Amex Green Card vs. Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card [Detailed Comparison]

Key Takeaways

• The American Express^® Green Card is designed for travel enthusiasts with elevated earnings on dining, travel, and transit, while the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express focuses on cash-back for everyday spending.
• The Blue Cash Preferred card’s strong cash-back earnings of 6% at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in spend each year) and on select U.S. streaming services, and 3% cash-back on U.S. gas station and transit purchases, makes it an excellent card for daily life.
• The Amex Green card offers many great perks for travelers, such as CLEAR Plus credit, trip delay insurance, and no foreign transaction fees.

American Express is known for having some of the most rewarding credit cards on the market, and the American Express^® Green Card* and the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express are no exception.

That said, both cards are quite different in what they offer — each has its own unique benefits, bonus rewards earning categories, and redemption options. Read our detailed comparison to learn which is the better option for you.

*The information regarding the American Express^® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Overview

Here is a quick look at how each card stacks up to one another in each of the categories that we will compare. Enrollment may be required for some benefits.

Both the Amex Green card and the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card have a lot to offer, but most of the major benefits of each card are quite different. This includes their bonus rewards earning categories, redemption options, statement credits, annual fees, and more.

Given that, deciding which card is better for you is going to come down to the option that suits your lifestyle best. However, as a general rule of thumb, those focused on earning cash-back would fare better with the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card and those focused on earning travel rewards would fare better with the Amex Green card.

Comparing Welcome Offers

Amex Green Card

American Express^® Green Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.

All information about American Express^® Green Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

American Express^® Green Card

This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.

Welcome Offer

Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your American Express^® Green Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.

40,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $880

Annual Fee

$150

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The American Express^® Green Card is an excellent all-around travel rewards card thanks to earning 3x Membership Rewards^® points on eligible travel and transit purchases and at restaurants, access to American Express transfer partners, and a reasonable annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x points per $1 spent at restaurants worldwide, on all eligible travel purchases, and transit purchases
• Up to $209 per calendar year in statement credits after you pay for a CLEAR^® Plus membership with the Card.
• Access to American Express transfer partners

Cons

• $150 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your American Express^® Green Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points on travel, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, and vacation rentals.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® Points on transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points on eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the US.
• $209 CLEAR Plus Credit: Receive up to $209 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express^® Green Card.
• Payment Flexibility: When it comes to paying your bill, you have options. You can always pay in full. You also have the flexibility to carry a balance with interest or use Plan It^® to split up large purchases into monthly payments with a fixed fee, up to your Pay Over Time Limit. You may be able to keep spending beyond your limit – you’ll just need to pay for any new purchases in full when your bill is due.
• Trip Delay Insurance: If a round-trip is paid for entirely with your Eligible Card and a covered reason delays your trip more than 12 hours, Trip Delay Insurance can help reimburse certain additional expenses purchased on the same Eligible Card, up to $300 per trip, maximum 2 claims per eligible account per 12 consecutive month period. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees: No matter where you’re traveling, when you use your American Express^® Green Card there are no foreign transaction fees.
• $150 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

We value Amex Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents each thanks to their flexibility and ability to be redeemed with Amex transfer partners. Depending on the welcome offer at the time, you could achieve extraordinary value from these points.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card

GREAT FOR CASH BACK

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This card is great for those who want to earn cash-back with U.S. supermarkets, U.S. streaming subscriptions, transit, and U.S. gas stations.

Apply Now(at Amex's secure site)

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express

This card is great for those who want to earn cash-back with U.S. supermarkets, U.S. streaming subscriptions, transit, and U.S. gas stations.

Welcome Offer

Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.

$250

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$250

Annual Fee

$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

APR

19.74%-28.74% Variable,0% on purchases for 12 months

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express is a stellar cash-back credit card for those looking to maximize every purchase they make.

With bonus categories like U.S. supermarkets, select U.S. streaming services, U.S. gas stations, and transit purchases, this card rewards you for the items you spend the most on in a big way! For those looking to earn up to 6% cash-back on their purchases, this could be the card for you!

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 6% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year)
• 6% cash-back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
• 3% cash-back on U.S. gas stations and transit (including rideshares, parking, etc.)

Cons

• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee (rates and fees)

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Low Intro APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 19.74% - 28.74%.
• Plan It^®: Buy now, pay later with Plan It. Split purchases of $100 or more into equal monthly installments with a fixed fee so you don’t have the pressure of paying all at once. Simply select the purchase in your online account or the American Express^® App to see your plan options. Plus, you’ll still earn rewards on purchases the way you usually do.
• Earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in eligible purchases (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at eligible U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more) purchases and 1% cash back on other purchases. Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit and at Amazon.com checkout.
• Get up to a $10 monthly statement credit after using your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred^® Card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle subscription purchase, at disneyplus.com, Hulu.com, or Plus.espn.com U.S. websites. Subject to auto-renewal.
• Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.74%-28.74% Variable,0% on purchases for 12 months
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars.

Rewards Center

Redeem cash-back through your American Express account

Because you’re earning cash-back as opposed to flexible Amex Membership Rewards points, this welcome offer doesn’t offer you the ability to get outsized value from your rewards. However, you do know the exact value of what you’ll earn and won’t have to worry about transferring your points to partners.

Bottom Line:

The welcome offer for the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card is cash-back, so you know exactly how much value you’ll receive. The Amex Green card earns Amex Membership Rewards points, so the value of the bonus will depend on how you decide to redeem your points.

Earning Categories

Here is a look at how each card rewards you for your everyday purchases:

The Amex Green card clearly shines when it comes to earning Membership Rewards points at restaurants worldwide and on travel and transit purchases. While the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card also offers transit as a bonus category, it also offers the opportunity to earn a lot of cash-back at U.S. supermarkets, select streaming services, and at U.S. gas stations.

Redemption Options

Amex Green Card

One of the best things about the Amex Green card is that it earns Amex Membership Rewards points, which means you’ll have multiple ways to redeem your rewards. With your points, you can book travel through the AmexTravel.com portal, transfer them to Amex’s transfer partners, redeem them for cash-back via statement credit, redeem them for gift cards, or when shopping with select merchants such as Apple, Amazon, and more.

While you should redeem your points in whatever manner you think is best for you, our favorite redemption option, and the one that tends to yield the most value, is using Amex’s airline and hotel transfer partners. This method allows you to book luxury travel experiences like business class flights and 5-star hotel stays for a fraction of the usual price.

For example, you could transfer 63,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Avianca LifeMiles and book a one-way business class award ticket on a Star Alliance carrier like United or Air Canada between the U.S. and Europe. If you were to book that same flight through the AmexTravel.com portal, you’d likely have to shell out 3 to 5 times the amount of points.

Hot Tip:

If you want to learn how to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points for more value, read through our guide to see some of our favorite ways.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card

You have just 1 redemption option with the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card: redeeming for cash-back as a statement credit to offset card purchases. While rewards redemptions are much more limited with this card, being able to redeem for straight cash-back isn’t necessarily a bad option.

Statement Credit Comparison

While both cards charge an annual fee, they also come with annual statement credits to help offset that cost.

Amex Green Card — CLEAR Plus

With the Amex Green card, you’ll receive an annual CLEAR Plus credit that covers up to $209 per calendar year after paying for a CLEAR Plus membership with your new Amex Green card. If you’re not familiar with CLEAR, it provides a faster security experience at select airports and stadiums nationwide using biometrics. Better yet, if you’re someone who would have paid the standard price for a CLEAR Plus membership anyway, then this credit alone more than offsets the card’s $150 annual fee.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card — Disney Streaming

With the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, you can receive up to a $10 monthly statement credit after using your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred Card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle subscription purchase, at Disneyplus.com, Hulu.com, or Plus.espn.com U.S. websites. Subject to auto-renewal

You could nearly cover the card’s $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee with this credit alone.

Travel Protection and Benefits Analysis

The Amex Green card definitely wins out here, as the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card offers hardly any travel perks and protections. The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card even charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee, making it a poor choice for overseas purchases.

Meanwhile, the Amex Green card helps keep you covered with no foreign transaction fees, baggage protection, trip delay insurance, and more.

Comparing Shopping Benefits and Protections

Both cards offer benefits that keep you covered when making purchases:

• Amex Offers — Opportunities to earn more points and statement credits with up to 100 merchants each month when you add offers to your account
• Purchase Protection — If an item you purchase with your card is stolen, lost, or damaged within 90 days of purchase, you can receive up to $1,000 in coverage per item, up to $50,000 in coverage per year
• Extended Warranty — Adds 1 year of additional warranty to extended warranties of 5 years or less
• American Express Experiences — Exclusive access to ticket presales

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card additionally offers this perk:

• Return Protection — Return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $300 per item and a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year

Both the Amex Green card and Amex Blue Cash Preferred card offer nearly identical shopping perks, however, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card provides return protection, while the Amex Green card does not.

Annual Fees and Adding Authorized Users

Annual Fees

The Amex Green card has a $150 annual fee while the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card’s annual fee is $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

The cost of holding either card is relatively similar, but whether each annual fee is worth it depends on how much value you can receive from a card’s benefits and rewards.

Authorized Users

You can add authorized users to your Amex Green card or Amex Blue Cash Preferred card for no additional annual fee.

Final Thoughts

Despite their differences, both the Amex Green card and Amex Blue Cash Preferred card are great products.

If you’re looking for a card that is geared toward travel, earns flexible rewards, and offers solid travel protections, then the Amex Green card might be the better option for you.

On the other hand, if you want a great cash-back card that can help you rack up big savings at U.S. supermarkets, on select streaming services, and U.S. gas stations, then the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card might be the one for you.

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For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the Amex Green card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. 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. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. 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. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the extended warranty benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, when an American Express^® card member charges a covered purchase to an eligible card, extended warranty can provide up to one extra year added to the original manufacturer’s warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. 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.

For the global assist hotline benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, you can rely on Global Assist Hotline 24 hours a day / 7 days a week for medical, legal, financial or other select emergency coordination and assistance services while traveling more than 100 miles away from your home. Third-party service costs may be your responsibility. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

For the purchase protection benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, when an American Express^® card member charges a covered purchase with their eligible card, purchase protection can help protect their covered purchases for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. 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.

For the return protection benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, with return protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express^® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.