17 Benefits and Perks of the Amex Green Card ($2,300+ Value)

The American Express^® Green Card is a strong all-around rewards card that offers a great combination of points on everyday purchases, flexible rewards, and travel perks.

If you’re trying to decide whether the Amex Green card is worth a spot in your wallet, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll provide a full breakdown of each of the benefits of the Amex Green card, and assign a value to each perk, to give you an estimate of roughly how much value the card could be worth to you.

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

Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points

The Amex Green card comes with a wide variety of perks and point-earning opportunities to help you offset the annual fee. Keep in mind that our valuations for each benefit are based on moderate use throughout the year, and the actual amount of value you receive might vary based on how you use the card.

1. A Great Welcome Bonus Offer ($660 to $990+)

While the Amex Green card doesn’t usually come with as large of a welcome offer as the American Express^® Gold Card or The Platinum Card^® from American Express, it still is a great way to kickstart your Amex Membership Rewards balance.

Historically, the welcome offer on the Amex Green card ranges between 30,000 to 45,000 Amex points, which we value between $660 to $990 based on our 2.2 cents per point valuation of Amex Membership Rewards.

See the current Amex Green card welcome offer below:

American Express^® Green Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's 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.

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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 Bonus Valuation*:

$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 cardapplication.

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 $199 per calendar year in statement credits after you pay for a CLEAR^® Plus membership with the Card.
• Up to $100 in statement credits annually when you purchase airport lounge access through LoungeBuddy with the Card.

Cons

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

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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.
• $199 CLEAR Plus Credit: Receive up to $199 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express^® Green Card.
• $100 LoungeBuddy: No airport lounge membership? No problem! Purchase lounge access through the LoungeBuddy app using the American Express^® Green Card and receive up to $100 in statement credits annually.
• 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

2. Earn 3x Points per Dollar Spent on Restaurants ($240)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average U.S. household spends roughly $300 a month at restaurants. With your Amex Green card, you’ll earn 3x points on restaurant purchases, or an estimated 10,800 Amex Membership Rewards points per year, which we value at nearly $240.

Better yet, this category doesn’t just include dining at restaurants but also includes takeout and delivery in the U.S. as well.

3. Earn 3x Points per Dollar Spent on Transit ($80)

The card earns 3x points on transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.

Depending on where you live, you might find yourself making purchases in these categories more often than others, but if you spend at least $100 a month on transit then you’ll earn approximately 3,600 Amex points each year, which we value at nearly $80.

4. Earn 3x Points per Dollar Spent on Travel ($265)

One of the best perks of the Amex Green card is that it earns 3x points on all travel purchases including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, travel purchases on third-party travel websites, and travel purchases on AmexTravel.com.

Depending on how often you travel, and how much you spend while traveling, you could really rack up the points here. For instance, if you spend $4,000 on travel annually, you’ll earn 12,000 Membership Rewards points for these purchases, which we value at nearly $265.

Flexible Redemption Options

5. Transfer Points to Amex Transfer Partners ($300)

The reason we value American Express Membership Rewards points so highly is because of the value you can receive when using the Amex transfer partners. American Express offers some of our favorite programs as transfer partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic.

For instance, you can transfer 97,000 Amex points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer to fly one of the best first class experiences, Singapore Suites, one-way from New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA). This ticket can often cost north of $10,000, which gives you incredible value for your points.

We value the ability to transfer your Amex points to partners at $300 due to the amount of value these redemptions can offer to you.

Hot Tip:

Check out our guide on the best ways to redeem your Amex points for inspiration on using your points.

6. Redeem Points Through the AmexTravel.com Portal ($50)

While using Amex transfer partners is our favorite way to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points, it doesn’t offer nearly as much flexibility as simply booking through the AmexTravel.com portal.

When you book through AmexTravel.com, you can use your points for virtually any flight, hotel, or other travel purchase you can think of. The downside is what you gain in flexibility you lose in value, as your points are worth just 1 cent per point when redeemed for flights and 0.8 cents per point when redeemed for other purchases.

We value this benefit conservatively at $50. While you can get far more value through transfer partners, it is great to have an option that offers more flexibility.

7. Redeem for Cash-back via Statement Credits ($25)

If you want to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points for cash-back you can do so, but at a relatively poor value of 0.6 cents per point. Again, you can get far more value out of the other redemption options, but it’s great to have the opportunity to redeem for extra cash if need be.

Travel Benefits

8. Up to $199 Annual CLEAR Plus Credit ($199)

With your Amex Green card, you receive up to a $199 annual statement credit for a CLEAR Plus membership.

CLEAR provides an expedited security experience at select U.S. airports and stadiums using your biometrics. This allows you to skip the identity screening portion when at the airport so you can go straight to the front of the security line.

9. Up to $100 Annual LoungeBuddy Credit ($100)

Cardholders also receive an annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100, allowing you to pay to enter any of the 300+ lounges in the LoungeBuddy network in 50+ countries. Depending on which lounges you visit, this credit could get you 2 to 3 free lounge visits each year.

10. No Foreign Transaction Fees ($50)

Many credit cards charge upwards of 3% on purchases you make while overseas, so having a card in your wallet with no foreign transaction fees is a must (rates & fees).

This can save you quite a bit of money if you travel overseas often. Any travel rewards credit card worth its salt will have this as a benefit, and you may already have one in your wallet, so we value this perk at a modest $50.

Travel Protections

11. Rental Car Insurance (Value Varies)

The Amex Green card offers secondary rental car insurance coverage for theft and damage of up to $50,000. This keeps you from needing to purchase the rental car insurance offered by the rental car company, but secondary rental car insurance only kicks in after your personal primary auto insurance.

12. Baggage Protection (Value Varies)

If items in your luggage are lost, damaged, or stolen during transit, then you can receive coverage for up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage.

13. Trip Delay Reimbursement (Value Varies)

If your flight is delayed by more than 12 hours, you can receive up to $300 in coverage toward eligible expenses such as lodging, meals, and other necessary items.

Shopping Benefits and Protections

14. Amex Offers ($100)

When it comes to credit card offers, Amex Offers are in a league of their own. With Amex Offers, you’ll receive discounts and opportunities to earn more points with 100 merchants each month. This is a great way to receive even more value out of purchases you were planning to make anyway.

We value this benefit at $100 because you can easily save by regularly adding Amex Offers to your card each month.

15. American Express Experiences ($25)

American Express Experiences gets you exclusive access to select ticket presales before the general public to increase your odds of landing highly sought-after tickets.

16. Purchase Protection (Value Varies)

If an item you’ve purchased gets stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase, you can receive replacement coverage of up to $1,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per calendar year.

We value this benefit at $100 because, while you hopefully will not need to use it often, it can save you quite a bit of money if you have a mishap with a new purchase.

17. Extended Warranty Coverage (Value Varies)

When you purchase an item with an eligible warranty of 5 years or less, that warranty coverage is extended by 1 additional year.

Again, ideally, you will not need to use this perk, but it helps give you added peace of mind to know that it is there if you need it.

Final Thoughts

It goes without saying that the values quoted here may not be the same value you’ll receive from your card each year. After all, some perks like the welcome offer are one-time perks, while others like purchase protection and rental car insurance you hope you’ll never need to use.

Further, the amount of value you receive from many of the benefits, like the card bonus categories, will depend on how much you spend on your card each year.

In our view, the Amex Green card is a great all-around travel rewards card that is a great option for those getting started with points and miles, or those who are looking to supplement other cards in their wallet with the benefits it provides. If you’re still undecided, read our guide on the best reasons to get the Amex Green card.

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the American Express^® Green Card, the 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.