Alitalia Green American Express card: the one card you absolutely must have
Free for the first year, the is the perfect choice for those who are approaching the world for the first time [...]
Free for the first year, the Alitalia Green American Express Card is the perfect choice for those approaching for the First time to the world of reward travel.
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On all purchases, it boasts a 1-to-1 exchange rate: every euro spent equals a mile. If you then make the purchases with Alitalia, each euro is equivalent to two qualifying miles. Miles that, subsequently, can be used to claim prize tickets to destinations in Italy, Europe and the rest of the world.
Why do the Alitalia Green American Express
This is the card that everyone who plans to detach an award ticket with Alitalia must have in one's wallet, indeed I have had it for 6 years and it has never left the drawer in my house.
The reason is only one and is called Milesback, That is, the cashback of miles. Every time you buy an Alitalia ticket with miles you will immediately get back 20% of the miles used, so a business class to Tokyo will cost us 120k MM points, but 24k will be immediately returned to us. That's why this benefit alone is worth the annual fee of the card.
In addition to this there is the classic advantage of all Alitalia cards, namely the possibility of getting the companion ticket. Every year spending at least 15,000 with the card you will receive a voucher valid for getting a completely free award ticket every award ticket redeemed.
Expenses become Millemiglia points
By using the Alitalia American Express Verde card for your purchases, you earn 1 mile for every euro you spend. If you use the card to buy tickets from Alitalia (but also from its SkyTeam partners or others such as Etihad Airways), each euro equals 2 qualifying miles instead. What are the qualifying miles? It is those miles that allow to join or renew membership in the Exclusive Clubs (Ulysses Club, Winged Arrow Club and Winged Arrow Plus Club).
The miles earned can be used to apply for prize tickets:
- 12,000 miles for a one-way flight to Italian destinations
- 25,000 miles for a round-trip flight to France, Britain and Greece
- 50,000 miles for a round-trip flight to Cuba, mainland U.S. and Maldives
The welcome bonus
By signing up for the Alitalia Verde American Express card, you get up to 4,000 bonus miles: the first 2,000 as a "welcome" when the card is issued, the other 2,000 if you make At least 5 transactions within 90 days of its issuance.
Travel insurance (and more)
Not only does the Alitalia American Express Verde card offer 90-day protection of up to 1,300 euros on purchases made, but it also includes a'travel inconvenience and accident insurance with 24-hour assistance, accident and inconvenience protection (flight delay or cancellation, non-delivery of luggage), medical consultations, hospitalization, transmission of urgent messages and sending essential items with coverage up to 3,000 euros.
How to apply for the card
To obtain one's card it is necessary:
- be of legal age
- Be a resident of Italy or have an Italian correspondence address
- Have a gross annual income of at least 11,000 euros
- be enrolled in the MilleMiglia program
- Have a bank or postal account belonging to the SEPA circuit
The card can be easily applied for online at this link, will then be delivered to one's home.
The differences from Green American Express
L'American Express Green gives away Membership Rewards Club membership, an American Express loyalty program that guarantees one Membership Rewards point for every euro spent. L'Alitalia American Express Green on the other hand does not allow you to accumulate points but miles, to claim award tickets.
Thus, the two cards have comparable guarantees and benefits, but if you want to enter the American Express world while not having a very high income, and you want to make your purchases pay for flying (especially with Alitalia), the Alitalia American Express Verde is the best choice.
