American Express Green Card Review

Link: Learn how to apply for the card_name (See Rates and Fees)

The card_name may be one of the most underrated travel credit cards out there, hiding in the shadow of the fan-favorite American Express Gold Card and American Express Platinum Card. With terrific earning and redemption opportunities, the Green Card is great for both day-to-day, as well as for your travel adventures.

The Membership Rewards (the American Express Green Card’s rewards currency) is terrific for its incredibly valuable transfer partners, no matter how you want to travel. From short domestic flights to grandma’s house to round-the-world adventures, the possibilities are genuinely Nonstop 😉

American Express Green Card Welcome Offer

The welcome offer is one of the best I have ever seen. Not only will you earn some incredibly valuable Membership Reward points, but you also can earn up to $200 in statement credits on your travel. Whether you are a big points and miles person OR a cashback fan, this is a win-win.

With every increasing grocery and restaurant prices, reaching the minimum spend of over three months should be manageable based on your typical day-to-day spending. However, it also may make sense to time your sign-up around a big purchase, such as if you need to purchase furniture for your apartment (what I am doing right now) or if you can charge tuition to your card.

American Express Green Card Fees

With a moderate annual fee, the American Express Green Card should be justifiable for most people, given that you can recoup more than the fee in value each year. Of course, it is higher than some alternative intro travel cards, so you should do the math of if the credits (described in the perks section) are personally worth the annual fee to you.

Additionally, remember that as long as you pay off your card on time and in full every month, the APR rate will not make a difference, as you will not carry a balance.

When planning for a trip overseas, many often forget about the importance of how you spend your money. Rather than pay fee after fee every time you swipe your card, having no foreign transaction fees on the American Express Green Card can save a significant amount of money on any trip out of the country, whether it’s paying for drinks in Mexico or a spa day in Sweden.

Earning Membership Rewards

Many individuals, including myself, spend much of their discretionary spending on restaurants and travel. In fact, that is actually my top two spending categories by a large margin. Earning bonus points on these two categories without any limit or spending cap is terrific, allowing you to rack up even more rewards from your existing spending.

The earning structure is simple. There is no need to purchase travel through any portal or do anything special. Just charge your travel and restaurant spending to this card and watch your rewards balance grow. Although earnings could be higher on non-bonus expenditures, the ability to default to 1x on other purchases is still great if you want to keep a simple setup.

Redeeming Membership Rewards

Given that there is no bonus to redeem your extremely valuable Membership Rewards points for travel with American Express, I typically recommend transferring the points out to partners. This way, you can extract more value from the same number of points, multiplying the benefit of your spending and any bones from this card.

For me, the best thing about Membership Rewards is the flexibility from some of American Express’s transfer partners that are not available with any other card, such as ANA Mileage Club. On the one hand, you can transfer points to more commonly used airline loyalty programs in the U.S., such as Delta SkyMiles and Marriott Bonvoy. On the other hand, Amex has an incredible list of foreign transfer partners such as British Airways Avios or Air Canada Aeroplan.

One of my favorite redemptions was transferring 7,000 MR points to British Airways and $5.60 in taxes and fees, thanks to a transfer bonus. I got an American Airlines ticket that allowed me to fly down to Florida to visit my father, which would have otherwise been $230.

Of course, if you are searching for luxury, you could transfer 88,000 Membership Rewards to ANA to book a roundtrip United business class to Europe for under $90. This means you could fly on an otherwise multi-thousand-dollar ticket in the comfort of your lie-flat seats for a small fraction of the cost. 

American Express Green Card Perks

Dread those long lines at the airports? Let me introduce you to Clear, an identity verification service that allows you to essentially skip the line and many TSA checkpoints in airports around the US and at many stadiums. 

Additionally, for infrequent travelers, or ones that typically love to show up to the airport at the last minute, entering an airport lounge might not be at the top of your priorities. However, for the few times you may want access before or after a long flight, the Lounge Buddy credit will provide you with a comfortable seat and free snacks. 

The Last Point

I am still very impressed by the card_name due to its incredible earning bonus opportunities for all restaurants and travel. This compares to cards with a much higher annual fee for the same bonus thresholds.

Of course, the current welcome bonus is another reason to apply for this card. Between the points from the welcome offer and daily spending, your balance of Membership Rewards will take off in no time. A reasonable annual fee, great earning opportunities, and terrific redemption opportunities make the card_name a great addition to any wallet.