Speculation: We’re going to see a new Amex Green Card launched this month

As you probably know by now, American Express has removed the Green Card from its website and all you get are error messages when you try to access the old application page or one of the old referral links and we can be reasonably sure that this isn’t a technical glitch.

Back in June, Amex notified existing Green Card holders that the card would be renamed the “American Express® Classic Green Card” from 20 August 2026 onwards, and told them that the benefits, rewards, and annual fee would all stay the same.

The disappearance of the card from the American Express site and that announcement are clearly linked, so what is Amex planning?

Well, like most miles and points fans, I have a theory.

My guess

I think that by adding the word “Classic” to the existing Green Card, Amex has given us a hint of what’s to come, and once 20 August rolls around (possibly even before then), I expect two announcements to have been made.

1. Holders of the newly named American Express® Classic Green Card get to keep their card and all the earning rates and benefits that come with it, but the card will no longer be open to new applicants.
2. A new American Express Green Card will be introduced with a different set of earning rates, benefits, and, of course, annual fee.

So what will this new card look like?

A possible new Green Card

Clearly, I have no idea. This is all speculation. But as a guess, this is what I think we may see:

A new and higher annual fee than the current $150 and I’d expect it to be between $195 and $250 (I think Amex will want to keep the new card’s annual fee noticeably lower than the annual fee charged by the Gold Card and that will prevent it from going much higher).

A new and improved welcome offer of between 60,000 and 80,000 Membership Rewards points for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of card membership.

New earning categories and rates.

• Out will go the 3 points/dollar on all travel (that’s too rewarding for an Amex card that costs $250 or less to hold).
• 4 points/dollar on airfare and hotels booked through Amex Travel will be introduced because Amex, like all the major card issuers, seems intent on pushing card holders to its own travel portal (and it won’t want the card to earn as much as the consumer Platinum Card)/
• 3 points/dollar on US supermarket spending will be added as a new bonus category

• The 3 points/dollar on restaurant spending will be maintained.
• 2 points/dollar at gas stations will be introduced as a new bonus category.

In an attempt to justify the higher annual fee, Amex will do what it always does – it will throw in a few new credits (coupons) into the mix while keeping the Clear Plus credit that the legacy card has.

Because Amex seems to be obsessed with “lifestyle” coupons, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a dining credit similar to the one already on the Gold Card introduced (but worth a little less), we may see a small wellness or gym credit added, and a small streaming credit could be introduced as well because, let’s face it, it costs Amex very little to offer something like that.

That’s just about it, I think.

I was tempted to suggest that we may see the 3 points/dollar on all travel reduced to 3 points/dollar on airfare and hotels booked directly and a few more changes around the edges as well, but would Amex feel the need to retire the current Green Card if that’s what it was planning? I don’t think so. I expect the changes to be a bit more radical.

Note: If a new Green Card is introduced, it will be interesting to see if holders of the current Green Card are excluded from earning the welcome offer on the new card.

Bottom line

If my predictions come true (or nearly true), Amex will be making the Green Card noticeably worse than it currently is for people interested in travel (that would be a shame), and we’ll have a card that’s more in line with the lifestyle features that Amex likes to push.

It will be more of an everyday spending card than the travel card it once was.

Admittedly, I’m often way out when it comes to predicting what credit card issuers will and will not do, and the last time we expected Amex to ruin a card (the consumer Platinum refresh), it actually made the card a little better, so my negativity as far as the travel features go may be misplaced.

Nevertheless, I’m tempted to see if there’s a path by which I can downgrade one of my less used Amex Membership Rewards cards (e.g. the legacy EveryDay Card) to the current Green Card just to lock in the 3 points/dollar on all travel that could come in useful.

What do you think Amex has planned for the Green Card?