We don’t write much about the Business Green card, and for good reason. It’s not terribly exciting. In our new year’s predictions post, Greg said that 2024 would be the year that Amex finally refreshes this forgotten stepchild of the Membership Rewards-earning portfolio. I with that he’d been right…it sorely needs one.
Current Welcome Offer
| Card Offer |
|---|
15K points ⓘ Affiliate 15K points after $3K spend within first 3 months of card membership. Terms & limitations apply. (Rates & Fees)$95 Annual Fee |
Amex Business Green Card Review
The Business Green card seems like something that Amex left in its sock drawer and forgot about. The card itself has almost zero appeal: no bonused spending categories (outside of AmexTravel), no perks…and it has a foreign transaction fee. It’s baffling that Amex charges an annual fee for it. The Business Green can be useful as a downgrade option to avoid the high annual fee of the Business Platinum and Gold cards if you missed the cancellation window, or perhaps to capture a juicy referral offer when in 2-player mode. Outside of that, there’s not much here.
- Annual Fee: $95
- Authorized User Annual Fee: $0
- Foreign Transaction Fee: Yes
- What points are worth: The Amex Business Green earns Membership Rewards points. Our current Reasonable Redemption Values pegs them at 1.55 cents each.
- Best Use for Points: Membership Rewards can be transferred to travel partners at a 1:1 ratio and this will almost always yield the most value. There’s three hotel partners (Choice, Hilton, Marriott), but the transfer ratio makes them unappealing most of the time. On the other hand, airline partners are excellent and include Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, ANA Mileage Club and Avianca LifeMiles.
- Earning Categories:
- 2x on eligible purchases through AmexTravel.com
- 1x – everywhere else
- Travel Protections:
- Auto Rental Coverage: Secondary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver). Provides reimbursement for theft and collision damage for rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement: Up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage ($10,000 aggregate maximum limit for all covered Persons per covered Trip).
- Who’s this card for? The Business Green could be useful for a welcome or referral offer, or possibly as a downgrade option from the Business Gold or Platinum cards (but only if you missed the 30-day window to cancel and get the fees refunded).
- Is the Amex Business Green a keeper? I can’t imagine why.
Business Green Card Pros and Cons
Pros
- Can be a cheap way to capture household referral options
- Offers a downgrade option from the Business Gold and Business Platinum cards
- Cardholders are sometimes targeted for very good upgrade or retention offers
Cons
- No real perks to speak off
- Spending categories are non-existent
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Small typo at beginning of article
“ I with that he’d been right…”
The word is that Chase is coming out with a business version of the CSR and Citi is coming out with a business version of (some) Strata card. Time for Amex to do something with the Business Green.
Disregard
Any information about how often the upgrade offers come up? I just downgraded my business plat to a green but now I’m thinking I should’ve straight canceled
Its name suggests that it might mimic the personal Green. It doesn’t and it’s worthless.
You get the $189 Clear credit, that’s the only reason i keep it
And, you’re profiting exactly how much with that strategy? (I think you need to recheck the benefits. The Clear benefit is on the personal Green, not the Business Green.)
Oops, I was thinking of the Personal Green – Business Green is garbage – carry on!
Had no idea Biz Green charged forex. Crazy.