American Express Green Card review: Rewarding travel and dining for frequent flyers

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If you’re looking for a travel credit card but don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars in annual fees, consider the American Express® Green Card. 

With bonus points on travel, transit, and dining purchases, along with valuable credits for CLEAR and LoungeBuddy, the Amex Green Card is a great option for frequent travelers. While it may not be the best choice if you want premium travel perks — like airport lounge access — it’s still a solid travel card that can help you earn lucrative rewards.

American Express Green Card benefits

The American Express Green Card's rewards help it earn a spot as one of the best American Express cards available — especially for earning everyday travel rewards. Let’s take a closer look at this card’s features and benefits. 

Rewards

The American Express Green Card's rewards program is one of its main draws, especially if you dine out or travel frequently.

Here’s a breakdown of how you earn points: 

• Earn 3X Membership Rewards points on travel and transit, including flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, tours, and more
• Earn 3X points at restaurants worldwide
• Earn 1X points on all other eligible purchases

The travel category includes flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more. Transit purchases include trains, buses, subways, taxis, rideshares, tolls, and parking. These broad categories reward you for virtually all your travel-related expenses.

This earning structure is particularly valuable for frequent travelers and diners. For example, if you spend $500 per month on travel and $500 per month on dining, you would earn 36,000 total points annually. 

Welcome offer

New cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 40,000 points after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months. This bonus is worth over $400 in travel when redeemed through Amex Travel and potentially even more when transferred to airline and hotel partners.  
This is a more attainable welcome bonus than the American Express Gold Card, which requires a $6,000 spend in the first six months to earn 60,000 points. 

But compared to other travel credit card welcome bonuses, the Amex Green Card's offer is relatively modest. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months — with a lower annual fee of $95. 

Travel benefits

The American Express Green Card offers two valuable travel credits:

• Up to $189 annual CLEAR credit: CLEAR lets you fast-track long security lines at select airports and stadiums. This credit helps cover the cost of a CLEAR membership, which typically costs $189 per year.
• Up to $100 annual LoungeBuddy credit: While this card doesn’t offer unlimited airport lounge access, you can get statement credits for LoungeBuddy, which allows travelers to purchase one-time access passes to airport lounges. This credit can be used to cover the cost of lounge access, with prices starting at $25 per visit.

Additionally, the Amex Green Card offers a range of travel and purchase protections, such as:

• Baggage insurance plan
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Trip delay insurance
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty
• No foreign transaction fees 

While these benefits can be valuable for frequent travelers, they are standard among travel credit cards in this category.

Redeeming rewards with the American Express Green Card 

American Express offers a wide range of redemption options, including:

• Statement credits
• Gift cards
• Charitable donations
• Shopping with points at select merchants
• Booking travel through Amex Travel
• Transferring points to airline and hotel loyalty programs

Redeeming your Membership Rewards points wisely is crucial to maximizing the value of your Amex Green Card. The value of these points can vary depending on how you use them, ranging from 0.6 cents to 2 cents per point.

One of the most lucrative redemption options is transferring your points to participating frequent traveler programs, such as Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, and Delta SkyMiles. By transferring points and booking high-value awards, you may redeem up to 2 cents per point.

Other options include redeeming rewards for statement credits or shopping at select retailers. While these options may offer convenience, they often result in a lower redemption value.

American Express Green Card fees and drawbacks

While the American Express Green Card offers valuable rewards and benefits for travelers, it does come with some fees and drawbacks to consider:

• $150 annual fee: This fee is relatively high compared to other travel credit cards, especially considering the limited bonus categories and modest welcome bonus. See rates and fees. 
• No introductory APR offer: Unlike other cards, the Amex Green Card does not offer a 0% APR period for purchases or balance transfers.
• Charge card structure: As a charge card, the Amex Green Card requires you to pay your balance in full each month. While this structure can help you avoid accruing debt, it also means that you'll need to be mindful of your spending and ensure that you can pay off your balance each billing cycle.

American Express offers a Pay Over Time feature, which allows you to split purchases into monthly installments. But, these options come with certain limitations and fees, so it's crucial to understand the terms and conditions before opting in. (See rates and fees). 

It's important to weigh these limitations against the potential rewards you can earn with the card. For example, if you spend an average of $1,000 monthly on the card, with $500 on travel and dining, you would earn 21,000 Membership Rewards points per year. When redeemed for travel at 1 cent per point, those rewards would be worth $210, more than offsetting the annual fee.

Is the American Express Green Card right for you?

The American Express Green Card is a good fit for frequent travelers who spend significantly on travel, transit, and dining. If you can maximize the card's bonus categories and use the annual CLEAR and LoungeBuddy credits, you can easily offset the annual fee.

However, if your spending patterns don't align with the card's bonus categories or don't value the travel credits, you may be better off with a different travel credit card. Additionally, you may want to consider other options if you prefer a card with more diverse bonus categories or a larger welcome bonus.

Alternatives to the American Express Green Card

If you're considering other travel cards, here are two popular alternatives to the American Express Green Card. 

American Express Green Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers robust rewards for a very reasonable annual fee. You’ll earn 5X points on travel booked through Chase Travel, 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding wholesale clubs), 2X points on other travel purchases, and 1X on all other purchases.

This card has a $95 annual fee and a revamped welcome offer of 60,000 bonus points for new card members, provided they spend $4,000 on purchases in their first three months with the card. This can amount to over $900 when redeemed through Chase Travel. 

American Express Green Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

If you want a simpler and streamlined way to earn rewards, consider the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It offers 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2X miles on all other purchases.

This card also has a welcome offer. You can earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening — that’s worth up to $750 in travel.

How we rated this card 

Every credit card review we publish has undergone a rigorous editorial process to ensure accuracy and objectivity.

We rate all credit cards on a 10-point system, with 10 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest possible score. We assess each card across several key factors, weighted based on what our research shows matters most to readers like you. Learn more about our methodology here.

The bottom line

The American Express Green Card is a solid choice for frequent travelers who can use its bonus categories and travel credits. With 3X points on travel, transit, and dining and up to $200 in annual credits for CLEAR and LoungeBuddy, the card offers a solid value for the right person.

However, with a $150 annual fee and limited bonus categories, the Amex Green Card may not be the best fit for everyone. See rates and fees. If your spending doesn't align with the card's rewards or you prefer more diverse earning categories, you may want to consider alternative travel cards.

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company

Editorial disclosure: Opinions expressed are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included in the post.