an additional $6,500 on purchases in the first 12 months.

There are certainly higher intro offers in the AMEX card family, but this is a hefty bonus for a no-annual-fee credit card!

For Many Folks There’s Nothing Better Than Cash Back, and the AMEX Cash Magnet Card Makes It Easy to Earn

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 any time your reward dollar balance is $25 or more.

Turn Everyday Purchases Into Cash Back!

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.

Use the AMEX Cash Magnet for Spending in Categories That Don’t Normally Earn a Bonus, Like Salons!

Note:   You can NOT convert the welcome bonus and reward dollars earned with the AMEX Cash Magnet card to transferable Membership Rewards currency (more on that below).

American Express Cash Magnet Card Benefits

Along with cash back, the AMEX Cash Magnet Card comes with valuable perks and services available to American Express card members.  Here are the major benefits:

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 2-day shipping and free return shipping at 100+ online stores, including Neiman Marcus, Ann Taylor, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

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.

Extended Warranty

When you use the AMEX Cash Magnet card to purchase an item, American Express will extend the manufacturer warranty for up to 2 additional years on eligible warranties of 5 years or less.  This means you can safely decline extra coverage on big purchases!

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

Like many credit cards on the market today, AMEX Cash Magnet cardholders will get complimentary secondary rental car insurance, which covers against damages due to theft or collision to the rental car.

You’ll Get Secondary Coverage When You Pay for Your Car Rental With the AMEX Cash Magnet

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.

Is the AMEX Cash Magnet Worth the Annual Fee?

Absolutely, because 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.

Does the AMEX Cash Magnet Have a Foreign Transaction Fee?

Yes.  If you travel outside the country, this is a card you’ll want to leave at home.

Who Is Eligible for the AMEX Cash Magnet Card?

Because this card is relatively new to the rewards card scene, almost no one will be ineligible for having received the welcome bonus under AMEX’s one-bonus-per-lifetime policy.

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 more here about AMEX’s new tool that tells you upfront if you’ll be eligible for a welcome bonus.

Alternatives 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.  Like the AMEX Cash Magnet, the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% cash back on all 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 card.  When you combine the points you earn with the Freedom Unlimited with one of these cards, you can transfer them to Chase’s valuable airline and hotel partners, or redeem them for paid travel at a higher rate through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

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

If You Want Big Travel, There Are Other Cards Which Earn More Flexible Points to Help You Reach Your Goals

Even if you have an AMEX card that earns AMEX Membership Rewards points, you can only redeem your cash back from the AMEX Cash Magnet for statement credit, gift cards, or merchandise.

Bottom Line

The American Express Cash Magnet Card is a great option for folks who are 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 $150 welcome bonus after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening and another $100 after you spend an additional $6,500 on purchases in the first 12 months.  That’s a total of $7,500 in spending for a $250 bonus.

For a no-annual-fee card, the Cash Magnet offers a decent 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.

So 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.

Million Mile Secrets features a team of points and miles experts who have traveled to over 80 countries and have used 60+ credit cards responsibly to accumulate loyalty points and travel the world on the cheap! The Million Mile Secrets team has been featured on The Points Guy, TIME, Yahoo Finance and many other leading points & miles media outlets.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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