Amex Green Card: How To Use the $100 LoungeBuddy Statement Credit

The American Express^® Green Card is a strong travel rewards card that anyone should consider thanks to its combination of bonus categories, perks, and great welcome offer. One perk that makes the card a compelling option is its annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100.

In this guide, we will take a look at everything you need to know about the Amex Green card’s LoungeBuddy credit, how it works, and how to decide if it is a good fit for your travel needs.

Overview of the Amex Green Card

Key Benefits of the Amex Green Card

Beyond the annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100, the Amex Green card has many other great benefits, such as:

• 3x points at restaurants worldwide, on all eligible travel purchases, and transit purchases
• Up to $189 statement credit per year toward a CLEAR Plus membership
• Access to American Express transfer partners
• No foreign transaction fees (rates and fees)
• Annual fee of $150 (rates and fees)

What Is LoungeBuddy?

For those unfamiliar, LoungeBuddy is a website that allows you to see what lounges are available at the airport you are flying out of, and in some circumstances, allows you to purchase a day pass to eligible lounges.

You access LoungeBuddy via its LoungeBuddy.com website or LoungeBuddy iOS mobile app.

LoungeBuddy Statement Credit Details

When it comes to the annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100 on your Amex Green card, here are the important terms to be aware of:

• The statement credit of up to $100 is based on a calendar year, and it does not roll over into the next year if you fail to use the full credit.
• You must pay for the LoungeBuddy lounge access with your Amex Green card in order to receive the credit.
• Your statement credit should appear 2 to 4 weeks after the lounge visit fee is posted to your credit card.
• You are not required to use the credit of up to $100 all at once, allowing you to break it into multiple transactions.
• You can purchase lounge access for anyone you’d like, and you do not have to be traveling with them.

How To Use the LoungeBuddy Credit

Using LoungeBuddy to purchase airport lounge access is very simple. All you need to do is follow these steps.

Step 1: Navigate to the LoungeBuddy website or mobile app.

Step 2: Type the airport you are flying out of into the search bar.

Step 3: LoungeBuddy will then pull up a list of every lounge available at that airport, sorted by terminal.

Step 4: To quickly filter which lounges offer paid access, click the Book Online quick filter.

Step 5: This will leave you with the full list of lounges you can purchase access to, along with the price that the lounge charges for access.

Step 6: Click the lounge that you’d like to purchase access to, then on the following lounge landing page enter your travel details, including the day and time you are traveling and how many people are in your party.

Step 7: Select the package that you want to purchase (usually there should be just 1 option here).

Step 8: Next, at the confirmation screen, confirm that all of the details are correct. Be sure to pay attention to the cancellation policy and how long you are allowed to stay in the lounge. In this instance, I would be able to visit the lounge for a maximum of 3 hours and cancel up to 24 hours and receive a full refund, but your booking may differ. If everything appears correct, click Continue to Pay.

Step 9: Enter your payment details. Be certain to use your Amex Green card as your payment method to ensure that you receive your statement credit. Click Complete Booking.

Step 10: You are all set! You should receive an email confirmation of your booking and can access your booking through the LoungeBuddy website and/or mobile app.

LoungeBuddy vs. Priority Pass

Even if you’re new to the world of points and miles, there is a decent chance that you have heard of Priority Pass as it is one of the largest lounge networks worldwide and there are many credit cards that offer complimentary access to the Priority Pass lounge network.

Just to make the distinction clear, while many of the lounges that can be purchased through LoungeBuddy also participate in the Priority Pass program, LoungeBuddy and Priority Pass are not the same thing.

When you have a Priority Pass membership, like one offered via a credit card, your lounge visits are typically complimentary for you and up to 2 traveling companions, with LoungeBuddy you must pay between $45 to $75 per traveler to access lounges within its network.

Other Credit Card Options for Lounge Access

If we had to pick our top credit card for airport lounge access, it would be The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Put simply, it offers access to far more airport lounges than any other travel rewards card on the market with its Amex Global Lounge Collection. This includes Priority Pass lounges upon enrollment, Amex Centurion Lounges (domestic and international), Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner, Plaza Premium Lounges, select Virgin Clubhouses, select Lufthansa Lounges when flying with Lufthansa Group the same day, and Delta Sky Clubs when flying with Delta the same day.

Beyond lounge access, the Amex Platinum card offers many other great benefits like multiple annual credits for Uber, CLEAR Plus membership, airline incidentals, and more. Plus a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit, elite status with Hilton and Marriott, along with great travel insurance benefits and purchase protections.

In addition to the Amex Platinum card, some of our other favorite cards for airport lounge access include:

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve^®
• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
• The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

Final Thoughts

The Amex Green card is a well-rounded card option for points and miles travelers. Though it doesn’t offer a full airport lounge membership like other premium cards, those premium cards usually charge annual fees between $395 to $695, while the Amex Green card charges just $150.

Given that, if you know you’ll visit an airport lounge at least a couple of times each year, the Amex Green card can nearly pay for itself thanks to its annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100, along with its other perks and benefits.

The information regarding the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the American Express^® Green Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.