Home cook and foodie
- Dining $600
- Groceries $600
- Flights $100
- Transit $50
- Other $600
Amex Gold vs Green
Gold and Green both earn Membership Rewards, but they reward different lives. Gold is built for food: elevated earn at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, plus monthly dining-style credits, for a higher fee. Green costs less and spreads its bonus across travel, transit, and restaurants, with few credits to track. The better card depends on your grocery bill and how much you spend getting around.
Fees and credits change—confirm current terms with American Express. Then use the MaxPoints calculator presets below to test both on your real budget.
How MaxPoints helps
Most Gold vs Green articles list perks side by side. MaxPoints compares what each card nets on the dollars you actually spend.
- Pick a preset below, or enter your own monthly spend.
- Count Gold’s credits only if you’d use them without the card.
- Compare Year 1 (with any welcome bonus) and Year 2+ after the fee.
Open the free credit card rewards calculator — no signup required.
Spend presets
Illustrative monthly spends. Open a mix in the calculator, then change any dollar amount.
City commuter
- Dining $300
- Groceries $300
- Flights $150
- Hotels $100
- Transit $300
- Other $700
Frequent traveler
- Dining $400
- Groceries $350
- Flights $350
- Hotels $300
- Transit $150
- Other $800
Quick comparison
Typical differences only. Fees, credits, and earn rates change—confirm current terms with the issuer before you apply.
Fee feel
Amex Gold (typical story)
Higher fee that leans on monthly credits to feel smaller
Amex Green (typical story)
Lower fee with one main credit; earn does the work
Food
Amex Gold (typical story)
Elevated at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, with yearly caps
Amex Green (typical story)
Elevated at restaurants; base rate at supermarkets
Travel and transit
Amex Gold (typical story)
Elevated on flights; base rate on most other travel
Amex Green (typical story)
Elevated on broad travel and transit, including rideshare and parking
Credits
Amex Gold (typical story)
Dining, Uber Cash, and Dunkin’-style monthly credits
Amex Green (typical story)
CLEAR+ credit
Points
Amex Gold (typical story)
Membership Rewards; same transfer partners
Amex Green (typical story)
Membership Rewards; same transfer partners
Best next step
Amex Gold (typical story)
Amex Green (typical story)
| Angle | Amex Gold (typical story) | Amex Green (typical story) |
|---|---|---|
| Fee feel | Higher fee that leans on monthly credits to feel smaller | Lower fee with one main credit; earn does the work |
| Food | Elevated at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, with yearly caps | Elevated at restaurants; base rate at supermarkets |
| Travel and transit | Elevated on flights; base rate on most other travel | Elevated on broad travel and transit, including rideshare and parking |
| Credits | Dining, Uber Cash, and Dunkin’-style monthly credits | CLEAR+ credit |
| Points | Membership Rewards; same transfer partners | Membership Rewards; same transfer partners |
| Best next step | Run Is Amex Gold worth it? | Run Is Amex Green worth it? |
Tips
Groceries usually decide it. A big supermarket bill tilts toward Gold; Green earns only the base rate there.
Transit favors Green. Trains, rideshare, parking, and tolls all count as transit on Green. Enter them honestly.
Be strict with Gold’s credits. Monthly credits only help if you’d spend at those merchants anyway.
You can hold both, but rarely need to. Two Membership Rewards cards with overlapping dining earn usually beat one card by less than the second fee.
Check transfer bonuses. Both cards earn the same points—see active transfer bonuses.
FAQ
Gold usually nets more for people with large dining and grocery budgets who use its credits. Green often nets more for commuters and travelers who eat out but cook less. Run a preset with your numbers.
Only if the extra grocery and dining earn plus credits you’d actually use cover the fee gap. If you wouldn’t use the monthly credits, Green’s lower fee often wins.
Yes. Both earn Membership Rewards points with the same airline and hotel transfer partners.
No. American Express lists Green’s bonus categories as travel, transit, and restaurants worldwide; supermarkets earn the base rate.
Yes. The calculator is free and doesn’t require a signup to compare cards.
Gold vs Green comes down to groceries, transit, and credits. Load a preset, adjust the dollars, and see which card nets more on your wallet.
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