American Express Green Card Relaunched with Big Bonus and New Benefits

The American Express Green Card was first introduced as “a new kind of money for world travel and entertainment”. That was 50 years ago.  Now the card is being revamped with features and benefits that back what cardholders care about most. There’s also a 45K Amex Green Card bonus that will make it worthwhile. It’s a big bonus for this card, but not a huge bonus compared to what we regularly see from American Express.

Offer

• Earn 45,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend $2,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first three months.
• Receive up to $100 in statement credits for purchases made directly with Away using your new American Express Green Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer available to new Card Members who apply by January 15th, 2020.

This Amex Green Card bonus may not be available if you leave the web page and return later. It’s showing up incognito. The official new offer for the Amex Green Card is just 30K and $100 Away credit. Some people are also seeing 32K and $150 away credit.

Cards Benefits

With the new Green from Amex, Card Members earn 3X Membership Rewards points when they dine out, commute in or travel away. In addition to these enhancements, Card Members will receive a variety of benefits aimed at rewarding their experiences, including:

• 3X Membership Rewards points on travel including transit – such as flights, hotels, tours, car rentals, ride shares, buses, subways, third-party travel websites and amextravel.com
• 3X Membership Rewards points at restaurants worldwide
• Up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year towards purchase of CLEAR membership, which unlocks frictionless experiences at 60+ locations nationwide, including airports, arenas, stadiums and Hertz rental car locations
• Up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year towards purchases with LoungeBuddy to relax at airport lounges around the world – allowing travelers to find and book lounges on their terms
• No foreign transaction fees

New Membership Experience

The company is also redefining membership by adding more Card Member experiences, digital features and benefits that help make financial management more flexible and accessible. Beginning with Green from Amex, Card Members will have digital and lifestyle services including:

• A mobile assistant to book flights or hotels, check rewards balance or ask account questions – all with just a few taps in the American Express App.
• Card Members can easily split the bill with other Venmo or PayPal users, and still earn all the rewards for the purchase. When using Green from Amex for a group expense, Card Members can divide up the total purchase amount and send out the requests, all from the American Express App. When they get paid back, the money will be added to their account with Venmo or PayPal. Enrollment required.
• Payment and purchase flexibility to help Card Members manage their account their way. Card Members can decide if they want to pay in full or carry a balance with interest on eligible charges, up to their Pay Over Time limit. Card Members also have the option to spend beyond their limit while still earning rewards, unlocking more purchase power when they need it. The amount Card Members spend beyond their limit is included in their minimum due each month.

Card Design

Along with refreshing the benefits, American Express unveiled the Card’s new design last month. As part of American Express’ broader efforts to combat marine plastic pollution, Green from Amex is made primarily with reclaimed plastic collected from beaches, islands and coastal communities from Parley for the Oceans.

Annual Fee

Green from Amex now has an annual fee of $150, up from the previous fee of $95. It is not waived the first year.

Applying for the Card

Learn How to Apply

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card. If you’re not sure whether you’ve had this card in the past, you can use this trick to find out. Sometimes cards that you’ve had more than 5-7 years ago, will no longer show up in your Amex history. They may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility. Amex has a tool that will let you know whether you qualify for the bonus during the application process.  If you’re an existing American Express customer they will only do a soft pull for new card applications.

American Express has a limit of one approved credit card every 5 days and two approved cards every 90 days. There’s also a maximum of 5 or 6 total American Express credit cards that you can have at a given time. However, the Amex Green Card is a charge card, so you can combine the application with another Amex card.

American Express has been getting much tougher on those trying to game the system for bonuses. Doing everything by the book would be the best way to go for these bonuses.

Guru’s Wrap-up

This upgrade makes the Amex Green Card relevant again, and much more. It’s actually a card that you can keep in your wallet and use for ongoing spend. Cardmembers can earn 3X on dining and travel, plus frequent fliers can get up to $300 in credits for CLEAR membership, LoungeBuddy and Away. The signup bonus also is a good one. 45,000 points are usually worth at least $700 when redeemed for travel. Strange that they are advertising a 30K Amex Green card bonus instead. Just use incognito to see the better one.

You can do even better with referrals though. The offer through referrals only shows 35K plus $150 Away credit, but if combined with a card that gives you 15K referral bonus, you come out ahead. Stay away from self referrals.