American Express Classic Green Card
American Express · American Express · $150 annual fee · earns Amex Membership Rewards, valued at 2.00¢ a point.
Rates checked against the issuer 2026-09. Foreign transaction fee: none.
The short version
- Best at: Uber and Lyft (#1, $6.00 per $100); public transit (#1, $6.00 per $100); parking and tolls (#1, $6.00 per $100).
- A year's rewards: about $772, or $622 after the fee.
Is the annual fee worth it?
It earns about $772 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is $622 once the fee is paid. The best card with no fee, American Express Blue Business Plus, nets $1,058 on the same spending — so this card is $437 a year behind. It pulls ahead of the free card once spending passes about $10,461 a month.
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What it earns, category by category
| Earns on | Rate | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Flights, Hotels, Vacation Rentals, Car Rental | 3x | Travel, including airfare, hotels, campgrounds, car rentals and cruises |
| Public Transit, Rideshare & Taxis, Parking & Tolls | 3x | Transit — trains, taxis, rideshare, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways |
| Restaurants & Bars, Food Delivery | 3x | Restaurants worldwide, including takeout |
| Everything else | 1x |
Where it ranks
Against every card in the catalogue, scored in dollars per $100 with no rotating categories switched on:
- #1 of 68 for Uber and Lyft — $6.00 per $100
- #1 of 68 for public transit — $6.00 per $100
- #1 of 68 for parking and tolls — $6.00 per $100
- #1 of 68 for car rentals — $6.00 per $100
- #2 of 68 for dining out — $6.00 per $100
- #2 of 68 for food delivery — $6.00 per $100
Where a year's rewards come from
| Spending on | Earns a year |
|---|---|
| Restaurants & Bars | $216 |
| Groceries | $120 |
| Everything Else | $120 |
| Flights | $72 |
| Hotels | $54 |
| Gas Stations | $36 |
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
Protections and travel benefits
From the issuer's own benefit summary as of 2026-09. These are read from summaries rather than the full guide to benefits, which has the exclusions — check it before relying on one.
- Purchase protection — up to $1,000 per claim · 90 days
- Extended warranty
- Trip delay
- Baggage
What the issuer lists besides rewards
- Up to $209 a year in CLEAR Plus credits
- Trip delay and baggage insurance
- Closed to new applicants — Amex renamed it the Classic Green Card in August 2026 and existing holders keep their benefits
- Purchase protection up to $1,000 per claim for 90 days after you buy
- Extended warranty adds a year to manufacturer warranties of five years or less
Similar cards
- Wells Fargo Autograph Journey — annual fee $95 a year
- Chase Sapphire Preferred — annual fee $95 a year
- Citi Strata Premier — annual fee $95 a year
- Capital One Venture Rewards — annual fee $95 a year
- Every travel card, ranked
- When an annual fee pays for itself
- The best two- and three-card combinations
Point values: published industry valuations, read 2026-09. How every number here is worked out.
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