The much anticipated refresh of the American Express Green Card is now complete! Rumors started to circulate of a pending refresh at least a year ago. This follows the (mostly successful, I think) refreshes of the American Express Gold and Platinum cards.
We knew they’d be making the Green Card a bit more sleek, but the rest of the details are new! Check out the new information (and application links) below.
Give me the details!
Here’s the important stuff:
- Annual fee of $150 (not waived the first year)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Earns triple Membership Rewards points on travel and restaurants. Travel is defined widely – transit, flights, tours, hotels, etc.
- $100 annual statement credit for CLEAR membership
- $100 annual statement credits towards LoungeBuddy purchases (AmEx bought LoungeBuddy earlier this year, remember?)
- Car rental and luggage insurance
- Complimentary ShopRunner membership (free 2 day shipping at tons of stores)
- Access to AmEx Offers
Some great features, in addition to the standard American Express card benefits. Remember, the Green Card is a charge card, not a credit card (so it won’t count towards your American Express credit card limit!). But remember, this isn’t really a new card, just a refresh. So if you’ve had the AmEx Green Card in the past, you’re unlikely to be eligible for the welcome offer again.
(SEE ALSO – One AmEx lifetime bonus? I just applied for a 2nd AmEx card)
The refreshed Green Card is currently available with a 30,000 Membership Rewards welcome offer after $2,000 in spend within the first three months of card ownership. You’ll also receive a $100 Statement Credit towards any eligible purchase at Away made with in the first 3 months. The Away statement credit looks like it may be discontinued in January, so jump on this card if that brings value to you!
If you want to help out the blog, you can read more about the 30,000 Membership Rewards/$100 Away credit here!
Keep in mind, you may be able to get different offers by opening up an incognito page or getting a referral.
Should You Open the New American Express Green Card?
Many people on Reddit and elsewhere are touting this card is the “Gold-killer”…
That is, for a significantly lower annual fee, you’re getting many of the benefits of the AmEx Gold Card. Boosted earning on all travel, not just flights, and on all restaurants worldwide. The Gold card earns 3x Membership Rewards on flights and the AmEx Travel Portal (but not other travel), 4x on restaurants worldwide, and 4x on groceries (up to $25,000 in a calendar year). You also won’t get CLEAR credit on the Gold card, but you will with the Green card.
The new American Express Green card will be made from recycled Parley plastic.
The American Express Green card is a great option for folks that spend a lot on the broad travel categories, want to save a bit on the annual fee, and maybe won’t max out the $25,000 annual spend for groceries on the Gold card. Say, for example, you’re using your points for your flights. Well, that extra earning on flights on the Gold card (4x vs. 3x on the Green card) probably isn’t worth the $100 increase on the annual fee.