This card is closed to new applicants. American Express stopped accepting new Green Card applications on 23 July 2026, and renamed the product the Classic Green Card for existing cardholders on 20 August 2026. The guide below is kept for people who already hold the card; it is no longer a card you can apply for.
The American Express® Green Card was the forgotten middle child of the Amex lineup — and, until it closed to new applicants, one of the most sensible ways into the Membership Rewards ecosystem. If you already hold it, for a mid-tier fee it earns 3x on an unusually broad definition of travel (not just flights and hotels, but transit, rideshare, tolls, and more) plus 3x dining, and it keeps your Membership Rewards account alive so points earned elsewhere stay transferable.
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Quick answer
- Best for: existing cardholders who spend on travel, transit and dining — new applicants can't apply (closed since 23 July 2026; renamed the Classic Green Card for existing cardholders on 20 August 2026)
- Annual fee: ~$150
- Key benefit: ~$199/yr CLEAR Plus credit; no lounge access at all
- Earning: 3x on travel, transit and dining — an effective 6% back in travel value at our ~2.0¢ valuation; 1x everything else
Free tool: find the credit card that earns the most for how you spend, and track every statement credit at kritdeals.com/points-path, or in the free KritDeals app for iPhone and Android.
At a glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual fee | ~$150 (verify current fee) |
| Sign-up bonus | None — closed to new applicants |
| Best for | Broad travel/transit spenders; a low-cost way to hold MR |
| Points earned | Amex Membership Rewards (transferable) |
| Points worth | ~2.0¢ each (our valuation) — 3x ≈ 6% back in travel value |
| Key perk | ~$199/yr CLEAR Plus credit |
| Foreign transaction fee | None |
| Card network | American Express |
No application link — the Green Card is closed to new applicants (see the note above).
What the points are worth
We value Membership Rewards at 2.0¢ each because they transfer 1:1 (or better) to Air Canada Aeroplan, ANA, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Avianca, British Airways/Iberia/Qatar (Avios), Delta, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore KrisFlyer, Marriott, and Hilton (1:2). The Green earns the exact same currency as the Platinum and Gold — so a point earned here is worth every bit as much when you transfer it. At 2.0¢, 3x = an effective 6% back in travel value.
So every 10,000 points you earn on the card is worth:
- $100 cashed out (don't) ·
- ~$100 toward paid travel via Amex Travel ·
- $200+ transferred to a partner for a well-chosen award.
Where your points can go
The Green's points are Amex Membership Rewards, which transfer to these airline and hotel programs — tap any partner to see how to use those miles, what they're worth, and the best redemptions:
Airline transfer partners Air Canada Aeroplan · ANA Mileage Club · Air France/KLM Flying Blue · Avianca LifeMiles · British Airways / Qatar Avios · Delta SkyMiles · Virgin Atlantic · Singapore KrisFlyer · Cathay Pacific Asia Miles · Qantas Frequent Flyer · Emirates Skywards · JetBlue TrueBlue
Hotel transfer partners Hilton Honors · Marriott Bonvoy · Choice Privileges
Amex charges a small excise-tax fee to move points to U.S. airline programs (Delta, JetBlue) — see the fine print below. For every transfer ratio, transfer time and current bonus, see the complete transfer partners chart.
Earning rates
| Rate | Category |
|---|---|
| 3x | Travel — flights, hotels, cruises, tours and the broad stuff (car rentals, campgrounds) |
| 3x | Transit — rideshare, trains, buses, subways, tolls, parking, ferries |
| 3x | Dining worldwide (restaurants, takeout & delivery) |
| 1x | Everything else |
The Green's edge is that "travel" and "transit" are defined generously — rideshare, commuter rail, and tolls all earn 3x, categories the Gold doesn't bonus at all. If your spend skews toward getting-around rather than groceries, the Green can out-earn the Gold on those dollars.
Benefits & credits
Credits require enrollment and are use-it-or-lose-it — verify current amounts and terms.
- ~$199/yr CLEAR Plus credit — covers the airport-security membership outright; on its own it more than covers the ~$150 annual fee.
- Trip delay and baggage insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty (verify current coverage).
- The Hotel Collection benefit ($100 experience credit + room upgrade on 2-night prepaid Amex Travel stays).
- No foreign transaction fees.
The CLEAR Plus credit alone more than covers the fee for anyone who'd use CLEAR anyway — while still earning 3x on a wide swath of spend.
Best uses
- Turn commuting and rideshare into award flights. Put $8,000/yr of transit and dining on the Green at 3x → 24,000 MR a year. Pooled with points from your other Membership Rewards cards (or saved over a couple of years), that reaches 60,000 — enough for a one-way business seat on many partners. Transfer 60,000 to Aeroplan for a ~$4,200 Star Alliance business fare + ~$200 taxes: CPP = (4,200 − 200) ÷ 60,000 × 100 = 6.67¢ per point.
- Short-haul Avios from everyday spend. Move points to British Airways/Iberia Avios for cheap nonstops. A ~$180 fare for 11,000 Avios + ~$12 taxes: CPP = (180 − 12) ÷ 11,000 × 100 = 1.53¢ — and there's tons of availability.
- Keep Membership Rewards alive for cheap. If you cancel a Platinum or Gold, your MR points can be forfeited unless another MR card stays open. The Green is a low-fee anchor that preserves a large points balance for far less than a premium card's fee.
- The floor: Amex Travel at ~1¢. A fixed fallback; transfer to a partner whenever an award beats a cheap cash fare.
Who should get it
Keep the Green if you already hold it, you spend on transit/rideshare/travel more than on groceries, or you need a cheap card to keep an MR balance alive after cancelling a premium card. (New applicants can't get it — the card closed on 23 July 2026.)
- Good alternative: Amex Gold — step up if dining and supermarkets dominate your budget.
- Good alternative: Amex Platinum — if you'll use lounges and the bigger credit stack.
- Good alternative: Blue Business Plus — no annual fee entirely, and it earns 2x MR on everything.
Fine print worth knowing
- Earning is strong but narrow to travel/transit/dining — non-bonus spend earns just 1x, so don't use it for groceries (that's the Gold) or big-box shopping.
- Credits are enrollment-gated and don't roll over.
- US-airline transfer fee: 60¢ per 1,000 points to U.S. airline programs (cap ~$99).
- No lounge access at all — the old pay-per-visit LoungeBuddy credit was removed in January 2025 and not replaced.
Bottom line
For existing cardholders, the Green remains a quiet, sensible Membership Rewards card: a modest fee that the CLEAR Plus credit can cover, broad 3x earning on travel, transit, and dining, and the full transfer program behind every point. It's closed to new applicants, so if you're starting out, look at the Amex Gold or Blue Business Plus instead.
No application link — the Green Card is closed to new applicants (see the note above).
Note: Benefits change. Always confirm current terms on the issuer's site.
FAQ
Can I still apply for the Amex Green Card? No. American Express stopped accepting new Green Card applications on 23 July 2026 and renamed it the Classic Green Card for existing cardholders on 20 August 2026. This guide is for people who already hold it.
What does the Green earn? 3x on travel (including car rentals and campgrounds), 3x on transit (rideshare, trains, buses, subways, tolls, parking, ferries), 3x on dining worldwide, and 1x on everything else.
Does the Green Card include lounge access? No. The old pay-per-visit LoungeBuddy credit was removed in January 2025 and not replaced.
Is it worth keeping just to hold Membership Rewards? It can be — if you cancel a Platinum or Gold, your MR points can be forfeited unless another MR card stays open, and the Green is a low-fee anchor. For no annual fee at all, the Blue Business Plus does the same job.
