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This post will focus on the Amex Green Card. It is often underrated and overlooked. I believe this card is great for anyone who wants to accumulate travel rewards over the long-term.
American Express Basics for August 2021
Amex Green Card is a low-cost card that offers 3x points for categories where many people will spend a lot.
This card is worth considering if you add the Membership Rewards points value and other great cards that can be used to complement it. Let's take a closer look at these details.
Amex Green Card $150 Annual Charge
Let's begin with the negative aspects of the card. Amex Green Card comes with a $150 annual fee. Although it might seem a little steep, I believe the benefits far outweigh the cost.
Amex Green Card Bonus
The Amex Green Card welcome bonus differs depending on the link you use to apply. Refer a friend link opens and I receive a bonus of 50,000 Membership rewards points. This is certainly one of the best offers I have seen on the Amex Green Cards. You might be eligible for a different offer than you see.
Earn points with the Amex Green Card
The Amex Green Card is a great card for earning Amex Points. Amex Green Card gives you 3x Membership Rewards points in a variety of lucrative categories. At 1.7 cents per Membership Rewards point, I consider 3x points categories to be a great return on investment. This is 5.1%.
Get 3x points on Dining
The Amex Green Card gives you 3x points at all restaurants worldwide, with no limit. The restaurants category does not include only sit-down restaurants, but also fast food and take-out establishments.
It all boils down to the way that merchants categorize themselves. A restaurant that is located within another establishment, such as a hotel, will not code as dining. This is something you should be aware of.
You can also expect that convenience stores, bars, cafeterias, nightclubs, and cafeterias won't be coded as restaurants. This card is the best for dining purchase.
Get 3x points for dining worldwide
Get 3x points on travel (including transit)
The Amex Green Card gives you 3x points for all travel purchases, including transit, worldwide without any limits.
This can include airfare, hotels and cruises as well as car rentals, campgrounds. It also includes trains, taxicabs and rideshare services.
You can see that this covers many purchases you may make every day without actually traveling.
Get 3x points for all travel purchases worldwide
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Amex Green Card does not have foreign transaction fees (Rates and Fees), making it a great card for international purchases. This is especially true when you consider that many of your foreign purchases fall under the dining and travel category. That's where I spend the majority of my money when I travel.
Get 3x points when you dine at restaurants and stay in hotels with the Amex Green Card
Earn points with the Amex Green Card
Transferring your Amex Green Card points to a Membership Rewards partner airline or hotel is the best way to redeem them. You can transfer points to the following 20 partners: 17 airline partners, three hotel partners.
Aer Lingus AerClub Choice Privileges Aeromexico Club Premier Hilton Honors Air Canada Aeroplan Marriott Bonvoy Alitalia MilleMiglia ANA Mileage Club Avianca LifeMiles Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Delta SkyMiles Emirates Skywards Etihad Guest Flying Blue Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue Qantas Frequent Flyer Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Virgin Atlantic Flying Club American Express Members Rewards Transfer Partners
This is because you get a huge value on international business and first class travel. These tickets can be very expensive if you pay cash. However, they are possible to get a great deal on points. Amex also offers transfer bonuses that can help you stretch your points even more.
Your Amex points can be redeemed for Lufthansa's first class
American Express Green Card Benefits
Amex Green Card offers benefits that may outweigh the card's annual fee. These two $100 credits are useful for many.
Amex Green Card $100 Annual CLEAR Credit
Although many credit cards offered TSA Precheck and Global Entry fees credits in the past, it is great to see more cards offering CLEAR credits.
Green from Amex provides CLEAR credit credits up to $100 per year. This is also amazing because it is an annual credit and not only once every four to 5 years like the TSA Precheck credit.
Simply use your CLEAR card to pay for your CLEAR membership. You will receive statement credits within 2 to 4 weeks.
A CLEAR membership normally costs $179 per annum. However, just for being a member of Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus, the cost drops to $119 per annum. It is even cheaper if you have Delta Medallion, United Premier, or select cobranded credit cards.
CLEAR should not cost more than $119 per annum. The $100 credit will bring your out-of-pocket to $19 per annum, which is amazing.
Enjoy a CLEAR Membership with the Amex Green Card and Save
Amex Green Card Annual $100 LoungeBuddy Credits
Amex acquired LoungeBuddy in 2019 and is the first card to offer a LoungeBuddy credit.
LoungeBuddy credit credits are available from The Green from Amex for up to $100 per year when you purchase lounge access and charge it on to your card.
LoungeBuddy allows you to instantly purchase access to hundreds lounges all over the globe. Although there are some similarities between LoungeBuddy's lounges and those of Priority Pass, this might not be very useful for everyone.
LoungeBuddy also offers some exclusive lounges for partners that don't require Priority Pass.
This should be posted within 2 to 4 weeks.
LoungeBuddy allows you to access all types of lounges
Amex Offers
Amex Cards offer great benefits such as access to Amex Offers. These offers include discounts or bonus points for purchases at all types of retailers. You can save a lot of money by getting multiple Amex cards so you can receive these deals on multiple cards.
You could save hundreds of dollars each year by using Amex offers. These offers can be accessed by logging in to your account and scrolling to the bottom on your account summary page.
Is the Amex Green Card worth it?
Amex Green Card is a standout card in the Amexs portfolio due to its wide range of bonus categories. You can get $200 credits annually and earn 3x points on dining out and travel.
This card is for you if you find Amex points valuable and you travel a lot (which are two major categories), then it's a good choice. Let's look at some other factors to consider before deciding whether this card is worth your time.
Quick Card Comparison: Amex Green vs. Amex Gold
The American Express Gold Card is also available. How do these cards compare? The Gold Card
There is a $250 annual charge (Rates and Fees).
Earn 4x points in restaurants and 4x at U.S. grocery stores (up to $25,000 per calendar year) and 3x on airfare
You can get significant credit with the card, such as a $120 annual dining credit, a $120 Uber credit (as at 2021), or a $100 annual credit for airline fees (this credit expires on December 31, 2021).
Learn more about the Amex Gold Card by clicking here
Personally, I believe the Amex Green Card works better for people who don't shop at supermarkets a lot. The Amex Gold Card works better for those who do.
This post provides a detailed comparison of the Amex Gold Card vs. Amex Green Card.
Comparison of Amex Green vs. Chase Sapphire Prepaid
Another popular card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which earns bonus points for dining and traveling. Compare the two cards. The Sapphire Preferred
Annual fee of $95
You will receive a 100,000 point welcome bonus (which is much better)
Earns 3x points for online grocery, streaming, and dining. 2x points for travel. This isn't quite as good since the Amex Green earns 3x on both. I value the currencies equally on a per-point basis.
Super travel protection including rental car coverage (which is not offered by the Amex Green).
Chase Travel offers a $50 annual credit for hotel bookings, as well as the Amex Greens $100 CLEAR credit or $100 LoungeBuddy credit
You have more options to redeem your points including the Pay Yourself back feature
Learn more about Chase Sapphire Preferred.
In terms of maximising points, I believe the Amex Green is better than the Sapphire Preferred. But the catch is that the Sapphire Preferred is my preferred hub card due to the value Chase Ultimate Rewards cards can provide.
Quick Card Comparison: Amex Green vs. Citi Premier
Citi Premier Card, a comparable mid-range card, is also available. What are the differences between these cards? The Citi Premier
Annual fee of $95
You will receive a superior welcome bonus, 80,000 points, if you spend $4,000 in the first three months of your card membership
This card is mid-range and offers the highest bonus categories, including 3x points for dining, grocery, gas, and hotels.
Learn more about the Citi Premier Card by clicking here
Personally, I believe the Citi Premier offers the best bonus categories among mid-range cards. The overall portfolio of Citi ThankYou Cards has also been steadily improving.
Complement: Amex Blue Business Plus
If I had to choose between the Amex Green Card or another Amex card, I would recommend the American Express The Blue Business Plus Credit Card. It offers 2x points for every $50,000 you spend in a calendar year (and 1x for every $50,000 after that).
This combination is unbeatable: 2x points for everyday business spending, 3x points for personal dining and travel spending.
Bottom line
Amex Green Card is my favorite mid-range American Express card. The $150 annual fee card gives you 3x points on dining, travel and transit. It also offers up to $200 annually credits ($100 with CLEAR, $100 with LoungeBuddy).
This card is amazing and often overlooked. I would say it is the closest competitor to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Citi Premier Card.
Follow this link to find out more information about the Amex Green Card and how you can apply.
Apply Now
These links will take you to the fees and rates for American Express Cards. These are: American Express Gold Card (Rates and Fees), American Express Green Card(Rates and Fees).
