8 Reasons To Get The Amex Green Card: Overlooked & Underrated

Amex offers is not one of eight reasons, especially when they disappear from all other cards when you add it to one of them. Officially anyway.

Ironically, the actual number one reason for people getting the Amex Green card is downgrading from Platinum or Gold.

Not saying that to insult Amex, but it's the truth. Those cards can both be hard to financially justify maintaining year to year (especially if travel/spending habits change), and you cannot downgrade to the EveryDay so that's the best available option.

@Ben, Re: You’re also not eligible for this card if you have the Amex Platinum or Amex Gold. I actually got the Amex green last year and received the SUB and I have glad both the Amex plat and gold for several years. So maybe it depends on how Amex assesses your loyalty to them.

I gpt the Morgan Stanley Platinum, which comes with a free AU, in September 2021. In August 2023 I got the Green and added my AU. At the time I applied for it, there was no disqualifiation for Platinum card holders and the SUB was 60K. We often cruise and use this card to pay. But the real bonus is that in the past 3 years, we both have gotten multiple Amex offers on these 2 cards for spending bonuses and for our preferred cruise line, earning over 170K MR points and over $600 cash back. Plus we both have current offers we will use this month for cruise payments, earning 100K MR bonus points.

If I eventually close my Morgan Stanley account (as I finish drawing down my IRA), I will keep the Green. So I'd say it's been a home run for us. However, maybe you shouldn't write posts like this, and I shouldn'nt write a comment like this .... 😉

And "only" $150 a year. No thanks, there are better deals.

I think I'd change the title to '9 Reasons...' and add THE major reason for holding one of the Amex color cards, which I've never, ever seen included in any of these 'X Reasons to Hold...' articles is that

The Amex color cards are CHARGE cards with no pre-set spending limits.

Although I have healthy limits on my Chase SR and Capital One Venture X, it's always nice to know that if the chips are down and I need to process a big transaction, my Green Card is ready to go.

I just hope that Amex doesn't nerf the Green Card when it 'updates' the card, which I'm sure is coming sooner rather than later. It has been awhile and Amex just can't seem to leave a good thing alone.

This is actually one of the Amex cards that needs the "nerf." There are not enough benefits to offset the annual fee.

I think it depends on if you applied for the Plat and Gold *before* they instituted the family rule -- which it sounds like you did.

I don't like these "reasons to get" posts that merely list benefits without a fair perspective of whether it's a good benefit or not.
1. 40k bonus is relatively small
2. why would I use this card for 3x on dining over 4x with Gold?
3. 3x on transportation is fair but only if you don't have an alternative like CSR or Ink Preferred.
4. Clear credit is only good if you don't have Plat.

So I don't think Green card is good for anyone who's been in the card game for long. And given that I'd rather get other cards before I get Green, I don't see a path where getting Green would make sense.