Amex Green Card vs. Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card [Detailed Comparison]

American Express is known for having some of the most rewarding credit cards on the market, and the American Express^® Green Card and the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express are no exception.

That said, both cards are quite different in what they offer — each has its own unique benefits, bonus rewards earning categories, and redemption options. Read our detailed comparison to learn which is the better option for you.

Amex Green Card vs. Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card — Overview

Here is a quick look at how each card stacks up to one another in each of the categories that we will compare. Enrollment may be required for some benefits.

	American Express® Green Card	Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Welcome Bonus Offer	NEW OFFER: Earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months, up to $200 back as a statement credit.	Earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months.
Rewards Earning Categories	3x points at restaurants worldwide (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.), on transit, and on travel	6% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 in spend each year (then 1%) 6% cash-back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions 3% cash-back at U.S. gas stations and on transit purchases
Redemption Options	Transfer Membership Rewards points to airline and hotel transfer partners Redeem points via Amex Travel for 1 cent in value per point Cash-back via statement credit, gift cards, shopping with select retailers, and more	Cash-back via statement credit
Statement Credits	Up to $189 annual CLEAR Plus credit Up to $100 annual LoungeBuddy credit	Up to $7 monthly statement credit after spending $12.99+ each month on an eligible Disney Bundle subscription Up to $10 monthly Equinox+ credit
Travel Benefits and Protections	Car rental loss and damage insurance (secondary insurance) Baggage insurance plan Trip delay insurance No foreign transaction fees (rates and fees)	Car rental loss and damage insurance (secondary insurance)
Annual Fee	$150 (rates and fees)	$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 (rates and fees)
Authorized User Fee	None (rates and fees)	None (rates and fees)

Both the Amex Green card and the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card have a lot to offer, but most of the major benefits of each card are quite different. This includes their bonus rewards earning categories, redemption options, statement credits, annual fees, and more.

Given that, deciding which card is better for you is going to come down to the option that suits your lifestyle best. However, as a general rule of thumb, those focused on earning cash-back would fare better with the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card and those focused on earning travel rewards would fare better with the Amex Green card.

The Value of a Welcome Bonus Offer

Amex Green Card

We value Amex Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents each thanks to their flexibility and ability to be redeemed with Amex transfer partners. Depending on the welcome offer at the time, you could achieve extraordinary value from these points.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card

Because you’re earning cash-back as opposed to flexible Amex Membership Rewards points, this welcome offer doesn’t offer you the ability to get outsized value from your rewards. However, you do know the exact value of what you’ll earn and won’t have to worry about transferring your points to partners.

Bottom Line:

The welcome offer for the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card is cash-back, so you know exactly how much value you’ll receive. The Amex Green card earns Amex Membership Rewards points, so the value of the bonus will depend on how you decide to redeem your points.

Rewards Earning Categories

Here is a look at how each card rewards you for your everyday purchases:

Bonus Category	Amex Green Card	Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card
Travel	3x points	1% cash-back
Restaurants	3x points	1% cash-back
Transit (Trains, Ferries, Buses, Subways, Rideshares, Etc.)	3x points	3% cash-back
U.S. Supermarkets	1x points	6% cash-back on up to $6,000 in spend each year (then 1%)
Select Streaming Services	1x points	6% cash-back
U.S. Gas Stations	1x points	3% cash-back
All Other Purchases	1x points	1% cash-back

The Amex Green card clearly shines when it comes to earning Membership Rewards points at restaurants worldwide and on travel and transit purchases. While the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card also offers transit as a bonus category, it also offers the opportunity to earn a lot of cash-back at U.S. supermarkets, select streaming services, and at U.S. gas stations.

Redemption Options

Amex Green Card

One of the best things about the Amex Green card is that it earns Amex Membership Rewards points, which means you’ll have multiple ways to redeem your rewards. With your points, you can book travel through the Amex Travel portal, transfer them to Amex’s transfer partners, redeem them for cash-back via statement credit, redeem them for gift cards, or when shopping with select merchants such as Apple, Amazon, and more.

While you should redeem your points in whatever manner you think is best for you, our favorite redemption option, and the one that tends to yield the most value, is using Amex’s airline and hotel transfer partners. This method allows you to book luxury travel experiences like business class flights and 5-star hotel stays for a fraction of the usual price.

For example, you could transfer 63,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Avianca LifeMiles and book a one-way business class award ticket on a Star Alliance carrier like United or Air Canada between the U.S. and Europe. If you were to book that same flight through the Amex Travel portal, you’d likely have to shell out 3 to 5 times the amount of points.

Hot Tip:

If you want to learn how to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points for more value, read through our guide to see some of our favorite ways.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card

You have just 1 redemption option with the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card: redeeming for cash-back as a statement credit to offset card purchases. While rewards redemptions are much more limited with this card, being able to redeem for straight cash-back isn’t necessarily a bad option.

Statement Credits

While both cards charge an annual fee, they also come with annual statement credits to help offset that cost.

Amex Green Card — CLEAR Plus and LoungeBuddy

With the Amex Green card, you’ll receive an annual CLEAR Plus credit that covers up to $189 per calendar year after paying for a CLEAR Plus membership with your new Amex Green card. If you’re not familiar with CLEAR, it provides a faster security experience at select airports and stadiums nationwide using biometrics. Better yet, if you’re someone who would have paid the standard price for a CLEAR Plus membership anyway, then this credit alone more than offsets the card’s $150 annual fee.

The Amex Green card also offers an annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100 that you can use to purchase airport lounge access through eligible LoungeBuddy locations worldwide. Depending on which lounges you choose, this credit should cover 2 to 3 visits each year.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card — Equinox+ and The Disney Bundle

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card offers a monthly credit toward an Equinox+ subscription of up to $10 per month. Equinox+ is a health and fitness app that gives access to live and on-demand workout classes, meditations, and more. If you’re already an Equinox+ subscriber, this credit can save you up to $120 each year. If you don’t currently use the service, this benefit allows you to try it out for yourself at a reduced cost.

Additionally, you can receive up to a $7 monthly statement credit after using your Amex Blue Cash Preferred card to spend $12.99 or more each month on a subscription to The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. If you’re already paying for this service, this can amount to a savings of up to $84 each year.

You could receive up to $204 in statement credits annually if you max out both benefits, which more than covers the card’s $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee.

Travel Benefits and Protections

	Amex Green Card	Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card
Foreign Transaction Fees	None	2.7%
Rental Car Insurance	Secondary (coverage comes after your personal auto insurance)	Secondary (coverage comes after your personal auto insurance)
Baggage Insurance Plan	Up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage for bags or items that are lost, damaged, or stolen	None
Trip Delay Insurance	If your flight is delayed by more than 12 hours, you can receive up to $300 in coverage.	None
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services	Yes, 24/7/365 access to Global Assist Hotline	Yes, 24/7/365 access to Global Assist Hotline
Airport Lounge Access	Up to $100 LoungeBuddy credit	None

The Amex Green card definitely wins out here, as the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card offers hardly any travel perks and protections. The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card even charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee, making it a poor choice for overseas purchases.

Meanwhile, the Amex Green card helps keep you covered with no foreign transaction fees, baggage protection, trip delay insurance, and more.

Shopping Benefits and Protections

Both cards offer benefits that keep you covered when making purchases:

• Amex Offers — Opportunities to earn more points and statement credits with 100 merchants each month
• Purchase Protection — If an item you purchase with your card is stolen, lost, or damaged within 90 days of purchase, you can receive up to $1,000 in coverage per item, up to $50,000 in coverage per year
• Extended Warranty — Adds 1 year of additional warranty to extended warranties of 5 years or less
• American Express Experiences — Exclusive access to ticket presales

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card additionally offers this perk:

• Return Protection — Return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $300 per item and a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year

Both the Amex Green card and Amex Blue Cash Preferred card offer nearly identical shopping perks, however, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card provides return protection, while the Amex Green card does not.

Annual Fees and Adding Authorized Users

Annual Fees

The Amex Green card has a $150 annual fee while the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card’s annual fee is $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

The cost of holding either card is relatively similar, but whether each annual fee is worth it depends on how much value you can receive from a card’s benefits and rewards.

Authorized Users

You can add authorized users to your Amex Green card or Amex Blue Cash Preferred card for no additional annual fee.

Final Thoughts

Despite their differences, both the Amex Green card and Amex Blue Cash Preferred card are great products.

If you’re looking for a card that is geared toward travel, earns flexible rewards, and offers solid travel protections, then the Amex Green card might be the better option for you.

On the other hand, if you want a great cash-back card that can help you rack up big savings at U.S. supermarkets, on select streaming services, and U.S. gas stations, then the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card might be the one for you.

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For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the Amex Green card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the extended warranty benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, when an American Express^® card member charges a covered purchase to an eligible card, extended warranty can provide up to one extra year added to the original manufacturer’s warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the global assist hotline benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, you can rely on Global Assist Hotline 24 hours a day / 7 days a week for medical, legal, financial or other select emergency coordination and assistance services while traveling more than 100 miles away from your home. Third-party service costs may be your responsibility. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

For the purchase protection benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, when an American Express^® card member charges a covered purchase with their eligible card, purchase protection can help protect their covered purchases for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the return protection benefit of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card, with return protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express^® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

For rates and fees of the American Express^® Green Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express, click here.