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3. American Express® Green Card: Are there enough rewards?

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11

reviews

3.5

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Great for travel and restaurants

Annual Fee: $150

This content is curated by Intuit Credit Karma’s Editorial team using data from members who were approved for this card or similar cards, or who self-matched this card or similar cards. Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse this content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Here’s the average credit limit of members who matched their American Express® Green Card or similar cards.

% of members by credit limit range

The average credit limit for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is $4,059, with $300 being the most common.

Here’s the average credit score of members who matched their American Express® Green Card or similar cards.

% of members by credit score range

The average credit score for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is 676, with 819 being the most common. Note this is just one of the deciding factors when it comes to getting approved.

Member stats

Updated daily

31.3%

Average credit utilization (or what percent of the card’s credit limit is being used) of members who matched with this card or similar cards.

47 years

Average age of members who matched this card or similar cards.

$89,785

Average annual income of members who matched this card or similar cards. Note: Income may be estimated for some members by Credit Karma and may differ from members’ actual incomes.

Pros and cons

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Good sign-up bonus

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Great dining and travel rewards rate

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Annual fee is on the high side

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Credits may not be very useful for all travelers

Key features of the American Express® Green Card

Do the benefits make the American Express® Green Card a must-have travel card for your wallet? Let’s take a look.

Attractive welcome bonus and ongoing earning potential

The American Express® Green Card gives new cardholders 60,000 Membership Rewards® points if they spend $3,000 on purchases within their first 6 months of opening the account. Plus, you can earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first six months with the card, getting up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.

Cardholders earn three points per $1 spent on all eligible travel and transit purchases, including rideshare services, hotels and flights. You’ll also earn three points per $1 spent on eligible restaurant purchases. All other purchases earn one point per $1.

Clear and LoungeBuddy credits

The American Express® Green Card has two credits toward services that could improve your airport experience.

First, if you use your American Express® Green Card to purchase a Clear Plus membership, you’ll receive statement credits of up to $189 per calendar year. Clear uses biometrics (like your fingerprint or iris) to validate your identity and help you get to the airport security line faster. Keep in mind, though, that this isn’t the same as TSA PreCheck. With Clear, you’ll still have to take off your shoes and take your laptop out of your bag if you don’t already have a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership.

Second, if you use your American Express® Green Card to buy airport lounge access through LoungeBuddy, you can receive a statement credit for the purchase. In total, you can receive up to $100 in LoungeBuddy statement credits per calendar year. Lounge access starts at $25 per visit.

Extra travel perks

Between the bonus categories and fee credits that it offers, the American Express® Green Card is clearly geared toward travelers. Here are a few other travel benefits the card offers.

• Car rental loss and damage insurance — The card provides secondary coverage and doesn’t include liability coverage.
• Baggage insurance — You can get coverage for up to $1,250 for carry-ons and $500 for checked bags for each covered person.
• Global assist hotline — Receive 24/7 emergency assistance when you travel 100 miles or more away from home.

What else you need to know about the American Express® Green Card

We’ve covered the most popular perks that are offered by the American Express® Green Card. But here are a few other benefits worth mentioning.

• There are no foreign transaction fees
• There’s no preset spending limit
• Cardholders have access to exclusive ticket offers

Understanding your points and redemption options

The American Express® Green Card gives you the chance to earn Membership Rewards points.

Here are a few of the ways you can redeem your Membership Rewards points.

• Pay with points at checkout (with select merchants)
• Buy gift cards
• Book travel
• Upgrade airline tickets
• Redeem for statement credits

And don’t forget that you can transfer your points to participating travel partners and loyalty programs as well. But note that you can’t redeem Membership Rewards points for cash as other reward programs allow.

While you can redeem Membership Rewards points for statement credits, it’s unlikely that you’ll want to — statement credits redeem at only 0.6 cents per point.

Who is this card good for?

The American Express® Green Card could be a good choice for some frequent flyers who value lounge access or memberships that speed up the security process. If that’s you, you may be able to take full advantage of the credits for both Clear and LoungeBuddy.

But if you travel fairly often, you may really care about lounge access and want a card that lets you access more lounges without paying an entry fee. And hardcore travelers would probably be better off with a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit, both of which could get you access to a speedier line and let you keep your shoes on and your liquids in your carry-on. If that’s the case, those statement credits can be worthless.

And that makes it harder to justify American Express® Green Card’s annual fee, while comparable cards offer similar perks at a lower cost.

But if one of the Membership Rewards loyalty program partners happens to be one of your favorite airlines or hotels, that could tip the scales in favor of the American Express® Green Card.

Not sure this is the card for you? Consider these alternatives.

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: If you’re looking for a premium travel card with a ton of perks, this card could be a great fit.
• Citi Strata Premier℠ Card: If you do most of your travel by car, this card could be a good choice.