Amex Green Card Review: Improved Value for Frequent Travelers

The American Express® Green Card is the perfect example of a card that benefited from a makeover. It used to be one of many overlooked travel cards on the market due to a modest rewards rate and few useful benefits. Since then, American Express has revamped it with more bonus categories and several money-saving travel perks.

The card has gotten significantly better thanks to those updates, but is it worth it? To help you find out, we're going to cover all the good and the not-so-good points of this card in our American Express® Green Card review below.

This card is a good fit for: Consumers who have high travel and dining spending. Travelers who want an affordable American Express card may like this card's reasonable annual fee (see rates and fees).

Top perks

These are the top perks that come with this card:

40,000-point welcome offer

You'll earn these bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 6 months that you have the card. Terms apply.

Earn up to 3 points per dollar

The American Express® Green Card earns 3 points per dollar at restaurants, including takeout and delivery, on travel, and on transit expenses, such as rideshares, taxis, and toll roads. On other purchases, it earns 1 point per dollar. Overall, its rewards rate is competitive even with cards that charge much more expensive annual fees. Terms apply.

$100 annual LoungeBuddy credit

You're automatically reimbursed for your first $100 in LoungeBuddy purchases per year when enrolled in the program. LoungeBuddy is a service that lets you pay for single-use passes to airport lounges within its network. The price varies depending on the lounge. One pass typically ranges from $25 to $50, but some lounges charge greater or smaller amounts. Lounge availability varies by airport. Terms apply.

This benefit could be useful if you travel through an airport in LoungeBuddy's network. It will cover only a few visits, though, and it pales in comparison to what other credit cards with airport lounge access offer.

$189 annual CLEAR credit

You'll receive a $189 statement credit every year after using this card to pay your membership fee in the CLEAR program you're enrolled in. As a member of CLEAR, you can scan your eyes and fingerprints at airports where the service is available, and a CLEAR employee will then take you directly to the physical screening process. Terms apply.

American Express Membership Rewards points

The American Express Membership Rewards program is known for its impressive roster of transfer partners. This makes the points your card earns more valuable, because you have so many different ways you can use them. And as a backup, you can redeem your points through American Express Travel to book cash airfare at a respectable rate of $0.01 per point. Terms apply.

Read more: Best American Express Credit Cards

Travel and consumer protections

This card has quite the list of complimentary protections, including:

• Trip delay insurance*
• Secondary car rental loss and damage insurance**
• Baggage insurance for lost, damaged, or stolen luggage***
• Purchase protection***
• Extended warranty coverage***
• Terms apply

These protection benefits do have rules and exclusions in place, so be sure to look at the terms and conditions to better understand what's covered.

No foreign transaction fees

When you're outside the United States or making purchases from international merchants, you can use your American Express® Green Card without paying extra (see rates and fees).

See more: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

What could be improved

This card has some areas that could be improved upon:

Welcome offer size

The saying "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" isn't one we apply to credit card sign-up bonuses and welcome offers. There are several cards with lower annual fees and more valuable introductory offers than what you'll get from the American Express® Green Card.

The American Express® Green Card is for people with good to excellent credit, which translates to a FICO® Score of at least 670. Of course, other factors are considered, and approval isn't guaranteed with a higher score nor is it impossible with a lower score.

Considering its high rewards rate and the spending credits it offers, the American Express® Green Card benefits more than justify its annual fee for many.

If you know that you'll use the LoungeBuddy and CLEAR credits, then you're already getting $289 in value from this card, which lowers the impact of the annual fee. Even if you don't use all of the spending credits this card offers, you can still get plenty of value with the rewards program. In our minds it's not so much is the annual fee worth it but more is this the right annual fee credit card for your needs?

Related: Best Credit Cards

The American Express® Green Card is an excellent choice if:

• You spend a lot of money on travel and dining.
• You want versatile travel rewards that you can transfer to a variety of airlines and hotels.
• You visit airport lounges at least a few times per year.

Consumers who like the American Express Membership Rewards program but want a card with more benefits and rewards should look at the aforementioned American Express® Gold Card or even the card issuer's ultra-premium option, The Platinum Card® from American Express. But if you want to keep costs down, the American Express® Green Card still offers more than its fair share of perks for a less expensive annual fee.

Our credit card methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.