Is the Amex Green Card worth the annual fee? – The guy who scored

Editor’s Note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

There are exceptions to every rule.

In the credit card industry, changes to credit cards are often referred to as “refreshes” — that’s often a code word for “your annual fee will go up.” And many credit cards with low annual fees don’t offer many perks.

Enter exception: American Express® Green Card. The card has received more benefits over the years, with perks that easily justify its annual fee, but the annual fee remains a modest $150 (see rates and fees).

But that doesn’t answer whether the Amex Green Card annual fee is worth it. What do you get with that $150? Let’s take a look.

Right now new subscribers can earn 60,000 bonus Membership Rewards after spending $3,000 on purchases for the first six months of a card membership. They’ll also get 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases for the first six months, up to $200 as a statement credit. TPG . value this bonus is at $1,400 (including statement credit) and you only need to spend $500 monthly for six months to achieve it.

This is the best publicity offer we’ve seen on this card, ie Now is a great time to apply.

Membership Rewards Points have many uses, including withdraw from your points (not the best value) or convert to hotel and airline partners (can provide incredible valuedepending on the partner.)

Related: Transfer and Maximize: A Ultimate Guide to Rewards for Amex Members

Great uses of Membership Rewards Points include Delta Air Lines domestic flights and flights to Canada with WestJeta Delta partner. Flights to South America with LATAM can also offer great value, as can transfer your points to Virgin Atlantic to redeem points with ANA on flights to Japan.

American Express has its own set Application rules and restrictions when applying for a credit card. The most notable of these rules are once-in-a-lifetime rule. The Amex Green Card has the following terms:

The welcome offer is not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or previous versions of the American Express® Green Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed, as well as other factors, when making a decision about your eligibility for the welcome offer.

As a result, you may not be eligible for the bonus if you previously had this card (or previous versions of the card prior to the 2019 change). Amex can also look at how many other cards you have had in the past and sometimes used an in-app pop-up stating you are not eligible for the bonus.

Ventilation is an airport security program that can help you get through a checkpoint quickly using biometrics to prove your identity.

Membership costs $189 per year, and you can get this full refunded by paying for your Clear Plus membership with your Amex Green Card. No pre-registration with Amex is required to use this benefit, but you will need to register with Clear Plus and complete your registration to use Clear security lanes at more and more locations and airports.

Even better, choose Delta SkyMiles And United MileagePlus co-branded credit card holder can get Clear membership at a discount $149. Since your maximum annual benefit on the Amex Green Card is $189, that should be enough to cover this reduced rate and some of the costs of having more relatives.

waiting roomBuddy is a lounge network of more than 200 lounges around the world. You can reserve a lounge visit, a great feature to beat Long queues at overcrowded waiting rooms.

While this feature doesn’t offer free, unlimited access like you get with a Preferred Card Choose a membership offered on other credit cardsyou can get a refund when you pay to enter LoungeBuddy lounges each year.

Use yours Amex Green Card to pay for these visits, and you’ll receive a statement credit of up to $100 to offset these purchases each calendar year. No pre-registration is required to receive this benefit with Amex, although you do need to register with LoungeBuddy to become a member.

Related: Maximize your LoungeBuddy card with Amex Green

With its wide travel and transit categories, this is one of the Best credit card to buy travel And food cost. TPG . value Membership bonus points at 2 cents each, meaning you can earn 6% interest on spending on your travel, go and food costs.

Related: Amex Green Card Review

Although the Amex Green Card earns less at restaurants than the 4 points per dollar offered by American Express® Gold Card and does not offer bonus points in the US supermarket like Yellow Card, Green Card offers much better earning rate for travel and tourism.

Related: Credit card showdown: Amex Gold vs. Amex Green

Cardholders also have access to other benefits. Amex Offers may offer discounts or bonus points on your upcoming purchases through targeted promotions, in addition to built-in shopping And travel protection that can provide both peace of mind and security in the face of risks at home and abroad.

It’s also worth pointing out that the Amex Green Card is not a traditional credit card. Credit cards with preset spending limits; you can’t spend more than that until you pay off your balance. You can also carry a balance (which you shouldn’t, though, as you’ll be paying interest) from month to month.

In contrast, the Amex Green Card has no preset spending limit. For example, the amount you can spend on the card can vary depending on your payment history and credit score, and you need to pay your bill in full each month. Payment by time can be used on some Amex cards, but cards like Amex Green, Gold Amex And Platinum Card® from American Express designed for you to pay your bills in full each month.

This can be a positive or negative feature, depending on how you see it and whether you plan to make a large purchase with the card and pay it off over time.

However, you may not be able to use these privileges if you already have another privilege credit card that provides access to the lounge and/or your Clear Plus membership refund card. At that point, the question is whether the earnings structure on the Green Card provides enough additional Membership Rewards points each year to make keeping the card worthwhile.

Related: Who should (and who shouldn’t) get an Amex green card?

Learn more in Our full review of the Amex green card.

Official app link: American Express Green Card with the best ever 60,000 points bonus and 20% cashback on eligible travel and transit purchases (up to $200 back as statement credit) in your first six months .

For Amex Green Card rates and fees, click This.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox and Benét J. Wilson.