AmEx Green Review: Triple Points on Dining and Travel, Plus Credits

Transferable points

One of the card's most valuable features: It earns Membership Rewards points. These can be transferred to an extensive list of airline and hotel loyalty programs. The transfer ratios vary by partner, but in many cases, they're 1:1. That means, for instance, you could turn 50,000 Membership Rewards points into 50,000 miles with a certain airline program. Potentially, this means you could get much more than one cent apiece from these points if you moved points to a loyalty program and took advantage of a high-value redemption.

The card makes it easy to rack up points, too. It earns a generous 3 points per dollar spent on eligible travel and restaurant expenses. Terms apply. The list of what counts as travel is expansive, too. It includes airfare, hotels and car rentals, but also cruises, campgrounds, tours, trains, rideshares, buses, subways, tolls, parking and more. Third-party travel websites and amextravel.com also qualify.

Solid welcome offer

New cardholders can get a generous welcome offer: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. That could potentially cover a round-trip flight or a night or two at a hotel.

Potentially valuable travel credit

AmEx Green cardholders get a $199 annual statement credit toward a Clear membership. Over three dozen airports and several stadiums and venues across the country use Clear's biometric ID technology to allow people to breeze through eligible prescreening lines (though you'll still have to go through the X-ray line). However, keep in mind that Clear isn't the same thing as TSA Precheck or Global Entry. More on that below. Terms apply.

» MORE: Is Clear worth the cost?

Relatively high annual fee

The card's $150 annual fee can be worthwhile, especially if you can take advantage of AmEx's transfer partners and the card's statement credit. But it's still relatively expensive for a non-premium travel card, and if you won't use travel partners or credits, go with a different option.

The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card could be a good match, for example. It earns 1.5 points per $1 on purchases. Points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for travel. It also comes with a good sign-up bonus and an introductory 0% APR offer.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best no-annual-fee travel credit cards

Some redemption options are low-value

The American Express® Green Card can deliver excellent value through its transfer partners. But other redemption options aren't that great. For example, redeeming for a statement credit will get you only 0.6 cent per point.

For a card with better redemption options and excellent transfer partners, try the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. For an annual fee of $95, you'll get access to many of the same transfer partners, including Aer Lingus, Air France/KLM, British Airways, Emirates, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic and Marriott. The card earns 5 points per $1 spent on all travel purchased through Chase; 3 points per $1 spent on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout), select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs); 2 points per $1 spent on travel not purchased through Chase; and 1 point per $1 spent on other purchases. Booking travel through Chase gets 1.25 cents out of each point, and redeeming for cash back gets 1 cent per point. The card also comes with an solid sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

» MORE: American Express credit cards mobile app review

Other cards offer more useful travel credits

A Clear credit may be useful in specific situations, especially as a supplement to TSA Precheck or Global Entry. But it isn't really a substitute for those programs. Unlike Clear, which is a private company, TSA Precheck and Global Entry are administered by the federal government and are in wide use across the country. They're also significantly cheaper: The application fee for TSA Precheck is $78; for Global Entry, it's $100. What's more, your status with those federal programs lasts for five years — not just one — and many travel credit cards with less hefty annual fees will cover the full application cost for you.

If you're looking for a card with bonus rewards on travel and dining and more useful credits, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card could be a match. It earns 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining, and 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. You'll get a statement credit toward TSA Precheck or Global Entry application fees every four years. There's also an annual airline incidental statement credit worth up to $100 that can cover qualifying purchases like seat upgrades, airline lounge fees and checked bag fees. The annual fee is $95.