AMEX Blue Cash Preferred ® vs Blue Sky and Chase Sapphire Preferred Cards

The other day I discussed the differences between the American Express Blue Cash Everyday ® and Blue Cash Preferred ® product, and how one can earn 6% cashback on nearly everything. I was asked by reader MCB to highlight how the Blue Cash Preferred ® card also compares to the AMEX Blue Sky/Blue Sky Preferred products and even the Chase Sapphire Preferred. So lets take a quick look at the major differences.

Card New Member Bonus Cashback Annual Fee
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express $150* • Earn 6% US supermarkets up to $6,000 per year in purchases
• Earn 3% US gas stations & select US dept stores
• Earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
$75
Blue Sky 7,500 points = $100 credit towards airline, hotel, and car rental purchases* 1 point per dollar spent $0
Blue Sky Preferred 15,000 points = $200 credit towards airline, hotel, and car rental purchases* • Double points on dining, hotel, and car rental purchases
• Earn 1 point/dollar on all other eligible purchases
$75
Chase Sapphire Preferred 40,000 points = $500 towards travel rewards** • Double points on dining and travel purchases
• Earn 1 point/dollar on all other eligible purchases
$0 First Year; $95 thereafter

* Earn 150 Reward Dollars after you make $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of Card membership.
** After spending $3,000 in the first 3 months

So the question becomes, does one card standout better than the others? I am going to put myself in this situation, and assume I only have to pick one card. Keep in mind, everyone’s spending and earning preference (cashback, miles, etc.) is different, so your pros and cons might totally differ, and that is great! Also keep in mind, any opinions on the pros and cons of a card are strictly my own, and just because I may not like a card, does not mean it does not have a place for certain customers.

Up first, the Blue Sky and Blue Sky Preferred cards. Both cards really do nothing for me. If I was doing a bunch of credit card applications at the same time, and was out of options since I already had other cards, I might consider adding these cards to my wallet. My opinion is if I am going to use my credit to obtain a new card, I need to see some value for my time. Neither of the new customer bonus’ really do much for me, nor does the double points from the Blue Sky Preferred card. I also do not really like that my points are limited to redemption in airline, hotel, and car rental categories.

So my choice would come down to the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Preferred. I really like the 40,000 points offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, plus the first year annual fee is waived. In addition, if all your first $3,000 in purchases are in categories outside of the dining and travel related expenses, one essentially earns 43,000 miles for using the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. If all of your $3,000 in spending are in dining and travel, you will get 46,000 Ultimate Rewards miles for opening the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That is a pretty nice new customer bonus. Miles from Chase can be used in the Ultimate Rewards program, and have the flexibility of being transferred to various airline programs at a 1:1 ratio.

The downside with the Sapphire Preferred card is one only has the ability to earn double miles on dining and travel related expenses. Besides the nice start-up bonus, long-term earning would be limited to double points on dining and travel and a single point on all other purchases.

$3,000 = 43,000 – 46,000 Ultimate Reward points = roughly $0.07/point. I value 43,000 points/miles at a minimum of $430, which is quite a nice return on using the card. 40,000 miles transferred to an airline, say United, also gets me in coach to Hawaii from the continental U.S. Based on when we went to Hawaii last month, tickets can easily cost $700-1000, so there is quite a bit of value that could be received from the Chase Sapphire Preferred product.

So how would that compare to the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express? If we put $3,000 on the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, and assuming I was able to take full advantage of the 6% cashback at grocery stores by purchasing gift cards to use at other restaurants, travel, general shopping, etc., I would earn $180 in cashback. Pair that with the $150 bonus – $75 annual fee, and one is still walking away with $255 for opening the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express and using it to make the same spend as that required with the Chase Sapphire Preferred product. While that cashback does not quite compare with the value of the Chase 40,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus, I still would have a hard time turning the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express down over the long term.

If you would like to see how the various cards stack up against each other, one can also visit our Credit Card page that lists the cards side-by-side.

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Quaker Life Cereal Free Legoland Child Ticket with Adult Ticket Purchase

We updated our master list of Legoland discounts with a new one from Quaker Life Cereal.

Quaker Life Cereal

Specially marked Quaker Life Cereal boxes contain a coupon good for a free child ticket with adult ticket purchase valid for Legoland Florida, Legoland California, Legoland Discovery Center, Madame Tussauds or Sea Life Park. However, everyone is also able to order tickets online at legoland.com/quaker. Guests than select which park they would like to visit. Use promo code 129902 at checkout to receive the discount. Tickets purchased online are valid for one (1) year from date of purchase. Offer expires 12/31/12.

If you want to purchase tickets at the park(s), you can proceed to merlindeals.com/quaker and enter in code 129902 to receive a Legoland Merlin Coupon to print at home and take along with you.

Note, if you are purchasing tickets via this offer for Legoland California, no coupon code is required to purchase an adult/child combo ticket, but you will need to break up multiple tickets in separate orders.

To stay up-to-date on all of the latest Legoland discounts, follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Oahu Hawaii: Waikiki Beach and the $20 Sand Toys

120613 Waikiki Beach Panoramic

The name Waikīkī means spouting water in the Hawaiian language, for springs and streams that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the interior.

120624 Waikiki Stone Walkway

When I visited Hawaii alone in 2006, I barely even paid Waikiki Beach a glance, let alone a moment of my time on the sand. I had little interest in being around the crowds and was more intrigued to get out of the City and explore all the other parts of Oahu. However, quite a bit has changed in my life over 6 years, making a visit to Waikiki Beach all the more likely.

Now I am married to the same girl I started dating when I came to Hawaii the first time. Plus we now have the two most amazing little boys who came along to start some new adventures. So planning a week on Oahu had a totally different appeal than when I was alone. Now all of a sudden the appeal of spending some time on the beach with the boys sounded like a delightful experience. What has happened to me?

Our family stayed at the Holiday Inn Beachcomber for free because of Priority Club reward points. So we were located right in the heart of the city compared to when I stayed in Aiea with a friend on my previous trip. The city of Honolulu is far from the beautiful, ideal image most people have of Hawaii. So there is that side of you that naturally pulls you to the ocean, and conveniently, it was located across the street from our hotel.

120613 Waikiki Beach 1 120613 Waikiki Beach 5 120613 Waikiki Beach 2

We quickly learned that Waikiki Beach, while definitely a popular tourist location, was great beach and water access for the boys. We spent several small trips at Waikiki Beach when we were ready to just relax and not travel to another destination.

It was also convenient to be so closely located to shops and restaurants surrounding Waikiki Beach. We could wake up in the morning, go to Hula Grill for breakfast, then head to the beach a couple hours. However, being so close to tourist traps comes with its own share of issues.

Convenience comes with a price in Honolulu. We learned that lesson twice on our first full day on Oahu. We wanted to purchase the boys some sand shovels and pails that we could use throughout the trip. We went in a small boutique shop and the boys picked out the most expensive sand toys I have ever seen, $20 worth. Ouch. At least the cost went towards our new credit card minimum spend.

At several points throughout the trip we were trying to manage what was in our suitcases, and you better bet those sand toys came along for the ride after having to shell out an Andrew Jackson. If they had been cheap $1 toys, I would have just left them behind and bought new ones where we needed them, but the convenience fee we paid made me want to hang onto them.

120613 Waikiki Beach 4 Jelly Fish Sign 120613 Waikiki Beach Palm Trees
120616 Wakiki Beach Outrigger Hotel 120616 Waikiki Beach Outrigger Canoe

The second convenience fee came after being in the water of Waikiki Beach for five minutes, and I stepped on a sea urchin, getting the spines stuck in my heel. So I hobbled across the street to purchase a $7 piece of tweezers. It was sad to see the same items at Walmart later in the week for a couple bucks, but you pay what you have to when within the tourist area.

120613 Waikiki Beach 3

Above is one of my favorite pictures taken on Waikiki Beach (that did not include the boys). However, the boats were one of the most disturbing practices that we witnessed on Waikiki Beach. Several of the boats purposely beach themselves so people can charter them. They also take up quite a bit of beach real estate and do not appear to be operated the most safely to clear away swimmers.

While the boys did not go into the ocean much, I could see parents really having to pay attention if their kids were swimming in the vicinity of the boats.

Overall, I have to say that my preconceived notations about Waikiki Beach were easily dispelled. We really enjoyed the beach, especially with kids. In addition, the crowds were low, making it easy to find a spot on the sand wide enough for our gear, the boys, and some toys to building sand castles.

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