The *Amex Green Card* has long sat in the shadow of more popular cards like *Amex Platinum Card* and the *Amex Gold Card* . Even after a major refresh back in 2019 with new benefits and better earning categories, it still doesn't get much attention from consumers – or even Amex itself.
Now, that's changing. On Thursday, American Express launched a great new welcome offer bonus on the Green Card that's worth your attention.
You can now earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend just $3,000 in the first six months of card membership . Plus, you can earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first six months of card membership for up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.
It's easily the best offer we have ever seen on the Green card and it's not particularly close. More importantly, with the addition of a credit of up to $200 back for any travel or transit purchases you make in your first six months of card membership, you can easily come out ahead on your first-year annual fee of $150 (see rates & fees ).
Add in the ability to earn 3x points per dollar spent on all travel and dining expenses, up to a $189 annual credit to cover the cost of CLEAR® membership , and up to a $100 credit to use on airport lounge access purchased through Lounge Buddy each year, it's an incredibly well-rounded travel card with a reasonable annual fee.
Even if you already have the Amex Platinum or Gold cards, you are still eligible to apply for the *Amex Green Card* , thanks to Amex's welcome offer eligibility rules .
Better yet, thanks to Amex's new Apply with Confidence tool , you can see if you'll be approved for the card before you actually submit your application and take a hard credit pull.
But remember: Credit cards are serious business. If you're unable to pay your statement balance in full each month, no perks or points are worth the burden of credit card debt.
Keep reading for our breakdown of the Amex Green Card and this great new welcome offer bonus.
Read next: 10 Amazing Ways to Redeem Amex Membership Rewards Points
Learn more about the *Amex Green Card*
Full Benefits of the American Express® Green Card
New Welcome Offer Bonus
You can now earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend just $3,000 in the first six months of card membership . Plus, you can earn 20% back as a statement credit on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first six months of card membership, up to $200 back. Travel purchases include things like flights, hotels, and car rentals while transit purchases include train or subway fares, Uber and Lyft rides, parking fees, and more.
That is a substantial improvement over previous bonuses on the card which have ranged from 30,000 to 40,000 points for a similar spending requirement. The addition of the credit for travel and transit purchases can easily help you completely wipe out the card's $150 annual fee in the first year.
Finally, you'll have six months to meet the $3,000 spending requirement to earn the big bonus which should make this bonus very attainable.
$189 Credit Towards a CLEAR Membership
The Amex Green Card also provides card members with an annual $189 credit for a CLEAR® membership to help you speed through airport security faster.
With the exception of the *Amex Platinum Card* , which has a much larger annual fee of $695 (see rates & fees ) – it's the only card that will completely reimburse the cost of CLEAR® program membership.
If you are already paying for a CLEAR® membership, this benefit alone can easily justify the Green card's $150 annual fee.
Image courtesy of CLEAR
See our guide on which airports currently offer CLEAR service.
$100 Credit on Lounge Buddy (Airport Lounge Access)
The *Amex Green Card* also offerings an annual $100 credit to use on Lounge Buddy , a Priority Pass competitor. Lounge Buddy offers single-use airport lounge access passes starting at just $25 each . That means, the credit can get you into lounges up to four times each year at no additional cost. That makes it a decent option if you don't have any airport lounge access from another credit card .
American Express acquired Lounge Buddy back in 2019, but to date, the Green Card is the only American Express card with Lounge Buddy benefits.
Earn 3x Points on Travel and Dining
The Amex Green Card earns 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on all travel and dining purchases .
So while the Amex Platinum Card earns 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline on up to $500,000 spent each calendar year, and the Amex Gold Card earns 3x Membership Rewards points on the same categories, neither of them offers bonus points for other travel categories like hotels or car rentals, for example.
And while you would be better off using the American Express Gold Card for dining purchases as it earns 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent, 3x per dollar spent on dining on the Green Card is solid and puts it on par with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® .
You'll earn 3x points per dollar in both categories both in the U.S. and abroad.
Annual Fee of $150
The Annual Fee on the Green Card is $150 per year. This puts it below both the Platinum ($695) and Gold ($250) cards in terms of out-of-pocket costs each year.
But if you can take advantage of the statement credits for travel and transit in your first year, you'll more than take care of that fee. Plus, if you are already paying for CLEAR® this card will pay for itself quickly.
Amex Green Card Application Restrictions: Who Can Apply?
American Express allows you to earn a welcome bonus on each of their cards once per lifetime . So as long as you haven't had the Amex Green Card in the past, you should be eligible to apply.
On top of that, Amex has made it easier than any other bank to know if you'll be approved for a card.
They call it their Apply with Confidence tool which allows you to see if you'll be approved before you actually submit your application for an Amex card. That allows consumers to fill out the card application as they normally would and then agree to the terms of the application.
American Express performs a soft pull on your credit through this tool to determine whether or not you will be approved for the card. This won't have any impact on your credit score. You have nothing to lose by seeing if you're eligible.
Learn more about the *Amex Green Card*
Our Analysis
This is a solid improvement to the American Express Green Card welcome offer bonus and it makes it worth your attention. At the end of the day, American Express Membership Rewards is one of our favorite points programs as they are extremely valuable.
The Green Card provides another opportunity to earn them if you haven't had it already.
Bottom Line
American Express has rolled out a huge new welcome offer bonus on the *Amex Green Card*.
You can now earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend just $3,000 in the first six months of card membership. Plus, you can earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first six months of card membership (up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit).
It's the biggest offer we have ever seen on the card and it's worth your attention if you haven't had the card previously.
Learn more about the *Amex Green Card*
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