Amex Business Green Card now offering up to 150,000 points in the first 3 months

Sept. 12, 2019

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5 min read

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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Amex has been stepping up its business credit card welcome offers as of late. First, Amex launched a 100,000-point welcome offer on The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and now it has revamped the offer for the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express. Beginning Sept. 12, 2019, new cardholders will earn 3x Membership Rewards points during the first three months on the first $50,000 spent at U.S. restaurants and on hotel stays and airfare booked directly through the hotel or airline. This limited-time offer is replacing the card's abysmal 5,000-point welcome offer. The information for the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you maximize your earning potential, you can earn up to 150,000 points in your first three months with the card — worth $3,000, according to TPG valuations.

There are a couple of drawbacks to this welcome bonus that you should consider before hitting the "apply" button.

First, this offer comes with a price. The $95 annual fee will no longer be waived in the first year (see rates and fees). The bonus also requires a high $50,000 spend on eligible purchases to earn the full 150,000 points. While it's certainly feasible for a small business to spend $50,000 in such a short time, it's not a great selling point for a small business card with no travel perks.

Plus, if your small business spends $50,000 in the span of three months on dining and travel, you're likely better off applying for the Amex Business Platinum. That card is currently offering a 100,000-point tiered bonus — and you only have to spend $25,000 (not limited to specific bonus categories) within the first three months to earn that full bonus. You're also earning 5x on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, meaning you could easily earn the additional 50,000 points needed to match the Business Green Card's bonus by spending $10,000 on eligible travel purchases.

As a cherry on top, the Amex Business Platinum comes with premium travel benefits such as a 35% points rebate on certain award flight bookings, an up to $200 airline fee credit, TSA PreCheck/Global Entry Entry application fee credit (up to $100), lounge access and elite gold status with both Marriott and Hilton. High business travel spenders are going to be able to milk a lot more value out of the Platinum than the Green, especially with both cards offering comparable bonuses.

Another downside is that the earning categories for the Business Green Card's bonus expire after the first three months. After that, you'll only earn 1x at U.S. restaurants and on travel booked directly with hotels and airlines. You'll earn 2x points on hotel stays and airfare booked through amextravel.com, but that's the only bonus category offered after the intro period and it's quite limited. Once again, if your main spending category is business travel, you're better off with the Amex Business Platinum.

Even still, the Business Green Card does offer a compelling welcome bonus for business owners who have already earned the Amex Business Platinum bonus (remember, Amex limits welcome bonus earning to once per card per lifetime) or who don't spend enough on travel to justify the Platinum's high $595 annual fee long-term (see rates and fees).

Bottom line

If you're planning to spend more than $1,667 at restaurants and on travel booked directly with hotels and airlines within the first three months, this special offer is more valuable than the standard Amex Business Green welcome bonus, which clocks in at only $100 in value. While I won't argue that Amex offers better business cards for frequent travelers in both the American Express® Business Gold Card and the Amex Business Platinum, this bonus is a potentially lucrative one for anyone who has already earned bonuses for those other cards.

Additionally, smaller-budget business travelers can still take advantage of the Membership Rewards program and Amex's small business card perks like the American Express® Business App, Account Manager access and more without having to pay such a high annual fee each year.

This offer is only available through Nov. 6, 2019, so make sure to apply before then if you want to take advantage of it.

APPLY HERE: The Business Green Rewards Card from American Express offering up to 150,000 points in the first three months.

For rates and fees of the Amex Business Green Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, please click here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.