American Express Green Card Review
Three points per dollar on travel, transit, and dining worldwide — plus Amex transfer partners, at a $150 annual fee.
Welcome bonus
40,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Elevated targeted offers occasionally hit 60,000.
Rewards structure
- 3xrestaurants worldwide
- 3xtravel — flights, hotels, cruises, tours, transit
- 3xtransit including taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, subway, buses, and trains
- 1xother eligible purchases
Perks & benefits
- $189 annual CLEAR Plus credit
- $100 annual LoungeBuddy credit (subject to program availability)
- Transferable Membership Rewards to 20+ airline and hotel partners
- Trip delay insurance up to $300 per trip
- Baggage insurance
- No foreign transaction fees
- Purchase protection and extended warranty
Who this card is for
- Urban commuters and rideshare-heavy spenders (the transit category is broad)
- International travelers who want a no-foreign-fee card with a real transfer network
- Anyone who values CLEAR Plus but does not need a full Platinum-tier card
Pros & cons
Pros
- The 3x transit category is unusually broad — subway, bus, taxi, parking, tolls, all count
- Travel at 3x is worldwide, not restricted to Amex Travel — a real advantage over cards like Sapphire Preferred
- CLEAR Plus credit alone offsets more than the full annual fee for CLEAR members
- Access to the same Membership Rewards transfer partners as Gold and Platinum
Cons
- $150 fee is meaningful for a card without lounge access or hotel status
- Non-portal travel and non-restaurant dining spend still only earns 1x
- 3x on U.S. supermarkets is missing — a $325 Amex Gold does that better if food is your category
- Trip protection benefits are thinner than Chase Sapphire Preferred at $95
Our take
The Green sits in a weird spot in Amex's lineup — priced above the Gold's food-focused pitch and below the Platinum's premium bundle. That has kept it perpetually overlooked, which is a shame, because the 3x transit category is genuinely different from what every other card offers. If you spend $300+/month on rideshares, tolls, or subway/train commuting, no other card earns transferable points on that spend at 3x.
The math to justify the $150 fee runs through the CLEAR Plus credit. If you already pay for CLEAR ($199/year) or would use it in an airport with CLEAR lanes, the $189 credit alone more than covers the annual fee before you factor in any earning. That reduces the effective annual fee to negative territory for CLEAR users — a rare situation on any card.
Where the Green falls short is against the Amex Gold at the same broad audience. Gold gives you 4x on dining and 4x on U.S. supermarkets for a $325 fee that its own credits offset heavily. Green gives you 3x on a broader travel-and-transit definition for $150. For urban commuters and international travelers, Green wins. For food-heavy households, Gold does. Pick based on where your spend actually goes.