Blue Sky from American Express Review

Who is the Blue Sky from American Express Good For?

The Blue Sky Card from American Express is not as popular as American Express’ other cash back or Membership Rewards cards, but it’s a solid product, especially for a no-annual-fee card. There are no limitations where to book your travel. You can book directly with an airline, hotel or a cruise ship, or you can buy your travel from an online aggregator like Priceline.

The Blue Sky earning scheme is unremarkable, as you only get one point per dollar spent. It also lacks a sign-up bonus, although they have offered it in the past and might bring it back. However, the redemption part is much better. Surprisingly, booking almost any kind of travel with the Blue Sky points will give you benefits similar to what you would get from a Business Platinum card that costs $450 a year.

Sign-Up Bonus:

None

Points Earned:

• 1 point for every purchase

What Do Your Points Get You

You can redeem points for gift cards on the Amex website, statement credit, or statement credit for eligible travel expenses. The latter is the best option, as it allows you to redeem 7,500 points for a $100 statement credit. With this redemption, you effectively get 1.33 cents per point.

Usage Perks:

• No annual fee
• Simplicity of the rewards program
• High redemption value
• Shopping and travel protection benefits

Usage Quirks:

• No sign-up bonus
• Can’t transfer points to airlines
• High redemption threshold: 7,500 points minimum

How Far Do Your Points Go?

The best part of the Blue Sky card redemption scheme is that it works for virtually all travel expenses. You can book a plane ticket, hotel room, cruise or rental car anywhere, and if it codes as travel, it will count toward your expenses and you will be able to redeem your points at the increased rate.

In other words, if you buy a $300 plane ticket, you won’t need 30,000 points to offset it. You will only need 22,500 points.

Be careful with vacation rentals, though. Not all vacation rental websites will code your purchase as travel, and if that’s the case, you won’t be reimbursed with additional points. The same limitations apply to some third-party services and airfares bought as a part of the vacation package. Read this page for more details on these and other exclusions.

Additional Cardholder Benefits:

• Extended Warranty
• Return Protection
• Purchase Protection
• Entertainment Access
• Global Assist Hotline
• Amex Auto Purchase Program
• Chip Technology
• Travel Accident Insurance
• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance