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American Express® Green Card
American Express just unveiled a fantastic offer on one of their most under-rated cards: American Express® Green Card. This bad boy not only earns 3x on a wide array of travel, but also earns 3x on dining worldwide, and transit including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
The card comes with a $150 annual fee…a full $100 less than the Amex Gold card and offers a $189 Clear Credit as well as $100 LoungeBuddy credit.
It just dropped an all time high offer of 60k after $3k spend in 6 months AND you can get 20% back on travel and transit purchases, up to $200, in those 6 months as well. That is the annual fee + $50.
Card Benefits
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards(R) Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.
- *Rates and Fees; terms apply
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards(R)
- TRAVEL
- including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, and vacation rentals.
- TRANSIT
- purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
- DINING
- eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the US.
- TRAVEL
- $189 CLEAR Plus Credit:
- Receive up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express(R) Green Card.
- $100 LoungeBuddy
- Purchase lounge access through the LoungeBuddy app using the American Express(R) Green Card and receive up to $100 in statement credits annually.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees: No matter where you’re traveling, when you use your American Express(R) Green Card there are no foreign transaction fees.
- $150 annual fee.
- *Rates and Fees; terms apply
How does the 60k Membership Rewards Welcome Offer + $200 statement credit on travel and transit work?
You have 6 months to spend $3k in order to earn your welcome offer of 60k Membership Rewards(R). In addition to that, you’ll receive a 20% statement credit on each and every travel or transit purchase you make within 6 months, up to $200. That is amazing.
What does the Amex Green consider Travel and transit?
Great question. The Amex Green card has a much more open and liberal interpretation of travel than does other Amex cards in includes a lot more purchases. Amex Green will earn you 3x points on every dollar you spend at the following travel and transit categories:
Travel
- airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, and vacation rentals.
Transit
- trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
$189 Clear Credit
Clear expedites your security experience and will put you at the front of the line. If you already have TSA Pre, Clear will walk you to the front and hand deliver you to the TSA agent.
- you need to enroll in Clear to qualify
- You get a $189 Clear credit every year
- Add familiy members for $60 a year, up to 3 additional people
Don’t forget you can get a discount on your clear membership simply by linking your Delta SkyMiles or United accounts, you’ll get a discount on your yearly subscription if you’re a student or in the military which easily puts it under the credit your Amex Platinum gives you.
$100 Lounge Buddy Credit
- $100 total per calendar year
- This can be across multiple lounge visits
- Must pay for the Lounge entrance fee with your American Express® Green Card
- Must pay at the LoungeBuddy website or LoungeBuddy app
American Express® Green Card
The American Express® Green Card is an absolute sleeper. It earns 3x on travel, transit, restaurants worldwide, $189 Clear Plus credit, $100 Lounge Buddy credit, and currently has an all time best ever offer…annual fee is $150.
Welcome Offer
60k Membership Rewards(R) after $3k spend in 6 months + 20% back on travel and transit during first 6 months (capped at $200 )
Annual Fee
Points Earned
Transferrable Membership Rewards
A lot of people overlook the Amex Green card as it falls in the shadow of its premium siblings the Amex Gold and Amex Platinum. But this is a bad mammajamma earning 3x on travel, transit, dining, and has a very liberal interpretation of travel compared to other Amex cards.
Travel with the Amex Green card is defined as the following:
- Flights
- Hotels
- Tours
- Vacation Rentals
- Rideshares like Uber and Lyft
- Busses
- Taxi
- Subways and Metros
- Tolls
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards(R) Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.
- *Rates and Fees; terms apply
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards(R)
- points on travel including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, and vacation rentals.
- transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
- eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the US.
- $189 CLEAR Plus Credit:
- Receive up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express(R) Green Card.
- $100 LoungeBuddy
- Purchase lounge access through the LoungeBuddy app using the American Express(R) Green Card and receive up to $100 in statement credits annually.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees: No matter where you’re traveling, when you use your American Express(R) Green Card there are no foreign transaction fees.
- $150 annual fee.
- *Rates and Fees; terms apply
Yes, 60k Membership Rewards + 20% back on travel and transit, up to $200, after $3k spend in the the first 6 months is best ever
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
What are some great uses of Amex Points?
We have a complete list of great uses, but our favorites involve using Amex’s extensive list of transfer partners.
Take advantage of Flying Blue the loyalty program of Air France and KLM to fly to Europe between 50k and 70k Miles
Read our Air France and KLM Reviews
- Air France 77W from Paris to DC
- Air France A350-900 from Atlanta to Paris
- KLM 772 from Singapore to Bali
Or use Aeroplan to fly United business class for 60k miles vs United charging 80k for the same flight
Fly Emirates First Class from NYC to Milan or Athens for 85k miles
Overall
American Express welcome offers are once in a lifetime and this is one of, if not the best offer we’ve seen on this card. In the first year, if you max out the 20% back on travel and transit, you’re $50 ahead on your annual fee. If you take advantage of the Clear credit…you’re making your annual fee back every single year. Earning an unlimited 3x back on travel, dining, and transit is pretty awesome as well. I may need to cycle this card back into my wallet.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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