American Express Cash Magnet® Credit Card Review

Best for: spenders who don’t want to have to keep track of tiered bonuses or spending categories

For those of us who think earning credit card rewards should be simple, the American Express Cash Magnet® Card ranks pretty high on the list.  By giving cardholders a flat-rate 1.5% cash back on all purchases with zero annual fee, Amex makes this card easy to pull out of your wallet.

The basics of the American Express Cash Magnet® Credit Card

• APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then variable APR of 14.99% to 25.99%
• Annual Fee: $0
• Reward Rates: Earn a flat 1.5% cash back on all of your purchases. The rewards come in the form of Reward Dollars, which can be easily redeemed as statement credits, gift cards and merchandise.
• Intro Offer: Earn $200 cash back in the form of a statement credit when you spend $1,000 within the first three months of owning the card.

The Amex Cash Magnet® Credit Card’s standout features

• Earn unlimited cash back
• Amex’s Plan It® feature: The Plan It® feature allows you to choose a qualifying purchase to pay off over time for a set monthly fee, rather than paying interest.
• Travel benefits: This American Express card comes with a host of travel benefits, including car rental loss and damage insurance, roadside assistance hotline and travel accident insurance.
• Lifestyle benefits: This card also comes with Purchase Protection, which can cover you if something you buy is lost or stolen, Extended Warranty, which covers you after the manufacturer’s warranty runs out and Return Protection, which allows you to get credit back for returns that the store won’t accept.   

Best way to use American Express Cash Magnet® Credit Card

Since this card’s rewards come in the form of unlimited cash back at a flat rate, your best bet for racking up those Rewards Dollars is to use the card frequently, for purchases big and small. This is doubly true if you’re a new cardmember and are eligible for the intro bonus that gives you $200 cash back in the form of a statement credit when you spend at least $1,000 total within the first three months of having the card.

However, the other way to take advantage of all the lesser-known bonuses that come with the card. For instance, instead of paying to replace a lost phone, you could put the Amex Cash Magnet’s Purchase Protection feature to use, or rather than buying your own car rental insurance, you can just use the policy that comes with your Amex.

In a nutshell

For people who think that earning rewards should be a no-brainer, it doesn’t get much better than the American Express Cash Magnet Card. With a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases, no annual fee and a generous intro bonus of $200 cash back in a statement credit when you spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, earning rewards can’t get any simpler. Plus, with the option to redeem your rewards through a statement credit, gift cards, or merchandise, you can choose how you spend that cash back. 

That said, if you’re willing to keep track of a few more details in order to earn, more lucrative rewards, there are other credit card options out there with a higher cash back yield. The Discover it® Cash Back Card, for one, let’s you earn up to 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories, plus 1%  cash back on all other purchases.