American Express Cash Magnet™ Card Review
Learn more about this card and find out how you can apply here.
The American Express Cash Magnet™ Card is a straightforward cash back credit card with no annual fee and a flat, unlimited cash back earning rate on all eligible purchases. Additional perks include a generous sign-up bonus worth up to $300 cash and a long 0% APR introductory promotion for balance transfers and purchases.
If Cash Magnet feels familiar to you, you’re onto something. It has obvious similarities to other popular flat-rate cash back cards available to U.S. consumers. Top competitors include the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards and Chase Freedom Unlimited, both of which earn the same flat, unlimited 1.5% back on eligible purchases.
Mulling your cash back options? Read on to learn more about the American Express Cash Magnet Card’s features, benefits, drawbacks, and overall suitability.
The American Express Cash Magnet card has a two-part sign-up bonus.
First, you’ll earn $150 in bonus cash when you make at least $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first three months that your account is open.
Second, you’ll earn an additional $150 in bonus cash when you make an additional $6,500 in eligible purchases within the first 12 months that your account is open.
All told, this welcome offer is worth $300 in bonus cash. You’ll receive your bonus cash as a statement credit after meeting the eligibility thresholds.
This card earns an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases. Cash-like transactions and certain other transaction types do not count toward cash back earnings. Cash back accrues as Reward Dollars, which can be redeemed for cash and other items but have no intrinsic value. As long as your account remains open and in good standing, Reward Dollars don’t expire.
Once you accrue at least $25 in Reward Dollars, you can redeem them for statement credits, gift cards, and general merchandise. You need to spend at least $1,666.67 to earn enough Reward Dollars to meet the redemption threshold, not counting bonus cash earned through the sign-up bonus.
Cash Magnet has a 0% APR introductory promotion on purchases and balance transfers. Both transaction types accrue no interest for 15 months from your account opening date. In order to qualify, transfers must be made within 60 days of your account opening.
Following the conclusion of the 0% APR introductory promotion period, the purchase and balance transfer APR rises to between 14.74% and 25.74%, depending on your creditworthiness and prevailing interest rates.
The cash advance APR is set from the day you open your account and also varies with prevailing interest rates. As of June 2018, the cash advance APR is 26.99%. The penalty APR is 29.99%
There is no annual fee. Foreign transaction fees cost 2.7% of the transaction amount. Balance transfer and cash advance fees cost $5 or 3% of the transaction amount, whichever is greater.
Pay It and Plan It are two features included with the Amex Mobile app, which all cardholders are encouraged to download for free.
Pay It lets you make payments equal to the amount of a particular billed purchase, subject to a $100 maximum. Instead of applying to that specific purchase, Pay It payments count toward your outstanding card balance. This is a useful interest-reducing tool for cardholders who routinely carry balances from month to month.
Plan It allows you to create as many as 10 purchase-specific payment plans separate from your main monthly balance. Each plan’s principal is capped at $100, for a $1,000 maximum on all Plan It payment plans. Like Pay It, Plan It can help reduce interest charges for customers who routinely carry balances from month to month. It can also improve cash flow by reducing monthly minimum balance payments and spacing out required payments throughout the billing period.
Cash Magnet has a nice lineup of travel benefits:
This card comes with a number of useful shopping benefits:
This card requires good to excellent credit. Any noteworthy blemishes on your credit record could disqualify your application
The American Express Cash Magnet™ Card isn’t the cash back credit card category’s gold standard. Plenty of other cards, including some with no annual fees, have better rewards schemes and juicier benefits.
That said, Cash Magnet is a great fit for no-drama cardholders seeking predictable rates of return on everyday spending. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand its rewards program, as is the case with some travel rewards credit cards, nor do you have to stay on top of rotating rewards categories or complicated tiers. As long as you’re cool without luxe perks and white-glove treatment, you’ll do just fine with American Express Cash Magnet.
Learn more about this card and find out how you can apply here.
Updated: July 25, 2018
The American Express Cash Magnet™ Card is a straightforward cash back credit card that’s ideal for frugal cardholders seeking the predictability of flat, unlimited cash back. A long 0% APR introductory promotion and generous sign-up bonus sweeten the deal for new applicants planning major purchases.
This card isn’t appropriate for consumers seeking super generous cash back programs or lots of value-added perks and benefits. However, with no annual fee, there’s little downside to keeping it in your wallet.
This card’s top benefits include no annual fee, a generous sign-up bonus, an excellent 0% APR introductory promotion for purchases and balance transfers, straightforward cash back earnings, and solid fringe benefits.
Notable drawbacks include a hard cap on cash back at 1.5%, no point transfer bonus to travel partners, a 2.7% foreign transaction fee, a $25 minimum cash back redemption threshold, penalty interest charges on past-due balances, and a high spending threshold to complete the sign-up bonus.
Overall, American Express Cash Magnet is a solid choice for consumers seeking predictable cash back, relatively low fees, and generous offers for new cardholders.
Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Categories: American Express, Credit Cards, Reviews
Brian Martucci writes about frugal living, entrepreneurship, and innovative ideas. When he’s not interviewing small business owners or investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, he’s probably out exploring a new trail or sampling a novel cuisine. Find him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
Comments Disclosure: The below responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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