amex green card
The American Express® Green Card

Update: After a ton of time on this, I’ve reversed course.

Please see:

Amex Green Card Is Not a “Credit” Card After All, It Just Acts Like One (Well, I’m 99.99% Sure…)

I’m leaving the below post (with a line through it) for posterity, but the link above is my current and hopefully final thought on this.

I’m completely surprised by this. On the heels of my post about the relaunch of the American Express Green Card, someone asked me about this yesterday and I shrugged it off. Of course it is a charge card, I said. All the Amex Membership Rewards cards in the Green, Gold, Platinum family always have been.

Well, that’s not the case.

amex green card
The New American Express Green Card

The New American Express Green Card is a Credit Card, Not a Charge Card

The new Amex Green Card is actually a credit card, not a charge card as originally thought. While a bit strange that just one of the entire Green/Gold/Platinum family would be credit while the rest are charge, this is straight from Amex.

What this means:

Amex generally limits a cardmember to 5-6 credit cards (personal and small business combined), while they have no limit on charge cards.  This means that whereas if it had been a Green Charge Card you would have been eligible no matter how many credit cards you had. But since it’s a credit card, you’ll need to have room in your Amex portfolio to apply.

Bonus Eligibility:

They still state that if you had the Green Card before, you are not eligible for a welcome bonus on this card, even though it’s credit and not charge and therefore, to me anyway, a new product. But they have clearly stated this ineligibility in the Offer Terms.

Are Existing Green Card Charge Cardholders Being Converted to Credit Card Holders?

This is actually an important question due to the fact that if it’s suddenly now added to your credit card count, it could impact you getting that 5th or 6th Amex credit card you may have been planning on.

I don’t have the answer yet. But I have an inquiry out and will report back when I have the official answer.

Questions?

Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.

New to all of this? My new “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available now.

 

11 COMMENTS

  1. I’m not so sure this is correct. In the agreement, it gives an APR “for Pay Over Time feature” – that’s in line with their Gold card, which is a charge card on which you are automatically enrolled for Pay Over Time. It also does not mention a credit limit, just a cash advance and a Pay Over Time limit – again, in line with the Gold card.

    It would also completely eliminate the possibility to downgrade from an Amex Gold.

  2. I agree it is confusing and despite my feeling like I was very clear with my questions to them earlier, I’m reaching back out again with even more specific clarification where it cannot possibly be mis-stated and I will report back if this flip-flops again.

  3. I applied last night. It does not have a set credit limit. It mentions pay over time. Sure looks like charge card terminology. Is there something specific I can look for in the agreement?

  4. @clyn6 – I have a third query out to Amex but won’t expect to hear back until Monday. I fully agree it looks in all ways to be a charge card. And I originally wrote it was a charge card. And then Amex specially wrote to advise that it was incorrect and it’s a credit card and subject to the 5-6 card credit card maximum.

    I *still* am not 100% convinced due to all the terms as you describe so hopefully I’ll hear back something more concrete Monday.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if this changes again.

  5. Thank you! This is important as I have been struggling to hold out for 4/24 to apply for a Chase card but could not resist the 45k MR pts. Spouse is 4/24 in December but if this card will not mess that up I would love to get this bonus for him as well! If this does not count towards 5/24 I am still on track if I can hold out until April 2020. Five months seems like a very long time! : )

  6. A new Amex personal card ALWAYS counts against 5/24, whether it’s a charge card or a credit card! The 5-card limit referenced in the article is Amex’s internal limit on how many Amex credit cards you can have open.

  7. @clyn6 – as George says this has no effect on the Chase 5/24 rule. It’s a different rule where Amex only lets you have 5 to 6 credit cards but also unlimited charge cards.

    What you may be thinking of are Business credit cards which (excepting Capital One and Discover) don’t affect your 5/24 count… although you won’t be approved for new Chase business cards either once you are at 5/24.

  8. Actually, I do think the new Amex Green card is a credit card. When I applied for it on Friday, Oct 25th, I was given the option to have my card number and credit limit available for online purchases immediately prior to the arrival of a physical card. It is one of the interesting features from Amex which I can’t recall other banks provide. In the end, the computer system was not able to generate my new numbers but the screen had the following message: “ We are sorry, our systems are not responding at this time. We are unable to provide you with our card number and your credit limit now.” The “CREDIT LIMIT” phrase can mean only one, as Dave Grossman suggests, that the AmEx new green card is indeed a credit cars and not a charge card. I would like to also share with everyone that in restitution for my inconvenience the following message was displayed on my computer screen: “while you await your new card, we will award you $60 in the form of a credit statement”. Finally, my offer was not for 30,000 miles but 45,000 instead. I followed the trick first reported Ian Snyder on “Miles to Memory Newsletter” – I used a chrome browser in an incognito mode while searching for the offer. Good luck everyone!

  9. Messages like that are “universal” and don’t always apply. Here is the Instant Card Number section from the Offer & Benefit Terms on the Platinum:

    Instant Card Number
    Instant Card Number eligibility is based on our ability to instantly validate your identity. If you are eligible for Instant Card Number, you will receive an Instant Card Number that you can use virtually anywhere American Express is accepted and a physical Card will not be required. You may not have access to your full credit line to use anywhere the Card is accepted until after you confirm receipt of your physical Card. We will mail your card in 3-5 business days of account approval.

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