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One of the most underestimated cards out there is the American Express ® Green Card, which is actually one of American Express’ first cards. It was the original charge card that was born in 1969, but it has fallen out of favor in recent years due to the meteoric growth of more premium options like the American Express ® Gold Card and The Platinum Card ® from American Express.
In fact, the money-colored card happens to be a good pick if you want travel perks and the ability to earn lots of points, all for a reasonable $150 annual fee.
In this guide, we’ll be walking you through its lesser-known travel insurance benefits that can come in handy if your trip goes awry.
The information regarding the American Express ® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.
All information about American Express ® Green Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.
Welcome OfferEarn 40,000 Membership Rewards ® Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your American Express ® Green Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
40,000 points UP's Bonus Valuation*: Annual Fee See Pay Over Time APR Credit RecommendedUpgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO ® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.
Good to Excellent (670-850) Why We Like This CardThe American Express ® Green Card is an excellent all-around travel rewards card thanks to earning 3x Membership Rewards ® points on eligible travel and transit purchases and at restaurants, access to American Express transfer partners, and a reasonable annual fee.
Pros & ConsOne of the crucial selling points of the Amex Green card is the ability to earn a valuable welcome bonus offer after meeting reasonable spending requirements within the first few months of being approved for a new account. Make sure to see what the current welcome offer is when applying, as it can change from time to time.
Although it’s not as popular compared to the Amex Gold card or Amex Platinum card, the Amex Green card is actually one of the most powerful Amex cards available for earning travel rewards. That’s because you’ll earn up to 3x Membership Rewards points on many popular spending categories.
The Amex Green card earns Membership Rewards points at the following rate:
The feature that sets apart the Amex Green card the most from its sister cards like the Amex Gold card and Amex Platinum card is the ability to earn 3x points on travel, which is defined very broadly.
» Related: Is the Amex Green a Good Card for People Who Frequently Travel?For example, if you book a hotel through Booking.com, pay for a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line, or order an Uber using your Amex Gold card or Amex Platinum card, you’d only earn 1x points on those purchases. Not so with the Amex Green card — you’ll earn 3x points on those same transactions!
The points earned on the Amex Green card are Membership Rewards points (just like you’d earn with the Amex Gold card and Amex Platinum card), which means you can transfer them to travel partners and book luxury award travel for pennies on the dollar!
Hot Tip:
If you want to learn more about how to maximize the value of Amex Membership Rewards points, read our guide on the best ways to redeem Membership Rewards points.
The Amex Green card also offers an annual CLEAR Plus membership credit of up to $199 and an annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100 to add even more value to your wallet. CLEAR gets you access to expedited security at airports and stadiums around the U.S. while the LoungeBuddy credit can cover the cost of 2 to 3 airport lounge visits a year.
Finally, the Amex Green card offers a number of travel insurance benefits, which we’ll dive into in detail below.
With the Amex Green card, you don’t get access to fancy Amex Centurion Lounges or perks like free breakfast and room upgrades when booking through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts.
But you’ll still get a handful of useful travel protections and benefits that could save you thousands of dollars in the long run (though we hope you won’t ever have to use these benefits because that would mean an unfortunate incident has occurred).
If you tend to rent cars while traveling, you might be surprised to discover that many credit cards offer insurance for your rental car. In this case, the Amex Green card comes with secondary rental car coverage (not to be confused with primary rental car coverage).
Secondary rental car insurance requires you to file a claim with any other insurance policies you have (including the one you use for your main car at home) before any of its coverage can apply.
Also, this particular rental car coverage policy covers rentals of up to 30 consecutive days and insures up to $50,000 per rental.
With the Amex Green card, you also have the ability to purchase primary rental car coverage through Premium Protection, which comes at a low, fixed price of between $12.25 and $24.95 for the entire rental duration (eligible rentals can be up to 42 total days in length).
There’s no deductible, and this is a per-rental rate, not a per-day rate, which translates to much greater savings over other primary car rental insurance policies. The policy includes accidental death/dismemberment coverage, rental car damage, theft, and loss of use coverage.
Keep in mind that neither of these policies offers liability coverage — so if you are deemed at fault for the incident, you’ll be solely responsible for any costs and damages incurred regardless of whether you purchase Premium Protection or stick with the standard secondary car rental insurance. There’s also no disability coverage or uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage with Premium Protection.
Also, there is no coverage available when renting motor vehicles in these countries:
You can file a claim for a covered incident by calling 800-338-1670 within 30 days of the loss or as soon as reasonably possible. You can also file a claim at the American Express Claims Center.
After opening a claim, you’ll be sent additional forms within 15 days of reporting the incident to complete. These claims must be submitted, alongside any required documentation within 60 days after the incident.
Any claims that are fully substantiated will be paid within 30 days after your claim is approved.
Another lovely benefit of the Amex Green card is trip delay insurance, which can cover you in the event that you’ve booked round-trip travel (which can consist of a combination of one-way tickets) entirely on your Amex Green card and there’s a covered delay of more than 12 hours. Coverage is also secondary to any primary coverage you may hold.
This insurance policy covers common carrier tickets, meaning any land, water, or air conveyance operating under a valid license for the transportation of passengers for hire and for which a ticket must be purchased prior to commencing travel.
Commercial airline tickets are eligible, as are high-speed train tickets and even cruises. However, some exclusions include taxis, limousine services, commuter rail or commuter bus lines, personal automobiles, or rental vehicles.
You, eligible family members, and traveling companions can get up to $300 in trip delay coverage towards the purchase of reasonably essential expenses like meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items if your trip is delayed more than 12 hours.
You can be approved for up to 2 trip delay claims every consecutive 12-month period.
Covered losses include:
Anything that falls outside of the categorization for covered losses is considered to be an exclusion for trip delay coverage.
For example, if the airline struggles to staff your aircraft with a crew, this would not be grounds for a covered trip delay because it doesn’t fall under the 4 bullet points above.
You can open a claim by calling your Benefits Administrator at 844-933-0648 within 60 days of the covered loss. The representative will provide instructions for submitting a completed claim and any required documentation which must be furnished within 180 days after the date of the covered loss.
Another great travel protection benefit of the Amex Green card is the baggage insurance plan. Simply pay for your common carrier ticket entirely using your Amex Green card (or using Membership Rewards points) to get baggage insurance coverage.
Coverage can apply to the cardmember, cardmember’s spouse or domestic partner, cardmember’s dependent children under 23 years of age, or dependent children because of a handicap condition that occurred before the attainment of the limited age of 23.
With the exception of war, acts of war, service in the armed forces or united auxiliary to it, acts of the customer or government authority, you can be eligible for the replacement cost of baggage and its contents subject to these coverage limits:
SCROLL FOR MORELocation
Checked-in Baggage
Carry-on Baggage
Direct transit to or from common carrier terminal
Up to $1,250 per covered person
While at common carrier terminal
Up to $1,250 per covered person
Traveling on common carrier vehicle
Up to $500 per covered person
Up to $1,250 per covered person
There’s also a sub-limit of $250 maximum per covered person per trip for all bags for high-risk items like jewelry, sporting equipment, photographic or electronic equipment, and more.
Lastly, for New York state cardmembers, there’s a maximum limit of $10,000 in aggregate per trip for all covered persons.
Here are the types of property that are excluded from coverage:
You can file a claim by visiting the American Express Online Claim Center or by calling 800-228-6855. You’ll need to provide notice of a claim within 30 days of the loss or as soon as reasonably possible.
Complete the claim form and submit any required or supplemental documentation within 60 days. This includes a list of the items lost, receipts, and other reports.
Approved claims will be paid within 30 days after satisfactory proof of loss evidence has been received.
Outside of travel insurance and protection, there are still a number of ways the Amex Green card can help when you’re traveling.
CLEAR uses biometrics to digitally verify your identity and move you through security faster at major airports and stadiums across the U.S.
When you use the Amex Green card to pay for a CLEAR Plus membership, you can receive up to $199 per calendar year in statement credits, which can offset the entire cost of an annual CLEAR Plus membership.
One other valuable benefit of the Amex Green card is the ability to get up to $100 in statement credits every calendar year when you purchase lounge access through LoungeBuddy.
LoungeBuddy allows you to purchase one-time access to hundreds of airport lounges around the world and doesn’t require you to buy any memberships, qualify for elite status, or pay for pricey first class tickets. The $100 credit should cover 2 to 3 lounge visits booked through LoungeBuddy.
Hot Tip:
If you travel a significant amount and value airport lounge access, you might want to consider getting the Amex Platinum card, as it offers access to over 1,400 different lounge locations worldwide.
With the Amex Green card, you can get 24/7/365 assistance through the Global Assist Hotline, which can point you in the right direction if you’re looking for medical, legal, linguistic, or other urgent needs while traveling more than 100 miles away from home.
You can reach the Global Assist Hotline by calling 800-333-2639. If you’re outside of the U.S., you can call collect at 715-343-7977.
This service is a referral service only, so you’ll be responsible for any out-of-pocket costs incurred.
The Amex Green card does not charge any foreign transaction fees which makes it a great card to use when traveling internationally.
While the Amex Green card may not be as popular as Amex’s other cards, it definitely shouldn’t be written off. The card comes with an impressive rewards structure as well as core travel protections and insurance benefits that can come in handy when your travels are interrupted.
The Amex Green card also earns valuable Membership Rewards points which can be used to book luxury award travel through Amex’s airline and hotel partners.
Finally, the Amex Green card also comes with other benefits like an annual CLEAR Plus credit of up to $199, an annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100, no foreign transaction fees, and more!
For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the American Express ® Green Card, baggage insurance plan coverage can be in effect for eligible persons for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen baggage during their travel on a common carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when the entire fare for a common carrier vehicle ticket for the trip (one-way or round-trip) is charged to an eligible account. Coverage can be provided for up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage, in excess of coverage provided by the common carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus). For New York State residents, there is a $10,000 aggregate maximum limit for all covered persons per covered trip. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the American Express ® Green Card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
For the global assist hotline benefit of the American Express ® Green Card, you can rely on Global Assist Hotline 24 hours a day / 7 days a week for medical, legal, financial or other select emergency coordination and assistance services while traveling more than 100 miles away from your home. Third-party service costs may be your responsibility. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.
For the trip delay insurance benefit of the American Express ® Green Card, up to $300 per covered trip that is delayed for more than 12 hours; and 2 claims per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
The information regarding the American Express ® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the American Express ® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card ® from American Express, click here.
Yes! The Amex Green card has trip delay insurance, secondary rental car insurance, baggage insurance, and more. It also earns travel rewards points and has no foreign transaction fees.
Amex cards usually offer these core travel insurance perks: secondary rental car coverage, trip delay reimbursement, baggage insurance, and access to the Global Assist Hotline.
Although it’s not a particularly difficult card to get, it’s recommended to have a good credit score of at least 670 before applying for the Amex Green card.
In some respects, it is. For example, the Amex Green card has a lower $150 annual fee but earns more bonus points on travel purchases than the Amex Gold card. Just keep in mind that the Amex Gold card is still the better card for purchases at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets.
No, it’s not made from metal. The Amex Green card is actually made of reclaimed plastic from the ocean.
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Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.
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