Amex green was my gateway Amex. Like others here, I applied for it when my monthly credit limit was extremely low but needed flexibility to spend more some months than CCs would allow. I loved the classic look of the green. It felt old school and premium.

But it didn't just feel premium. It was premium. Everything from the quality of the customer service professional on the other end of the phone, to the extra car rental insurance, to the quality of the membership rewards redemptions was significantly better than anything I had at the time. I remember the first time they made a charge disappear. I had ordered some goofy kitsch from the web (years before Amazon sold goofy kitsch) that arrived broken. No hassle. No forms. No forcing me to dispute with the merchant. They just took my word for it and poof it was gone. A year or two later, I got tagged with a EUR 2K fine from Hertz for scratching a rental car in Spain. Also gone. Fraudulent charges? Gone. Never more than a 10 minute phone call. Year after year AMEX proved to be an invaluable partner in my wallet.

I eventually upgraded to the gold -- lured by 3x on this and 2x on that. My first purchase was my wife's engagement ring so I could hit the spend bonus. It never matched the class of the green IMHO, but I was ready to reach new mileage and points heights.

And then I finally upgraded to the plat -- lured by perks galore, another bonus, no FX fees, and less reliance on MR. What's interesting is that the feeling of Amex being premium has stayed with me for 15+ years. Even after having tried the top offerings from the likes of Chase and Citi, Amex continues to stand out in my mind by offering something a little extra.

Maybe that little extra isn't worth $95 (or ~$65 when I first signed up), but I'm glad I paid it, and Amex is definitely glad to have had me as a satisfied sucker for all of these years.