Overview

American Express Green Card Snapshot
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Annual Fee: $150

Recommended FICO Score: 740 – 850

Interest Rate: 19.74% to 26.74%

SignOn Bonus: 45,000 points after $2,000 in 6 months

Card Type: Rewards

Best For: Travel and dining purchases.

The American Express Green credit card is a middle of the pack travel card. It offers a strong sign-on bonus (45,000 points after an initial spend of $2,000 in the first 6 months), 3x rewards on travel and dining out purchases and annual travel credits. This card also has a $150 annual fee, so to extract maximum value from the card it’s important that you take advantage of all its rewards and perks.

Reward Offering

The Sign On Bonus

The American Express Green card has a one-time bonus of 45,000 points once you spend $2,000 on purchases within the first 6 months from account opening.

Reward Multiplier

3x

3x points on restaurants, including takeout and delivery.

3x

3x points on travel purchases including flights, hotels, transit, taxis, tours, and ridesharing services.

1x

Earn 1x points on all other purchases.

Other Benefits

$100 annual LoungeBuddy credit: to purchase lounge access through the LoungeBuddy app and receive up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year.

Up to $100 Clear credit when you pay for your CLEAR membership with the American Express® Green Card.

Trip delay insurance, car rental and damage insurance, extended warranty and purchase protection.

No foreign fee transactions.

Who Is This Card Suited For

The American Express Green credit card benefits frequent travelers who dine out and can take advantage of the cards benefits. With a $150 annual membership this is not the cheapest travel card on the market, but the 3x reward multiplier, 45,000 point sign on bonus and annual statement credits for the CLEAR and LoungeBuddy it can definitely provide value to any traveler.

Key Benefits:

  • High spending multipliers on travel and dining out.
  • Ability to transfer miles to partner programs.
  • No foreign transactions.

Key Drawbacks:

  • $150 annual fee.

Redeeming AMEX Points

An awareness of how how you can redeem AMEX points and the value you get from each option will impact the overall return you get from your AMEX cards. The below table summarizes the value you get from each option.

Redemption OptionValue
Transfer To Program PartnersMost programs have 1:1 transfer rate.
AMEX Travel Portal1 cent per point
Redeem As Gift Cards0.5 - 1 cent per point
Shop With Points0.5 - 1 cent per point
Statement Credits0.6 cent per point

Travel Partners

AMEX has 19 different airline partners that span 3 different alliances. To maximize the value of your points, it’s recommended that you consider transferring your points to partners programs when booking flights. The below table summarizes the transfer rates you get for each airline partner.

Transfer PartnerAllianceTransfer Rate
AeroMexicoSkyTeam1,000 : 1,600
Air CanadaStar Alliance1,000 : 1,000
AlitaliaSkyTeam1,000 : 1,000
Aer LingusN/A1,000 : 1,000
ANAStar Alliance1,000 : 1,000
Avianca LifeMilesStar Alliance1,000 : 1,000
British AirwaysOneWorld1,000 : 1,000
Cathay PacificOneWorld1,000 : 1,000
Delta Air LinesSkyTeam1,000 : 1,000
EmiratesN/A1,000 : 1,000
Etihad AirwaysN/A1,000 : 1,000
Flying Blue Air France/KLMSkyTeam1,000 : 1,000
HawaiianN/A1,000 : 1,000
IberiaOneWorld1,000 : 1,000
JetBlueN/A250 : 200
QantasOneWorld500 : 500
Singapore AirlinesStar Alliance1,000 : 1,000
Virgin AtlanticN/A1,000 : 1,000

AMEX also has 3 hotel partners and the transfer rates are listed below:

PartnerTransfer Rate
Choice Privileges1,000 : 1,000
Hilton Honors1,000 : 2,000
Marriott Bonvoy1,000 : 1,000

Card Fees And Expenses

Annual Fee$150
Foreign Transaction Fee$0
Interest Rates15.99% to 22.99%
Late FeesUp to $40
Cash AdvanceEither $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.

25.24% APR