The American Express® Green Card is an excellent choice in the Membership Rewards line-up if you're looking to earn rewards on travel and dining purchases. The card also features annual credits for CLEAR and LoungeBuddy.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is also top-notch when it comes to earning points on travel and dining along with several other categories such as online shopping and select streaming services. The card offers a handful of great benefits such as a boost to point value, an annual hotel credit, and 10% bonus points every year.
Rewards Rates
As part of the Chase-Lyft Partnership, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card also earns 5X points on Lyft purchases until March 2025.
Do note that you will not earn 5X points on hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit. Once the credit is exhausted, you'll then earn 5X on hotel purchases through the portal.
Current Intro Bonus
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Key Cardholder Benefits
- Receive up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Membership with the American Express Green Card.
- Receive up to $100 per calendar year in statement credits when you purchase lounge access through LoungeBuddy with the American Express Green Card.
- Enjoy complimentary ShopRunner Membership which gives you free 2-day shipping and free returns at 100+ stores. Enrollment required.
- Receive a 25% boost to point value when you redeem your points through Chase Ultimate Rewards (1.25 cents per point).
- Receive a $50 hotel credit every cardmember anniversary that can be used towards hotel stays booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal.
- Every cardmember anniversary you'll receive 10% bonus points based on how much you spent on the card the prior cardmember year. This bonus does not include the category bonus multipliers.
Rewards Value
| Redemption Option | Average Value (in cents) |
|---|---|
| Point transfers to airline and hotel partners | 0.6 - 2 |
| Booking flights through American Express Travel | 1 |
| Booking other travel through American Express Travel | 0.7 |
| Paying with points at checkout | 0.7 |
| Using points for card charges (statement credit) | 0.6 |
| Redeeming points for gift cards | 0.5 - 1 |
Membership Rewards points earned with the American Express Green Card can be redeemed for 1 cent each towards airfare booked through American Express Travel. You can obtain higher values transferring points to AMEX's airline and hotel partners.
| Redemption Option | Average Value (in cents) |
|---|---|
| Point transfers to airline and hotel partners | 0.6 - 2.1 |
| Booking travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards using the Chase Sapphire Preferred | 1.25 |
| Pay Yourself Back using the Chase Sapphire Preferred | 1.25 |
| Redeeming points for cash back | 1 |
| Redeeming points for gift cards | 1 |
| Using points for Amazon.com purchases | 0.8 |
Ultimate Rewards points earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card can be redeemed for 1.25 cents towards travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Points can also be transferred to Chase's airline and hotel partners to obtain higher value.
Transfer Partners
Annual Fees
The American Express Green Card has a $150 annual fee. If you can make use of the CLEAR and LoungeBuddy credits, you'll easily offset the fee and be able to enjoy the 3X earnings this card offers.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has an annual fee of $95. The 10% anniversary bonus points, $50 hotel credit, and boost to point value via Chase Ultimate Rewards will offer exceptional value each year and will make up for the card's annual fee.
Card Value Calculator
Calculate how many points you can earn with the AMEX Green Card vs the Chase Sapphire Preferred side by side based on your spend. You'll also be able to calculate the average cash value of the points earned, the transfer of points to partners, and the cash value of each card.
We've run the calculations for you and here are our top picks for best credit cards of 2023:
- Best premium card for unlimited miles: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
- Best for flexible travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Best for everyday spend and travel: Citi Premier® Card.
- Best cash back card for groceries: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
- Best for dining and supermarkets: American Express® Gold Card
- Best for business travel rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
- Best cash back business card: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Our Credit Card Rewards calculator can help you find the perfect card and offers based on your monthly and yearly spending habits. Simply enter your spend amounts into our tool and let us do the work for you!
