American Express Green Card

Rewards by category

Our take

The American Express Green Card closed to new applicants around July 23, 2026, when its application page began redirecting, and on August 20, 2026 it becomes the American Express Classic Green Card. Existing cardholders keep it, and the only remaining way in is a product change from a Gold or Platinum. That closure reframes this page: the question is no longer whether to apply, but where the card belongs in a wallet that already holds it, at $150 a year with no foreign transaction fees.

The earnings come down to three 3x Membership Rewards categories and 1x everywhere else. Transit carries the broadest definition in our catalog; Amex's own list reads "trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways." Travel covers airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, vacation rentals, campgrounds, and third-party booking sites, and restaurants earn 3x worldwide, with US takeout and delivery included. At SwipeCaddy's conservative one cent per point, each 3x category returns roughly 3%.

The honest holder math: at Uber or Waymo, that 3% sits just behind this quarter's rotating 5% cards, which demand activation and carry quarterly caps, and it exactly matches the steady 3x of the Wells Fargo Autograph, which wins our public rankings on its $0 annual fee. So the $150 fee buys rates a free card can match. It earns its keep only if your Membership Rewards redemptions beat one cent per point, or if the transit breadth (tolls, parking, ferries, commuter rail) routes enough spending that no cash-back card catches.

SwipeCaddy's public rankings deliberately exclude cards closed to new applicants, so the Green no longer appears there. Rankings inside your own wallet are a different matter: the app still calls it whenever it is the best card in your hand. Its role for a holder is the commute-and-travel specialist. Every ride, toll, parking meter, ferry, flight, and hotel night goes here; a stronger dining card takes restaurants if you carry one, and a flat-rate card sets the floor everywhere else. If neither the points ecosystem nor the transit breadth is earning the $150, that is the decision to make before your renewal date.

Key benefits

• No foreign transaction fees

Common questions

Does American Express Green Card have an annual fee?

Yes — $150 per year.

What rewards does American Express Green Card earn on everything else?

1x on all other purchases, in American Express Membership Rewards.

Is the American Express Green Card still open to new applicants?

No. It closed around July 23, 2026, and its application page now redirects; existing holders keep their cards, which rename to the American Express Classic Green Card on August 20, 2026. The only remaining path to one is a product change from a Gold or Platinum. Welcome-offer questions are moot: the card used Amex's variable offer format, no offer was recorded in our catalog, and there is nothing left to apply for now.

What counts as transit on the American Express Green Card?

The broadest transit definition in our catalog: trains, taxis, rideshare, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways all earn 3x Membership Rewards points. At a conservative one cent per point that is roughly a 3% return, and it lands on categories most cards ignore entirely; tolls and parking almost never earn a bonus anywhere else.

Is the $150 annual fee still worth paying for a card I already hold?

Only if something a free card cannot match is earning it. At one cent per point, the Green's 3x is a 3% return that the $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph matches on travel, transit, and dining. Keep the Green if your Membership Rewards redemptions reliably beat one cent, or if its extra breadth (tolls, parking, ferries, campgrounds, and no foreign transaction fees) covers spending the Autograph misses. Otherwise the fee is buying rates you could have for free.

Related reading

• How we value points and miles (and why our numbers are lower than everyone else's)SwipeCaddy ranks cards by reward rate × a conservative cash value per point: 1¢ for cash back and transferable points (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt), 1.1–1.3¢ for airline miles, 0.4–1.4¢ for hotel points, and 0.8–0.9¢ for store currencies. Optimistic transfer values are recorded for context but never ranked, because most people never achieve them.