Which is better, the Amex Green card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred card?

Both cards are relatively similar in their offers, so which is better will come down to which card’s bonus categories and benefits feel like they would benefit your situation more.

What are the benefits of the Amex Green card?

The top benefits of the Amex Green card are its bonus categories, with 3x points on travel, transit, and dining purchases, along with an annual CLEAR Plus statement credit of up to $209, plus travel and shopping benefits.

What are the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card?

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll earn between 2x to 5x points in 6 different bonus categories, receive a $50 annual hotel statement credit, along with top-notch travel protections.

Does the Amex Green card have an annual fee?

Yes, the annual fee of the Amex Green card is .

Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred card have an annual fee?

Yes, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card annual fee is .

Does the Amex Green card charge foreign transaction fees?

No, the Amex Green card does not charge foreign transaction fees.

Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred card charge foreign transaction fees?

No, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card does not charge foreign transaction fees.

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Credit Cards

Amex Green Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card [Detailed Comparison]

Updated: July 8, 2025, 6:13pm CDT

Edited by:

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Table of Contents

Key Takeaways
Overview
Welcome Bonus Offer Comparison
Earning Potential
Redemption Options
Statement Credits
Travel Protection Perks
Comparing Shopping Benefits
Annual Fees and Adding Authorized Users
Final Thoughts

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Key Takeaways

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card earns 3x points on dining and online grocery and 2x points on general travel, while the American Express^® Green Card earns 3x points on dining, transit, and travel.
The American Express^® Green Card includes a $209 annual CLEAR Plus credit.
The American Express^® Green Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred card are top travel rewards cards with transferable points and solid perks. Choose based on which rewards, perks, and bonus categories align best with your spending and goals.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card and the American Express^® Green Card* are both popular picks for a starter travel rewards card. While neither offers the rewards or benefits of their respective premium versions, both are very solid cards in their own right.

Each card offers a rich rewards ecosystem, great bonus categories, and perks to help offset its annual fee and provide value to cardholders. That said, there are quite a few unique differences between the 2 cards that we’ll get into today. In this post, we’ll provide you with a full breakdown of each card to help you determine which one is right 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

Let’s start with an overview of what each card offers before diving into a deeper comparison section by section.

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Benefit or Feature	American Express^® Green Card	Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card
Welcome Offer	Earn 40,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first 6 months.	Earn ~~60,000~~ 75,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Earning Potential	3x points at restaurants (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.) 3x points on transit (including rideshares, trains, subways, parking, and more) 3x points on travel (including airfare, hotels, car rentals, and more) 1x point on all other purchases	5x points on Chase travel portal purchases 5x points on Lyft rides (through September 30, 2027) 3x points on dining, online grocery stores, and select streaming service purchases 2x points on general travel purchases 1x point on all other eligible purchases
Redemption Options	Amex transfer partners AmexTravel.com bookings Cash-back via statement credit Gift cards Shopping with select retailers	Chase transfer partners Chase travel portal bookings Cash-back via statement credit Pay Yourself Back Gift cards Shopping with select retailers
Statement Credits	Up to $209 annual CLEAR Plus credit	$50 annual hotel credit through the Chase travel portal
Travel Benefits	No foreign transaction fees Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance* Baggage Insurance Plan* Trip Delay Insurance	No foreign transaction fees Primary rental car insurance Trip cancellation/interruption insurance, Baggage delay insurance Trip delay reimbursement Travel and emergency assistance services
Shopping Benefits and Protections	Amex Offers (Enrollment required) Purchase Protection* Extended Warranty* American Express Experiences	Chase Offers Purchase protection Extended warranty
Annual Fee	$150	$95
Authorized User Fee	$0	$0

Bottom Line: Both cards largely offer overlapping benefits, so deciding which one is better suited for you can largely come down to which rewards ecosystem you prefer.

Welcome Bonus Offer Comparison

American Express^® Green Card

U.P. Rating

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 OfferEarn 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

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

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

NEW OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome OfferEarn 60,000 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
60,000 75,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:
$1,500

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.74% - 27.99% Variable

Credit Recommended

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.

Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.

Pros & Cons

Pros

5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services
2x points on all other travel worldwide

Cons

$95 annual fee
No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Enjoy beneﬁts such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

APR: 19.74% - 27.99% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Earning Potential

Now let’s dive into how the cards’ earning rates compare against each other.

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Bonus Category	American Express^® Green Card	Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Travel Portal Purchases	n/a	5x points
Travel	3x points	2x points
Dining	3x points	3x points
Transit (Trains, Ferries, Buses, Subways, Rideshares, Etc.)	3x points	2x points (categorized as travel purchases)
Lyft Rides	3x points	5x points
Online Grocery Store Purchases	1x point	3x points
Select Streaming Services	1x point	3x points
All Other Purchases	1x point	1x point

As it stands, the American Express^® Green Card is definitely the better option when it comes to general travel purchases (unless those purchases are made through the Chase travel portal), other travel purchases with the exception of Lyft rides, and of course transit purchases.

Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is better for Chase travel portal purchases, Lyft rides, online grocery store purchases, and select streaming service purchases. Fortunately, both cards offer a solid 3x points on dining purchases, including takeout and delivery.

One added benefit that sets the Chase Sapphire Preferred card apart is that it offers bonus points on your account anniversary each year equal to 10% of the amount you spent on the card in that year. For example, if you spend $24,000 on your card, you’d receive 2,400 bonus points.

Hot Tip: Consider which card’s bonus categories better suit the purchases you already spend the most on when deciding which is likely to suit you better.

Redemption Options

Fortunately, both the American Express^® Green Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred card earn flexible rewards points, giving cardholders quite a few options when it comes time to redeem.

American Express^® Green Card

With the American Express^® Green Card, your redemption options include utilizing the Amex transfer partners, bookings through the AmexTravel.com portal, cash-back via a statement credit, gift cards, and shopping with select merchants like Amazon.

However, our favorite use of your Amex Membership Rewards points is using the program’s airline and hotel transfer partners. With this strategy, you can often receive significantly more value out of your points when redeeming them for business-class flights and luxury hotel stays for a fraction of the cash price.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

For Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders, you have virtually all of the same redemption options with a few tweaks.

It is no surprise that our favorite way to redeem Ultimate Rewards points is also through the transfer partners that Chase offers, and it includes some fan favorites like World of Hyatt and United Airlines.

However, 1 unique feature of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is Points Boost, which gives you the ability to receive up to a 75% bonus in value when you redeem through the Chase travel portal. Now, these redemptions are seldom a higher value than using transfer partners, and bonuses are limited to select hotels and flights.

Bottom Line: Both cards offer virtually the same redemptions, but while Amex is better for transfer partners (as it offers more high-quality partners), Chase still offers solid transfer partners and is much better when it comes to redeeming through its Chase travel portal and for cash-back.

Statement Credits

Since both cards charge an annual fee, one great way to help offset that fee is through statement credits.

American Express^® Green Card

Clear agents at kiosks — Get $209 off CLEAR Plus with your American Express^® Green Card. Image Credit: CLEAR

With your American Express^® Green Card, you receive an annual statement credit for a CLEAR Plus membership.

CLEAR Plus

While many cards on the market offer a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, the American Express^® Green Card stands out with its CLEAR Plus credit. With it, you’ll receive a faster security experience at select airports and stadiums nationwide.

This CLEAR Plus credit gives you up to $209 per calendar year in statement credits, which will fully cover the cost of an annual membership. This is a huge annual benefit, and The American Express^® Green Card is currently only one of a handful of credit cards that offers such a large CLEAR benefit.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Annual Hotel Credit

To help offset its annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers a $50 annual hotel statement credit towards hotel stays made through its native Chase travel portal. You can use the credit on any and all hotels bookable through the Chase travel portal, with no minimum purchase required or certain stay lengths.

DoorDash

Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders receive a 1-year membership of DoorDash DashPass, offering complimentary delivery and reduced service fees on orders of $12 or more. The standard price of a DashPass subscription is $10 per month, giving you $120 in value from this single benefit.

Travel Protection Perks

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Benefit	American Express^® Green Card	Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Foreign Transaction Fees	None	None
Rental Car Insurance	Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance*	Primary
Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance	Not offered	Up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses
Baggage Delay Insurance	Not offered	Receive coverage of up to $100 a day, for up to 5 days, on bags that are delayed by more than 6 hours
Baggage Insurance Plan	Baggage Insurance Plan*	Not offered
Trip Delay Insurance	If your flight is delayed by more than 12 hours, you can receive up to $300 in secondary coverage	For flights delayed by 12 hours or more, you can receive up to $500 in coverage for expenses like meals and lodging
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services	Yes; access to Global Assist hotline	Yes

When it comes to travel card protections, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card wins out in nearly every category. This is an important consideration as, while you hope you never have to use any of these perks, they certainly come in handy when things go wrong during your travels.

Comparing Shopping Benefits

Here is how each option keeps you covered when purchasing items with your card.

The American Express^® Green Card offers these benefits:

Amex Offers — Discounts and opportunities to earn more points with 100 merchants each month
American Express Experiences — Exclusive access to ticket presales
Purchase Protection — Coverage up to 90 days from the date of purchase towards stolen or damaged items for up to $1,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per year
Extended Warranty — Adds 1 year of additional warranty to extended warranties of 5 years or less

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers these benefits:

Chase Offers — Discounts with select merchants
Purchase Protection* — Covers new purchases against damage or theft for up to 120 days from purchase with up to $500 in coverage per claim and $50,000 per account
Extended Warranty* — Extends a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year on eligible warranties of 3 years or less

Annual Fees and Adding Authorized Users

Annual Fees

As discussed, the respective annual fees of the American Express^® Green Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred card are $150 and $95. Since the American Express^® Green Card comes in at $55 more than the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll want to make sure any added benefits you’re receiving are worth that additional expense. If you use the annual CLEAR Plus credit and/or spend a lot on travel, then this is more than justified in our opinion.

Authorized Users

Fortunately, there is no added cost to add authorized users to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and authorized user cards are also complimentary for the first 5 cards with the American Express^® Green Card, and $35 per card thereafter.

On both cards, authorized users receive all of the benefits and the same rewards on purchases as the primary cardholder, but do not receive additional statement credits.

Final Thoughts

Both the American Express^® Green Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred card are great all-around travel rewards cards for those looking to earn transferable rewards and solid perks for a reasonable annual fee.

If you’re trying to decide which card is better for you then you’ll want to consider which card’s reward ecosystem seems more rewarding for your goals, along with which card perks and protections you prefer, and which bonus categories would earn you the most points on your monthly expenses.

*Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance is underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Subject to additional terms, conditions and exclusions. For full Terms and Conditions, see americanexpress.com/CRLDIterms. If You have any questions about a specific vehicle, please call Us at 1-800-338-1670, if international, collect at 1-303-273-6497.

*Baggage Insurance Plan is underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Subject to additional terms, conditions and exclusions. For full Terms and Conditions, see americanexpress.com/BIPterms. If You have any questions about a specific item, please call Us at 1-800-228-6855, if international, collect at 1-303-273-6498.

*Extended Warranty is underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Subject to additional terms, conditions and exclusions. For full Terms and Conditions, see americanexpress.com/EWterms. If You have any questions about a specific item, please call Us at 1-800-228-6855, if international, collect at 1-303-273-6498.

*For the Global Assist Hotline benefit of the Amex Green 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.

*Purchase Protection is underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Subject to additional terms, conditions and exclusions. For full Terms and Conditions, see americanexpress.com/PPterms. If You have any questions about a specific item, please call Us at 1-800-228-6855, if international, collect at 1-303-273-6498.

*For the trip delay insurance benefit of the Amex Green card, up to $300 per covered trip that is delayed for more than 12 hours; and 2 claims per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.