American Express Green Card benefits guide

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Published on October 16, 2023 | 5 min read

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Key takeaways

The American Express® Green Card offers an interesting rewards structure for frequent travelers, with important credits and travel protections that can make the $150 annual fee worth it.
A generous welcome bonus helps you earn 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first six months of card membership.
You can build on these rewards with 3X points on travel, transit and restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery.
Maximize your card by swiping wherever you can, which will help you leverage such benefits as travel insurance, purchase protection and extended warranties.

Earning points for travel is a great way to save money on airfare and hotels, and points in the American Express Membership Rewards program are more flexible than most.

But, how can you earn Amex Membership Rewards points? Quite a few American Express credit cards can help you get there, and the American Express® Green Card is considered one of the mid-tier options due to its $150 annual fee.

If you’re curious about this card’s perks and rewards, read on to learn more.

Amex Green Card highlights

The Amex Green Card stands out due to the fact you earn 3X points in so many popular spending categories, and it offers a generous welcome offer to new cardholders.

Welcome offer: 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within six months of card membership
Rewards: 3X points in an expanded travel category that includes flights, hotels, transit, taxis, rideshare services and tours; 3X points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery; and 1X points on everything else
Annual fee: $150

Earning rewards

The American Express Green Card stands out due to the fact you earn 3X points in so many categories, and that the categories are fairly broad themselves. For example, this card gives you 3X points on all travel purchases — and not just on travel booked through amextravel.com.

Amex advertises that you can earn this rate on airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, travel purchases on third-party travel websites and travel purchases on amextravel.com

The transit category is also broad, including trains, taxis, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways. Earning 3X points on all purchases at restaurants worldwide is also nice, and don’t forget you’ll earn 1X points on all other purchases.

Redeeming rewards

American Express Membership Rewards points can be redeemed in all kinds of ways, including for nearly any type of travel through amextravel.com. You can also redeem your rewards for merchandise or shopping options that let you “pay with points” directly.

The Amex Membership Rewards program also has an excellent selection of airline and hotel partners, including Delta SkyMiles, Air France and Hilton Honors. Read about the current transfer partners in Bankrate’s American Express transfer partners guide.

Travel benefits

Among the best travel credit cards, the American Express Green Card comes with a handful of travel perks that can help you get your money’s worth.

$189 Clear Plus credit

This card gives you up to $189 in credits toward an annual Clear Plus membership, which allows for expedited airport security in participating airports. Note that this credit is good every calendar year.

$100 LoungeBuddy credit

Cardholders also get up to $100 in statement credits for LoungeBuddy purchases each year. Since lounge access at participating airports starts at $25, this credit can be good for up to four lounge visits annually.

Trip delay insurance

Customers also get trip delay insurance worth up to $300 per trip when a covered trip is delayed by more than 12 hours. A maximum of two claims is allowed every 12 consecutive months.

Secondary auto rental coverage

Your card qualifies you for car rental loss and damage insurance, which is good for damage or theft of a rental vehicle on eligible bookings. Coverage is secondary to other auto rental coverage you have.

Baggage insurance plan

The American Express Green Card baggage insurance plan is good for up to $1,250 for carry-on luggage and up to $500 for checked baggage when your luggage is lost, stolen or damaged while in the care of a common carrier.

Global Assist Hotline

Cardholders also get access to Amex’s Global Assist Hotline, which can help with medical and legal referrals and other emergencies when traveling more than 100 miles from home.

Security and protection benefits

In addition to all the travel perks cardholders receive, there are a few security and protection benefits. These perks apply when you use your Amex Green Card to make a purchase.

Purchase protection

Qualify for up to $1,000 in purchase protection per occurrence and up to $50,000 per calendar year. This coverage is good for damage or theft that occurs within 90 days of the purchase date.

Extended warranties

Items purchased with the Amex Green Card are also eligible for an extra year of warranty protection. This additional coverage applies to eligible purchases that come with a manufacturer’s warranty of five years or less.

Dispute resolution

Finally, American Express will help resolve disputes on your behalf. If there is a fraudulent or incorrect charge on your credit card statement, the issuer says it will “work with you to help resolve the issue.”

How to maximize the benefits offered by the Amex Green Card

To maximize the benefits offered by the Amex Green Card, you need to use it to pay for as many purchases as you can. After all, American Express Green Card benefits — like travel insurance, purchase protection and extended warranty — only apply when you use your Amex credit card to pay in the first place.

Fortunately, the Amex Green Card can easily be used for all your regular spending and bills. You earn rewards on everything you buy with your card, and the Amex Green Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees when you use it for purchases abroad.

The bottom line

Amex Green Card benefits are pretty generous when you consider this card’s rewards rate and annual fee, but make sure to compare other American Express credit cards to see where they fall. You can pay a higher annual fee for another card offering more Amex perks, but you can also earn Membership Rewards points on cards with no annual fee, if you prefer.

Our take? The earning rate and welcome offer on the Amex Green Card are well worth pursuing, and the American Express Green Card benefits are just icing on the cake.

Information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.