Link: Apply now for the American Express® Green Card
In this post, I want to take an in-depth look at the American Express® Green Card, which is underrated and often overlooked. In my opinion, this is a great card for anyone looking to earn travel rewards with a card that has great bonus categories and a fair annual fee.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
In this post:
American Express Green Card Basics For February 2025
The Amex Green Card has a reasonable annual fee, offers credits that can potentially more than offset the annual fee, and offers 3x points in categories that many consumers will spend a lot in. Combine that with the value of Membership Rewards points, and the other great cards out there you can complement that with, and this is a card that should interest many. So let’s take a closer look at the details.
Amex Green Card $150 Annual Fee
Let’s start off with what most people would consider to be the negative of the card. The Amex Green Card has a $150 annual fee. That might sound a bit on the steep side, but I think the benefits more than outweigh it.
Amex Green Card Welcome Offer
The Amex Green Card currently has a welcome bonus where you can earn 40,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 within the first six months. Personally, I value Amex points at 1.7 cents each, so to me the points are worth $680.
When it comes to eligibility for this card, note that you’re not eligible for the welcome offer on this card if you currently have or have had The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) or American Express® Gold Card (review). On top of that, Amex’s general credit card restrictions apply.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Earning Points With The Amex Green Card
This is where the Amex Green Card gets really awesome, as it’s one of the best cards for earning Amex points. The Amex Green Card offers 3x Membership Rewards points in some lucrative categories. I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me 3x points categories equate to a 5.1% return on spending, which is excellent.
Earn 3x Points On Dining
The Amex Green Card offers 3x points on eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the US. Generally speaking, the restaurants category doesn’t just include sit-down dining establishments, but you’ll often find that fast food establishments, cafes, and even takeout and delivery, code as restaurants as well.
It all comes down to how the merchant categorizes themselves. For example, a restaurant located inside another establishment (like inside a hotel) often won’t code as dining, so that’s something to be aware of. Furthermore, expect that bars, nightclubs, cafeterias, and convenience stores, won’t code as restaurants.
The Amex Green Card is one of the better cards out there for dining purchases.
Earn 3x Points On Travel (Including Transit)
The Amex Green Card offers 3x points on travel purchases (including transit) globally with no limits.
You can expect this to include all kinds of travel purchases, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, and vacation rentals. For transit, it includes trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
As you can see, this includes many purchases you might make in your day-to-day life without actually “traveling,” like ridesharing, as well as bus, train, and subway tickets. This is one of the better cards out there for travel purchases, ranging from airline tickets, to hotel purchases, to rideshare spending.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
The Amex Green Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this is a great card to use for purchases abroad. That’s especially true when you consider how many foreign purchases are often in the travel and dining category. I’d say that’s a majority of what I spend money on when traveling.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Redeeming Points With The Amex Green Card
The best way to redeem your Amex Green Card points is to transfer them to one of the Membership Rewards airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to the following 21 partners, including 18 airline partners and three hotel partners:
Airline Partners | Hotel Partners |
|---|---|
Aeromexico Club Premier | |
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | |
The reason this represents such a good deal is because you can get outsized value toward international first and business class travel. These tickets are often extremely expensive if paying cash, while they can be a good deal on points. On top of that Amex often has transfer bonuses, which can stretch your points even further.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
American Express Green Card Benefits
The Amex Green Card has some benefits that potentially more than offset the annual fee on the card. This includes an annual credit that many people may find to be useful.
Amex Green Card Annual $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit
Historically so many credit cards have offered fee credits with TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, though it’s great to see some cards increasingly offering CLEAR credits instead.
The Amex Green Card offers up to $199 per calendar year in CLEAR® Plus statement credits. What’s also awesome is that this is annual (based on calendar year), and not once every four to five years, like the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit would usually be.
Just use your card when you pay for your CLEAR membership, and you’ll automatically receive statement credits within two to four weeks of when your card is charged. This $199 credit will cover an annual CLEAR membership, which is a good deal, and could save you time at the airport.
Amex Offers
One of the great features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which offers savings or bonus points on purchases with all kinds of retailers. There’s huge value to be had in getting as many Amex cards as possible, so that you can get access to the best offers.
Amex Offers could save you hundreds of dollars per year. You can access these offers by logging into your account and scrolling down to the bottom of your account summary page.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Is The Amex Green Card Worth It?
The Amex Green Card has a unique place in Amex’s card portfolio, thanks to the very broad bonus categories. The card offers 3x points on dining and travel, has a fairly reasonable $150 annual fee to begin with, and that gets even better when you consider the $199 CLEAR® Plus credit that can you take advantage of annually.
If you’re someone who finds Amex points to be valuable and you spend a lot on dining and travel (which are major categories), then I think this card is a no brainer. Let’s just look at a few other things to consider when deciding if this card makes sense.
Quick Card Comparison: Amex Green Vs. Amex Gold
There’s also the American Express® Gold Card (review), so how do the two cards compare? The Amex Gold Card:
- Has a $325 annual fee (Rates & Fees)
- Earns 4x points at restaurants (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, and then 1x), 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 of spending per calendar year and then 1x), and 3x points on airfare purchased directly with airlines or at AmexTravel.com
- The card offers significant dining-related credits, up to $424 in value
Personally, I think the Amex Green Card is better for those who don’t shop a lot at supermarkets, while the Amex Gold Card is better for those who spend a lot at supermarkets, and who can take advantage of most of the credits.
Quick Card Comparison: Amex Green Vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) is another incredibly popular card that earns bonus points on dining and travel. How do the two cards compare? The Sapphire Preferred:
- Has a $95 annual fee
- Has a welcome bonus of 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within three months.
- Earns 3x points on dining, online groceries, and streaming services, and 2x points on travel
- Offers super travel protection, including rental car coverage (which the Amex Green doesn’t)
- Offers a $50 annual hotel credit valid through Chase Travel, compared to the Amex Green’s up to $199 CLEAR® Plus credit
Individually I think the Amex Green might be superior to the Chase Sapphire Preferred in terms of maximizing points. The catch is that I think the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a better “hub” card, given the value you can create by having Chase Ultimate Rewards cards.
Quick Card Comparison: Amex Green Vs. Citi Strata Premier
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (review) is another comparable mid-range card that is a competitor to this card. How do the cards compare? The Citi Strata Premier:
- Has a $95 annual fee
- Has a limited time welcome bonus of 75,000 Citi ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within three months
- Earns 3x points on dining, groceries, gas, EV charging, air travel, and hotels, making this the mid-range card with the best bonus categories
- Offers a $100 annual hotel credit valid through the Citi ThankYou portal
Personally, I think the Citi Strata Premier has the best bonus categories of any mid-range card, and the overall portfolio of Citi ThankYou cards has also been improving considerably.
Complement: Amex Blue Business Plus
If I were to get the Amex Green Card and complement it with one other Amex card, I’d recommend The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review), which offers 2x points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (1x points after that). That makes this one of the best cards for everyday spending.
It’s a pretty unbeatable combination to earn 2x points on everyday business spending and 3x points on personal dining and travel spending.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom Line
The Amex Green Card is the most underrated mid-range American Express card, in my opinion. The $150 annual fee card offers 3x points on dining and travel, giving it a comparable rewards structure to many other lucrative cards. The card also offers up to $199 in CLEAR® Plus credits annually, which can help offset the fee.
This is a solid card that’s often overlooked, and I’d say it’s Amex’s closest true competitor to the likes of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Citi Strata Premier℠ Card.
If you want to learn more about the Amex Green Card or apply, follow this link.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees).
@Ben, would you kindly consider writting an article about REVOLUT card which is European based. It has a point program which transfers to AVIOS & Flying Blue for now. Worth investigating.
Got this when the bonus was 60K with a special short term spend bonus. Have the Morgan Stanley Platinum so glad I got it before the rules were changed. Got it in anticipation of the day I get rid of Platinum. Meanwhile I have a free AU (and free AU on Platinuml. We are a mid-70s couple and take 1 or 2 cruises a year. We have both had awesome AMEX offers on the card for our cruise line of choice, amounting to the amount of a good SUB per person for the past 2 years.
I got the Green AMEX, paid the annual fee, charged lots of travel to it, WITHOUT REALIZING that "points" are in no direct way related to "cents." So, 3500 points were were approximately $150 as a credit. Not cool, though it was my own fault for not clarifying this problem before getting the card.
The proportion of redemption is not 1:1, so 1 cent is not worth 1 cent. On Wells Fargo Autograph card,...
I got the Green AMEX, paid the annual fee, charged lots of travel to it, WITHOUT REALIZING that "points" are in no direct way related to "cents." So, 3500 points were were approximately $150 as a credit. Not cool, though it was my own fault for not clarifying this problem before getting the card.
The proportion of redemption is not 1:1, so 1 cent is not worth 1 cent. On Wells Fargo Autograph card, it does equal 1 cent. So, since I have that card, I've switched to it. AND, it has no annual fee!
Hopefully, I have not misunderstood or misinterpreted any of this....please correct me if I have. I used the "calculator" on my Green Card account to tell me how much the 3500 "points" were "worth."
@Dr. Stan, did you even read the post? The best way to use your Amex MR points is to transfer them to partners. Transfer them to AC, AF/KL, SQ, etc., and you can use them for premium cabin awards. Combine this card with Rakuten, and you'll accumulate MR points a lot quicker.
As for your valuation, I don't know how you got those figures, but $150 for 3500 MR points is actually pretty decent and well beyond 1 cent per point.
Valid points you make...IF you have accounts to transfer them to. I do not (UA and AA are it!). And (my mistake) it was something like 35000 points, not 3500. Which would have been worth $350 on WF.
You clarified for me the purpose of the card and it is more for you "pros" than for me. But thanks! And, safe travels.
I have a lot of my miles with Chase (for UA) and with AA.
I do like the fact that if I cancel an award with UA or AA the miles return to accounts I use most. But AMEX has some valuable transfer partners and they are really worth looking into, as Ben points out. I recently used a transfer bonus to Emirates for 2 business class tix JFK-MXP at 87K each. And I know I will use MR points in the future.
@Dr. Stan, I just checked my account, and you can get 6 cents/point value out of Amex MR points if you use them for statement credits (not sure if all purchases qualify, but dining/travel should be fine). 35,000 is worth $2,100. Even if you don't transfer to a partner, that's a very solid value.
But, your original statement got it right - you definitely need to understand the programs, values, redemption options, etc., to maximize...
@Dr. Stan, I just checked my account, and you can get 6 cents/point value out of Amex MR points if you use them for statement credits (not sure if all purchases qualify, but dining/travel should be fine). 35,000 is worth $2,100. Even if you don't transfer to a partner, that's a very solid value.
But, your original statement got it right - you definitely need to understand the programs, values, redemption options, etc., to maximize your points. If you decide to cancel your Green card, try to use your points up or they'll all go to waste.
6/10 cent is less than 6 cents. Now if you could get 6 cents I'd be cashing out ASAP.
35k points is $210 cash to Amex.
Happy to sell you all of mine for 4c a pop. Quite a bargain!
@Abe, OMG, I feel so stupid. I calculated the statement credit, missed the decimal point, and calculated the 35k based on that mistake. :-o :-p
*sigh* I was wondering why it looked so good. Everyone would just redeem for the statement credit! XD
Bottom line: Best value is still transfer partners!
The Green Card's $150 annual fee puts it at a disadvantage relative to the Citi Strata Premier and the Wells Fargo Autograph (regular and Journey). But, as it's been four to five years, the Green Card is due for a refresh. The annual fee will go to $195 and credits will be added. I figure $100 on Resy and another $100 credit of some sort.
I think I generally agree with this. Maybe $50 or $100 Resy and then they'll keep the Clear credit and call it a day. Still think other travel cards will be better for most people unless you book a lot of non-chain hotels and/or cruises and of course lots of cards now have 3X dining.