Why I love the American Express Green Card
Key takeaways
- The American Express Green Card is a mid-tier rewards card that’s great for everyday purchases.
- Much of the card’s features focus on rewards for travel and dining, including earning rewards on restaurants and deliveries as well as the Clear Plus statement credit.
- Due to it earning American Express Membership Rewards, it can be smart to pair this card with another Amex card.
- The card’s $150 annual fee may be difficult to recoup if you don’t often travel or dine out.
When it comes to rewards points, the American Express Membership Rewards program offers the best value. However, some cards that earn these points come with extremely high annual fees of up to $695 or with earning rates that don’t apply to everyday spending.
The American Express® Green Card is considered a mid-tier Amex Membership Rewards card due to its reasonable $150 annual fee. However, it has a decent welcome offer and earns more rewards points on everyday purchases.
If you’re on the hunt for a card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points, the American Express Green Card should be on your list. Here’s why one business owner fell in love with this card — and how he uses it to maximize his rewards.
American Express Green Card highlights
Before we dive into the reasons to love the American Express Green Card, here’s a reminder of the most current welcome offer, earning rate and annual fee as of December 2024:
- Welcome offer: 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within six months of account opening
- Rewards: 3X Membership Points on travel airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, vacation rentals, travel purchases on third-party travel websites and travel purchases on amextravel.com); 3X points at restaurants (including takeout and delivery); 3X points on transit (includes trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways); and 1X points on all other purchases
- Annual fee: $150
4 reasons to love the Amex Green Card
James Pollard, marketing expert and founder of The Advisor Coach, uses the American Express Green Card as his main card for everyday purchases. We asked Pollard why he chose the Amex Green Card over other American Express credit cards, as well as how he uses it to improve his everyday life. Here’s what he had to say.
Stellar rewards on dining out and travel
Pollard says he uses the Amex Green Card for some of his regular spending as well as restaurant purchases and travel. This makes sense, considering he earns 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide and on travel purchases like airfare, hotels and cruises. Also, unlike other Amex cards, the American Express Green Card offers 3X points on travel wherever you book it — not just on travel booked through the Amex travel portal. On the dining out front, at the time, Pollard said he eats at restaurants three or four times per week, so his rewards add up.
Generous cardholder perks
The American Express Green Card used to offer up to $100 in LoungeBuddy credits, but its main travel perk is the $199 Clear Plus statement credit, that Pollard likes to use, even though he mainly flies out of Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).
“[Baltimore/Washington International Airport] has Clear, and I use it when I’m there,” he says. Other notable Amex Green Card benefits include trip delay insurance, a baggage insurance plan, secondary auto rental coverage, purchase protection against damage or theft and extended warranties.
Rewards flexibility
The American Express Membership Rewards program is some of the most flexible and valuable out on the market. Pollard says he recently booked a trip to Las Vegas, and he used Amex points to cover 100 percent of his hotel and airfare costs. This was possible because Amex lets you use Membership Rewards points for airfare, hotels and more through AmexTravel.com, yet you can also transfer points to American Express airline and hotel partners. However, Pollard says he doesn’t always redeem his rewards for travel, and that he likes having multiple options. “In the past, I’ve redeemed them for Home Depot gift cards to purchase patio furniture,” he says. “I’ve also used them to purchase gift cards for people as holiday gifts.”
Pairs well with other Amex cards
A final selling point of American Express cards is that you can pool all your Membership Rewards points into one account. This makes sense if you want to juggle multiple Amex cards for your personal spending, or if you want to pick up a business credit card from the issuer.
Pollard says he spends a lot of money on ads for his business, so he pairs the American Express Green Card with the American Express® Business Gold Card. He does this to keep business spending separate from personal purchases and earns 4X Membership Rewards points on the card’s ad spending category, which is one of the two categories he chose for this higher earning rate (on up to $150,000 per calendar year in your top two of six eligible categories then 1X; only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count toward the $150,000 cap).
The bottom line
The American Express Green Card may not be as popular as some other American Express credit cards, but it offers a ton of value thanks to its welcome offer and ongoing rewards. With 3X points in several popular categories, generous benefits for travel and the ability to pair with other cards, what’s not to love?
That said, the Amex Green Card may be exactly what you need, but it never hurts to compare other travel credit cards or rewards credit cards to find the best option for you.
All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
