A few years ago, I saw an ad for the Blue Cash card on TV. The commercial’s touting of its high 5% rebate got my attention. When I researched this card on American Express’ website, I saw that the big rebate didn’t actually start until I spent at least $6,500 on the card. Until I reached that magic $6,500 number, the card would earn me just 1% at gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores, and a measly 1/2% everywhere else. “My Chase PerfectCard gives me 3% at gas stations and 1% everywhere else”, I thought, “so I’ll just stick with what I have.”

The years went by and I didn’t give the Blue Cash card a second thought. I was happy earning at least $400 each year from my PerfectCard, and it wasn’t until I wrote my cash back credit card calculator did I discover what I had been missing out on. At my level of spend, I was leaving more than $250 in extra rebates on the table by not using the Blue Cash. Little did I realize that what I could spend above $6,500 in a year’s time would more than make up for the puny rebates in the beginning.

After I smacked myself, I quickly applied for the Blue Cash card. The online application was pretty painless and their website approved me automatically in about 10 seconds. I was pleasantly surprised by that, as I was expecting to wait a couple days to have some person look at the application before they made a decision.

The card came about a week later, and I started using it right away for all my everyday purchases (and for paying recurring bills too). The Blue Cash card also came with 0% APR on purchases for the first 6 months, so I just made the minimum payment to keep my money in the bank earning me interest instead.

By letting my balance grow, it only took about 3 months to get near my initial credit limit on this card. Because of the 0% APR, I didn’t just want to pay off my balance either… so I decided to request a credit limit increase. Here’s where my next pleasant surprise came in. American Express has a link on their website to request a limit increase. When I clicked that link, the site just asked me for my annual income and my desired new credit limit, and within 10 seconds, my new limit was approved. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

It’s no wonder that in its June 2007 issue, Money Magazine named the Blue Cash card as one of the best rewards cards. Specifically, it rates the Blue Cash as the best card for big spenders… and I can see why. The other thing my calculator taught me is that the Blue Cash card isn’t always the top card for everybody (at lower monthly spending levels, other cards can end up paying more). In my case however, the contest wasn’t even close — the Blue Cash card was the hands-down winner… by a mile.

Here are the features of the Blue Cash in a nutshell:

• 1% on gas, groceries and drug stores for the first $6,500 (0.5% elsewhere)
• 5% on gas, groceries and drug stores after $6,500 (1.5% elsewhere)
• No rebate or spending caps. Your rebate is only limited by what you can spend.
• No annual fee
• 0% APR on purchases for the first 6 months

American Express pays out the rebates on the Blue Cash once per year by mailing you a check on your enrollment anniversary date. After your anniversary date, your earnings tiers will reset to 0.5%/1.0% again until you accrue another $6,500.

One thing to watch out for is that American Express is a stickler for paying your statement on time. If you’re late, you risk forfeiting your entire year’s worth of accumulated rebates. If you’re following my system, this circumstance should never happen… but nevertheless it’s worth mentioning since this forfeiture penalty is something that’s not present with other rewards cards I’ve seen.

The other gotcha about the Blue Cash card is that you’ll run into the occasional merchant that doesn’t accept American Express. Be sure to carry a back up credit card to cover yourself when this happens.

Aside from the two cautions above, I couldn’t be happier with Blue Cash card. It has been fantastic so far for me. To see if the Blue Cash a good fit for you too, just use the cash back calculator on this blog. It’ll tell you pretty quickly which card is your top earner.

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