Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.If you’re looking to earn cash back on your spending without paying an annual fee, the recently launched American Express Cash Magnet® Card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and it’s currently offering new card holders $150 (via statement credit) after they spend $1,000 in the first three months. The information for the Amex Cash Magnet Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.The value proposition of the Cash Magnet card is pretty straightforward: Earn cash back with no annual fee (See Rates & Fees). If you need to carry a balance, note that the card has a APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, currently 13.99% to 23.99%. (See Rates & Fees)The Cash Magnet card also comes with other benefits, including car rental insurance, ShopRunner membership and purchase protection, as well as access to the Amex Offers program. The card features Amex’s “Pay It® Plan It®” program, which is a way to pay off individual items that cost more than $100 over a period of three to 24 months with a fixed monthly fee. Finally, the card charges a 2.7% foreign-transaction fee, (See Rates & Fees) so it’s not a good choice when you’re traveling overseas. Enrollment required for select benefits.With 1.5% back on spending, the Cash Magnet is an obvious competitor to the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which offers an identical earning structure and also doesn’t charge an annual fee. However, with the Chase card, you have the option to redeem your rewards as transferrable points provided you have an Ultimate Rewards card to transfer the cash back to, whereas with the Cash Cash Magnet card, you’ll be locked in to redeeming your cash back as statement credits or toward gift cards and merchandise.Bottom LineThe Cash Magnet card earns 1.5% back on all purchases, which is respectable though not the highest you can get with a cash-back card. The Citi® Double Cash Card takes the cake there, with 1% cash back when you buy and 1% back when you pay your bill, and the Chase Freedom Unlimited also has a slight advantage for rewards-minded users, since they can actually redeem their cash back with travel partners once they transfer rewards over to an Ultimate Rewards card. But the welcome bonus isn’t bad for a cash-back card with no annual fee, so if you’re looking to put some money in your purse or wallet, the Amex Cash Cash Magnet’s not a bad way to go.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.For rates and fees of the Amex Magnet card, please click here.
