The American Express Green Card is a no-frills starter card that can be good for those with a new or recovering credit file and want to start earning American Express Membership Rewards points along the way.

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The American Express Green Card currently offers 12,500 Membership Rewards points upon spending $1,200 in the first three months.

If you’re looking for a no-fee “keeper card” to support your credit history in the long run, this may well be the card. Supplementary cards are also free.

The Amex Green Card offers a basic earning rate of 1 MR point per dollar spent on all purchases.

While the earning rate isn't the most competitive, earning 1 MR point per dollar spent can still be better than some other entry-level cards offered by other banks. You'll also earn 1 additional MR per dollar spent when booking your hotel or car rental through Amex Travel Online.

The Amex Green Card is best-suited for those who are interested in collecting MR points while building up a relatively new credit file or restricting themselves to lower annual fees and credit limits.

The Membership Rewards program offers outstanding redemption opportunities. This is primarily because it’s a flexible, transferable rewards currency.

You can transfer your MR points to these airline and hotel programs at the following rates:

Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio
The British Airways Club at a 1:1 ratio
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles at a 1:0.75 ratio
Air France KLM Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio
Delta SkyMiles at a 1:0.75 ratio
Etihad Guest at a 1:0.75 ratio
Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1.2 ratio
Hilton Honors at a 1:1 ratio

What makes Membership Rewards points so powerful is that they can pretty much do everything that all other points currencies in Canada can, but they can also do much more.

By earning a single points currency, you have access to airlines in all three major alliances, and within each of those programs, you also have access to other external partners, too.

Air Canada's Aeroplan gives you access to Star Alliance-member airlines, such as All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, and more, as well as external partners, such as Etihad Airways, Virgin Australia, and more.

The Essential Guide to Aeroplan

The British Airways Club gives you access to oneworld-member airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and more. Plus, you can also convert your British Airways Avios into other "flavours" of Avios, which can result in some excellent redemption opportunities.

The Essential Guide to the British Airways Club

Air France KLM Flying Blue gives you access to SkyTeam-member airlines, such as Delta Air Lines, China Airlines, and more, as well as external partners such as Etihad Airways and even WestJet.

The Essential Guide to Air France KLM Flying Blue

Furthermore, you can redeem MR points directly for flights through the Amex Fixed Points Travel reward chart, although these are limited to round-trip flights departing from Canada.

Lastly, you have the option of redeeming MR points directly against travel purchases at a rate of 1 cent per point (cpp), although this is typically not recommended, as the value pales in comparison to what you could get by booking flights through Aeroplan, Avios, or even the Fixed Points Travel chart.

As a basic card no-fee card, the American Express Green Card has no special benefits but you'll still get to enjoy some perks of being an American Express cardholder.

If you enjoy watching concerts, theatre productions, or other special events, your Green card will give you access to presale and reserved tickets through Amex's Front Of The Line® program and with Amex Experiences.

You can take advantage of specially-tailored Amex Offers for extra value when used at specific dining venues, shops, and more.

The American Express Green Card doesn't offer any travel-related insurance, but it does offers two types of basic insurance for cardholders, which is nice to see on a no-fee card:

Buyer’s Assurance Protection Plan, which automatically doubles the manufacturer’s warranty on a new purchase, up to one year.
Purchase Protection Plan, which covers most eligible items you’ve purchased with your card up to $1,000 should they be stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase.