Amex Green Card vs. Amex Gold (Which is better?)

by Daniel | Last Updated July 6th, 2021

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So today I am going to I’m going to compare the Amex Green card versus the Amex Gold Card.
Now, this might be obvious that the Amex Gold card will stack up better than the Amex Green Card but I wanted to have a closer look to see how much more you actually get for the extra $100 in annual fees that the Amex Gold card charges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag86vh5ccFc

Annual Fee & Sign-up Bonus 

So first up let’s start with the annual fee and signup bonus of each card.

To begin with, the Amex Green Card has an annual fee of $150 and for new cardmembers, it offers 30,000 reward points after you spend $2,000 within the first 6 months of opening the account, and these points according to Amex are worth up to $300 depending on how you redeem them.

As for the Amex Gold Card, it has an annual fee of $250 and for new cardmembers, it currently offers 60,000 reward points after you spend $4,000 within the first 6 months of opening the account, and these points according to the Amex website are worth up to $600 and this valuation also depends on how you actually redeem the points.

So straight of the bat the Gold card clearly offers more value, even though it is $100 more per year for the card, you actually get twice as many points for the sign-up bonus, so if you take the $100 extra for the annual fee of the Gold Amex off the bonus points you are still left with an extra $200 in added value.

Earning Points

So next up let’s look at how many points you can earn with each card.

Gold Amex
The Amex Gold Card currently offers 4 x times points at restaurants.
You will also receive 4x points at US supermarkets with a maximum spend limit of $25,000 per calendar year. (after this it will revert to 1 point per dollar spent)
Next up you will earn 3 x points on any flights that are booked directly with airlines or through amextravel.com.
And then any other purchases will receive 1 point per dollar spent.

Next, let’s have a look at how the Amex Green Card stacks up.
So to begin with you will receive 3x points at restaurants, Transit such as trains, buses, ferries, and subways, And you will also get 3 x points on travel such as airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, and car rentals.
Any other purchases will receive 1 point per dollar spent.

So for this section, the Gold card technically offers higher points earnings if you are able to spend a lot of money at both US supermarkets and restaurants.
But the Amex Green Card also has really good points earning potential, it has more options for earning points on travel-related purchases than the gold card does.
It just comes down to how you and where you actually spend your money.

So for this section, the Amex Gold card just edges out the Amex Green Card. 

Benefits and User Perks 

Now let’s have a look at some of the additional perks and benefits that each card offers you throughout the year.

So with the Amex Gold card, you will get up to $120 each year in Uber credit that can be used on either Uber rides or Uber Eats.
This credit is spread out over the year and gives you $10 per month.
You will also get a 12 month complimentary Uber Eats pass which is valued at up to $119, and this gives you free delivery and 5% off orders that are over $15 at eligible restaurants.
There is also a $120 dining credit that can be used at companies such as Grubhub, Seamless, Boxed, and many more.
And this is also offered on a monthly basis of $10 per month in available credit.
And finally, if you make a booking for a minimum of 2 nights through Amex’s ‘The Hotel Collection’ you will receive a $100 onsite credit for qualifying activities such as dining or spa treatments.

Next, let’s look at the Amex Green Card.
First up you get the same Free Uber Eats Pass as the Amex Gold Card, and this is worth $119, it also offers free delivery and 5% off orders that are over $15 at eligible restaurants.
Next up you will receive a $100 Credit to use on “Clear” and this will help you to get through security faster at select airports and stadiums nationwide.
You will also receive a $100 credit per calendar year that can be used through LoungeBuddy and this will allow you to gain Lounge Access at different airports.

So calculating these Benefits the Amex Gold Card offers up to $459.00 in value which is decent, and the AmexGreen card offers $319 in credit which is also pretty good.

So for this section, the Amex Gold once again beats out the Amex Green card as it offers $140 more in benefits and user perks.

Travel Insurance

So finally let’s look at what each card offers in terms of insurance coverage.

So starting with the Amex Gold card you will get Baggage Insurance which will cover up to $1,250 for carry-on Baggage and $500 for checked Baggage, and this covers any baggage that is damaged or stolen.
You also get Car rental loss and damage insurance that will cover up to $50,000.
The Amex Gold card also offers an extended warranty that will provide you with an extra 1 year of coverage for any warranty that is 5 years or less and from within the United States.

You will also get purchase protection for an extra 90 days on eligible items up to $10,000 per item and up to a maximum of $50,000 per calendar year.
And finally, you will receive trip delay insurance that will cover up to $300 per covered trip with a maximum of 2 claims per Consecutive 12 month period.

Now let’s look at the Amex Green Card.
First of all, you get the same baggage insurance as the Amex Gold Card, which is $1,250 for carry-on Baggage and up to $500 for checked Baggage.
You will also get the same Car rental loss and damage insurance that will cover up to $50,000.
You also get similar Purchase protection, it will cover purchases for an extra 90 days and up to $1,000 per item (but not $10,000 per item like the Gold Card) and it has a maximum of $50,000 per calendar year.
And finally, you get the same trip delay insurance of up to $300 per covers trip with a maximum of 2 claims per Consecutive 12 month period.

So for this section, the Amex gold card offers a tiny bit more coverage than the Amex Green card.
Basically, it has a higher Purchase protection coverage per item of $10,000 whereas the Amex Green Card offers just $1,000 per item.

Recap

Ok so now let go back over all of the sections that I’ve covered and see what card offers the most value.

So first up we covered the annual fee and sign up bonus for each card, and for this section, the Amex Gold card takes the win, even though the Annual fee of the Amex Gold card is $100 more than the Amex Green Card at $250 per year, you actually get twice as many reward points, and if you take the $100 of the extra cost for the annual fee of the Amex Gold Card, the extra points you are still left with are worth an extra $200 over the Amex Green Card.

Next up I went over how each card can earn you points and for this section, the Amex Gold card technically beat out the Amex Green card as it offers a higher earning rate of 4x points for both restaurants and US Supermarkets.
But the Amex Green Card still offers a great potential to earn almost as many points depending on how you spend your money.
It offers 3x points at more locations than the Gold card does which means it can be a great points earner if used correctly.

In the next section, I went over some of the benefits and user perks that each card offers, and for this section, the Amex Gold Card beat out the Amex Green Card by offering $140 more in Benefits and user perks.   

And lastly, I went over the Travel insurance options that each card offers, and for this section, the Amex gold card narrowly beat out the Amex Green card.
The only difference between the two cards is that the Gold card offers higher coverage for purchase protection which is currently $10,000 per item whereas the Amex Green Card only offers a maximum of $1,000 per item.

So looking at the numbers above the Amex Gold Card comes out on top with 4 points to 0 as it offers higher points earning, $200 more in user benefits and perks (after you take the annual fee into consideration), and slightly more value in travel insurance options.

And to be honest, this is a pretty obvious conclusion that it is a better card all around, but I just wanted to see to the difference between the two cards.

So the winner for this review is the Amex Gold card.

If you want to learn more about either card you can click here for the Amex Green Card or you can click here for the Amex Gold Card.

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