Review of the Blue Sky from American Express®

Last Updated: 1/11/2013

Blue Sky from American Express® is another one of those cards masquerading as a travel credit card, yet behaving more like a cash back card with some redemption restrictions.  

With an effective cash back rate of 1.33%, Blue Sky from American Express® is definitely a cut above the run-of-the-mill 1% cash back cards that abound.

Blue Sky from American Express® Rewards

Here’s a quick table summarizing some of the key features of the Amex Blue Sky card:

Other Benefits of the Blue Sky from American Express®

While GetDebit doesn’t factor in these hard-to-quantify benefits into its Plastic Ranking Engine, and nor do we evaluate the merits of these benefits (ie limitations and other fine print), we still feel it’s worth sharing them with our readers to give you a more complete sense of the pros and cons of each card. We’ve also tried to provide some links if you want to investigate further.

  • Travel For Less: You can “save big” at many leading travel providers like Marriott and up to 20% off at Hertz with the Amex Blue Sky Travel Savings program.
  • Complimentary hotel breakfasts: At JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts worldwide. Available on weekend stays if you check in by Thursday and stay through at least the following Monday. Bookings with your American Express Blue Sky credit card must be made at Marriott.com or by calling Marriott directly. Rate includes complimentary breakfast in the restaurant for up to 2 adults. The offer is subject to blackout dates and other restrictions.
  • Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: You don’t need to pay for additional car insurance coverage at the rental desk.
  • Access to the Global Assist Hotline: Can help you out in a bind, including emergency services, wiring you money, and more. Click here to read the full details.
  • Room Guarantee: Even if you arrive late, your room is guaranteed when you book it with your American Express Blue Sky Credit Card.
  • Travel Accident Insurance: Up to $100,000 in coverage at no additional cost as long as you paid for your plane ticket, boat pass, etc with the American Express Blue Sky Card.
  • Purchase Protection: If an eligible purchase (using your Blue Sky Card of course!) is accidentally damaged, stolen or even lost within the first 90 days, American Express will pay for it, up to $1,000 per incident. Rock on!
  • Free Extended Warranty: American Express will double the warranty on eligible items as long as you purchase them with your Blue Sky credit card.
  • Return Protection: When you purchase an item with your Amex Blue Sky Credit Card, you can return the item to Amex (even if the store won’t let you return it to them) for up to 90 days after the initial purchase, with a $300 limit per item.

GetDebit’s Final Assessment of the Blue Sky from American Express®

Since this card allows you to redeem for statement credits, which are kind of like cash, you might also consider the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express-due to lofty cashback rewards in some high-spend categories (such as the supermarket and gas categories).

In short, Blue Sky from American Express® comes with some decent (but not stellar) rewards, and of course the excellent benefits that come with having American Express on your side.  Since the Blue Sky is a straight-up rewards card (versus a travel loyalty card), you shouldn’t hesitate to use the GetDebit Ranking Engine to see if other cards surface up higher on the list.

About This Author

Comments are closed