American Express® Green Card

• 

  Purchase Protection

  90 days
• 

  Extended Warranty

  Up to a year

• 

  Amex Experiences™

  With Amex Experiences™ and Front Of The Line® Amex Presale Tickets, American Express Cardmembers get access to amazing events in Canada
• 

  Extra points

  2 points on Amex Travel Online purchases

With the American Express Green Card, you can go green in more ways than one. For starters, the card sports a light green coating and is made from 99% eco-friendly plastic.

Beyond its physical appearance, the card stands out as the highest rewards card in Canada at no annual fee. As a user, enjoy points on every eligible purchase, flexibly redeemable for even more perks later on. Ultimately, the more you swipe, the more you’ll save on future spending.

How You Earn Rewards with the American Express Green Card

Simple and straightforward, the American Express Green Card grants you one Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on all purchases.

This rewards system turns your spending habits into extra credit for expenses like travel, shopping, and subscription services. Plus, earn double the points when you book American Express online travel purchases.

Redeeming your American Express Green Card Rewards

With the American Express Green Card, your points are the most valuable in the travel categories, specifically in transfers to airline partners for plane tickets, followed by the fixed point travel program for base ticket prices on flights, and transfers to hotel partners like Marriott Bonvoy for accommodation bookings. Other lower-value categories include statement credits, gift cards, Amazon purchases, and eligible everyday merchandise.

Amex points are also extremely flexible and transferable compared to other rewards programs. You can even combine a card payment with your Membership Rewards points to make a purchase.

For updated breakdowns on what your rewards points are worth with the American Express Green Card, check out our Points Calculator for further insights.

4 Benefits of the American Express Green Card

So far, we’ve unpacked the American Express Green Card’s points system, now let’s break down all the benefits:

High Rewards with No Annual Fees

With a line-up of premium cards with substantial annual costs, it’s nice to know the American Express network also has some options equipped with similar benefits for no annual fee. Luckily, the American Express Green Card is one of these exceptions, allowing you to accumulate the highest rewards in Canada with no annual fee on the card.

A Buildable Bonus

Some welcome bonuses are trickier to achieve than others, this is because whether you receive the bonus all comes down to how much you spend within a certain timeframe. The American Express Green Card offers a welcome bonus that you can easily work your way up to, with a reasonable spending minimum that will earn you tons of bonus points in the first few months.

Amex Experiences™

With Amex Experiences™ and Front Of The Line® Amex Presale Tickets, American Express Cardmembers get access to amazing events in Canada.

Flexible Redemption

Use your Amex Membership Rewards points for travel redemptions like airline and hotel partner transfers, gift cards, shopping, or even to cover statement credits. So, whether you're a frequent traveler, a constant shopper, or just want some points to help clear your credit card balance, this card is equipped to suit a variety of needs.

3 Downsides of the American Express Green Card

For a balanced review, it’s crucial to bring up the categories in which the American Express Green Card could offer more to cardholders, here are some important shortcomings to note:

Limited Insurance

With a no-annual-fee card, you can’t necessarily expect the best insurance coverage – that often comes with a cost. However, there are some no-annual-fee card competitors that do offer a bit more when it comes to insurance policies. That said, if purchase protection and extended warranty sounds like all the support you need, then the American Express Green Card should prove itself to be satisfactory.

Not a Top Choice for Travellers

American Express credit cards are known for their travel perks. While the American Express Green Card does fall under this same network, and offers some travel benefits in terms of extra points through online Amex travel bookings, it’s not the best choice for frequent travelers due to its lack of travel coverage and perks that tend to be present on other competing premium cards.

American Express Acceptance

If you’re not completely impressed with the perks that come with having an American Express affiliated card, then you should know that there are some setbacks to using this network as your credit card provider. American Express cards are not as widely accepted as other networks like Visa and Mastercard (specifically they're not as commonly accepted internationally and even at some popular establishments like Costco and Loblaws). 

So, if you're looking for a card you can use almost anywhere or if you’re an avid Costco or Loblaws shopper, the network alone might be a dealbreaker. 

The American Express Green Card Compared to other Credit Cards

SimplyCash® Card from American Express

The first fair comparison to make is between the American Express Green Card and the SimplyCash Card from American Express. Both cards come with no annual fees, but they use very distinct rewards programs. As a cash back card rather than a points card, the SimplyCash Card might be a better choice if your goal is simply to collect some extra cash from your everyday expenses. This is because the American Express Green Card's redemption rates in similar categories are slightly lower.

However, if you're mostly looking to redeem points for travel, you'll find the American Express Green Card has the highest redemption rates in this specific category. That means, if you want a card that helps you pay for your upcoming vacations, the American Express Green Card is your top contender in annual value, especially in your first year as a cardholder.

It's important to note though that the SimplyCash Card does offer travel accident coverage unlike the American Express Green Card. This is impressive since no-annual-fee cards typically don’t have travel insurance.

Scotiabank American Express® Card

This next card also boasts the no-annual-fee advantage and ups the included coverage competition by adding mobile device insurance – something both the American Express Green Card and the SimplyCash Card from American Express lack. This card also specializes in Scene+ points, which may be appealing to you if this is your loyalty program of choice. There are several ways to collect strong Scene+ points on categories like participating co-ops, streaming services, and entertainment purchases.

Ultimately, if your focus is entertainment, or if you shop primarily at one of the participating co-op grocers and prefer to collect Scene+ points over American Express Membership Rewards or cash back, then this could be the card for you. Keep in mind though that there’s also a small minimum income requirement for this card, something the two previous cards don’t enforce.

If you’re not partial to either point system, but you’re looking for the best in value, the American Express Green Card still manages to take first place for first year value and overall value in the years to come.

American Express Gold Rewards Card®

If you’re left wanting a little more from the green card, go gold. 

The American Express Gold Rewards Card comes with a higher first year value, made up of a generous and attainable Membership Rewards points welcome bonus, double the rewards rates in popular categories, an annual travel credit, and extensive travel insurance (more than we’ve seen from the other cards mentioned).

In all fairness, this card isn’t a no-annual-fee card, it does come with a yearly cost. So, if you don’t think you’ll be able to take advantage of all the offered perks in a way that would offset the annual cost, the upgrade won’t be worth it. It’s also possible that after the first year, the American Express Gold Rewards Card won’t hold as much annual value as the American Express Green Card in the following years if you don't have high spending levels.

So really, if you felt intrigued by the travel perks from the previous cards, have the extra money to spend, and plan on spending enough to make the annual cost worthwhile, this could be the upgrade you’ve been hoping for. That said, if you’re here for the best you can get from American Express at no annual costs, you’ll want to stick to the other options we’ve compared above.

How to apply for the American Express Green Card 

To apply for the American Express Green Card, you'll need to do so through the official American Express website:

1. To begin, click the “Apply Now” button featured on the American Express Green Card page found on the American Express website
2. Carefully review the card’s terms and conditions, once you understand what you’re signing up for, select the “Agree and Begin” button to continue
3. This is where you’ll need to fill out your personal details (full name, date of birth, phone number, email, postal code, etc.)
4. You’ll also need to include information about your finances like your personal annual income, household income, and other employment details
5. Always review your information before submitting your application, once you’ve made sure everything is accurate, hit submit

The Final Verdict

The American Express Green Card is great for cardholders who want to avoid complex point systems and annual fees, plus earn the highest rewards in Canada through the American Express Membership Rewards system. If you’re a casual traveler who would love to accumulate some benefits towards your next trip, this card is also a good option despite missing included travel coverage. While the American Express Green Card’s perks are simple, they are most definitely effective for the right user.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it hard to get an American Express Green Card?

With no annual fee and no income requirements, it’s fairly simple to apply for an American Express Green Card. However, a “good” credit score (which has a value of about 660) is probably what you'll need in order to be considered by American Express. Prior to applying, you'll also want to make sure that your are a Canadian resident with a Canadian credit file and that you are the age of majority in the province or territory where you live.

Is the American Express Green Card a charge card?

The American Express Green Card is a rewards credit card and not a charge card. With this card, you can make purchases using borrowed funds and pay off your balance before it’s due to avoid interest charges. As a rewards card, you’ll also receive points for every eligible purchase you make that you can use towards certain future expenses.

Does the American Express Green Card have foreign transaction fees?

The American Express Green Card doesn't list "no foreign transaction fees" as a benefit. Therefore, as a Canadian, you can be subject to foreign transaction fees while travelling internationally or making international payments when using this card.