The American Express® Green Card is offering 25,000 Membership Rewards bonus points as an introductory offer after you spend $1,000 on purchases on your new card within the first three months of opening.
With the American Express® Green Card, you can earn 1X points on all your other purchases while also earning double Membership Rewards points when you book through American Express Travel! You can use your MR points for all of your flight, prepaid hotel, vacation, or cruise bookings!
There is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, but after that there is an annual fee of $95! This card might not be a good it for some people since it’s got a high annual feel and short on the benefits and perks! If you want a better value, we recommend checking out the American Express Gold Card!
* You can also compare the Amex EveryDay Preferred Card with other credit card bonuses!
Table of Contents
Amex Green Card Summary
| Bonus Available | Get 25,000 bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. |
| *Bonus Value | $500 |
| Travel Credit | No travel credit |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | 2 points for every $1 spent on Amex Travel purchases and 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | 2.7% |
| Airport Lounge Access | Receive one single-visit station lounge pass for access to ClubAcela, Amtrak Metropolitan or First Class lounges. |
| Annual Fee | $95, but waived your first year |
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score)
690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
PROS
- Welcome bonus
- Payment flexibility
- Transfer partners
CONS
- Annual fee
- Good-Excellent credit needed to qualify
- Limited earning potential
- Foreign transaction fees
Editor’s Alternate Pick
 The American Express® Gold Card offers 35,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $2,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months. You'll have the opportunity to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points when you dine at restaurants worldwide & at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X); 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. This card has an annual fee of $250 with no foreign transaction fees. Some benefits including earning up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. In addition, a $100 Airline Fee Credit: up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year for incidental fees at one selected qualifying airline. |
Amex Green Card 25,000 Bonus Points Offer
The Amex Green card has a 25,000 Membership Rewards bonus points offer, we value these points around $500. In order to qualify, you must at least charge $1,000 to your card within the first three months of opening your account.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirements:
| • Plastiq - Using Plastiq allows you to pay for your personal expenses such as rent, tuition, mortgage, auto lease etc. Although they charge a 2.5% processing fee for using your credit card, this will contribute to the card bonus that you will receive. There is also a referral program that allows you to earn "Free-Free Dollars" that goes towards processing fees as well. |
| • Funding Checking Accounts - When it comes to funding a checking account, opening your initial deposit with a credit card is the usual way to go about it. However, if you want to have more opportunities, you should open a checking account that offers a sign-up bonus. This allows you to work towards bonuses from not one but two different sources instead. Banks like Chase, Huntington Bank, TD Bank and BBVA offers credit card funding, and for your opening deposit, you can often fund anywhere from $50-$1000 with a credit card, depending on the bank. |
| • Gift Card Purchases With Using a Credit Card - Another way to acquire the bonus is using your credit card to purchase gift cards. Buying a a gift card or an individual merchant card typically do not require a purchase fee and are used towards leisure, so gift cards are ideal. However, gift cards such as a Visa or American Express do incur purchase fees because they can be spent anywhere, but gift cards that are specifically for a certain online shopping site such as Amazon or eBay don't. |
| As for a Citi Credit Card, you should call customer service and ask them to lower your Cash Advance limit to $0 before making any purchases because Citi tends to read gift card purchases as a Cash Advance. Ideally, you should do this with any card just to be safe. Lastly, there is such thing as a discounted gift card which can be purchased on Raise or eBay. If you use a credit card often for everyday purchases, it can build your credit score that will contribute towards paying for things such as bills and taxes. |
| |
What are Membership Rewards Points Worth?
You points’ worth depends on how you use them, on average, one Membership Rewards point is worth up to an average $0.02. It’s considered a good value considering the average rewards cards is just $0.01 per point.
You have a variety of options on redeeming your Membership Rewards points, including:
| Redemption Option | Value |
| Travel via Amex or Expedia | $0.005 – $0.01 / point |
| Transfer to travel partners | Varies by partner |
| Statement credits | $0.006 / point |
| Merchandise | Varies by retailer |
| Unique experiences | Varies by venue |
| Gift cards | Varies by retailer |
| Charity Donations | $0.007 |
The best way to use your Membership Rewards points is to transfer them to one of the 20+ travel partners. You can upgrade with your earned points for a higher-class flights from various airlines and routes. Or, premium rooms at higher tier hotels. See more info below.
Membership Rewards Airline Partners
| Aer Lingus | AeroMexico | Air Canada |
| Air France/ KLM | Alitalia | All Nippon Airways |
| Avianca | British Airways | Cathay Pacific |
| Delta Airlines | El Al Israel Airlines | Emirates |
| Etihad Airways | Hawaiian Airlines | Iberia |
| jetBlue Airways | Qantas | Singapore Airlines |
| Virgin Atlantic |
Membership Rewards Airline Partners
| Choice Privileges | Hilton Honors | Marriott Bonvoy |
Amex Green Charge Card Payment Flexibility
Unlike other cards, most charge cards require you to pay your balance in full when the statement is issued rather than making monthly minimum payments on your balance over time.
But with the Amex Green card, it allows more flexibility when payment time comes. It lets you carry a balance, with interest, on eligible charges of $100 or more. You can choose to pay your full balance, the minimum due, or any amount in between.
Bottom Line
The the American Express Green Card doesn’t offer much rewards to compensate for the $95 annual fee. There are other and better option when it comes to travel cards, so why not favor the one that offers you the best rewards?
If you’re looking for another card with a better value, you should check out the American Express Gold Card! You can also check out other credit card bonuses to see which fits your needs the most!
(Visit AmericanExpress.com to learn more about this card.)
The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
Who’s the Competition?
Top Rewards Cards
Here are some alternatives with the similar annual fee, but better rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
If you like American Express, consider the Amex Gold Card; although it’s a great option, the annual fee is more than double though.
 The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®! You'll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. And when you redeem your points for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 25% more value! |
 The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card offers a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening (equal to $500 in travel). Named ‘The Best Travel Card' by CNBC, 2018. You're able to earn 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Plus earn 10X miles on thousands of hotels, through January 2020; learn more at hotels.com/venture. This card does come with a $95 annual fee, however, there is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year. Enjoy no foreign transaction fees and receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre?®. |
The American Express® Gold Card offers 35,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $2,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months. You'll have the opportunity to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points when you dine at restaurants worldwide & at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X); 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. This card has an annual fee of $250 with no foreign transaction fees. Some benefits including earning up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. In addition, a $100 Airline Fee Credit: up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year for incidental fees at one selected qualifying airline. |
| PROMOTIONAL LINK | OFFER | REVIEW |
| Chase Premier Plus CheckingSM | $300 Cash | Review |
| Chase Total Checking® + Chase SavingsSM | $350 Cash | Review |
| Chase Total Business Checking® | $200 Cash | Review |
| Chase SapphireSM Checking | $750 Cash | Review |
| Simple High-Yield Checking | $500 Cash | Review |
| Discover Bank Online Savings | $200 Cash | Review |
| HSBC Premier Checking Member FDIC | $750 Cash | Review |
| HSBC Advance Checking Member FDIC | $350 Cash | Review |
| Huntington Asterisk-Free Checking® | $150 Cash | Review |
| Huntington 5 Checking | $200 Cash | Review |
| Chase College CheckingSM | $100 Cash | Review |
| You InvestSM by J.P. Morgan | $625 Cash | Review |
| Chase Private Client | $1,250 Cash | Review |
| TD Bank Beyond Checking | $300 Cash | Review |
| TD Bank Convenience CheckingSM | $200 Cash | Review |
| Discover Cashback Debit Account | $360 Cash | Review |
| Huntington Bank Unlimited Plus Business Checking | $500 Cash | Review |
| Huntington Bank Unlimited Business Checking | $400 Cash | Review |
| Huntington Bank Business Checking 100 | $200 Cash | Review |
Leave a Reply