Quick Stats

Type – Public (NYSE: AXP)
Founded – 1850
Founder(s) – Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield
Headquarters – New York City,
Key people – Kenneth Chenault (Chairman & CEO)
Industry – Finance, insurance, and travel agencies
Products – Financial and travel services
Revenue – US$ 31.92 billion (2008)
Operating income – US$ 6.68 billion (2008)
Net income – US$2.69 billion (2008)
Total assets – US$126.07 billion (2008)
Total equity – US$11.84 billion (2008)
Employees – 67,701 (2008)
Website – AmericanExpress.com

Brief History –

American Express was founded in 1850, as an express mail business in Albany, New York. Initially, it was joint stock corporation by the merger of the express companies owned by Henry Wells, William Fargo , and John Warren Butterfield.

Eventually, American Express expanded nationwide by arranging affiliations with other express companies.

Current History

Amex is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best known for its
credit card, charge card, and traveler’s cheque businesses. Amex cards account for approximately 24% of the total dollar volume of credit card transactions in the US, the highest of any card issuer.

For 2008, American Express was named the 62nd best company to work for in the United States by Fortune, ranking it number one for bank card companies.

As recently as November 10, 2008, during the financial crisis, the company won Federal Reserve System approval to convert to a bank holding company, making it eligible for government help under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

At that time, American Express had total consolidated assets of about $127 billion. In June 2009, $3.39 billion
in TARP funds were repaid plus $74.4 million in dividend payments, and in July 2009 they ended their obligations under TARP by buying back $340 million in Treasury warrants.

Products And Services

#1. Consumer Cards

American Express is best known for its iconic Green, Gold, and Platinum charge cards, and offers credit cards of similar color levels in most countries. (See here for American Express Rewards Catalog)

In 1999, American Express introduced the Centurion Card, often referred to as the “black card,” catering to an even more affluent and elite customer segment. The card initially charged a $1000 annual fee at the time of its introduction (today, it is $2500 with an additional one-time initiation fee of $5,000). The Centurion product offers a variety of exclusive benefits.

There have always been rumors of a super-exclusive card that gives American Express’ richest and most powerful customers special perks. It was this rumor that caused Amex to profit from the word-of-mouth and sparked the launch of Centurion

As of 2005, the US Centurion card has a $2,500 annual fee, while other American Express cards range between no annual fee (for Blue and many other consumer and business cards) and a $450 annual fee (for the Platinum Card). Annual fees for the Green card start at $55 (without Membership Rewards), while Gold card annual fees start at $150.

American Express has several co-branded credit cards, with most falling into one of two categories:

Airlines and hotels: e.g. Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, JetBlue Airways, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Hilton Hotels, and others
Retailers: e.g. Costco, David Jones, Holt Renfrew, Harrods and others

#2.Business cards and services

In 2008, American Express made a decision to close all Business Line of Credit accounts. This decision was reached in tandem with the Federal Reserve’s approval of American Express’s request to become a Commercial Bank.

#3.Non-proprietary cards
Until 2004, Visa and MasterCard rules prohibited issuers of their cards from issuing American Express cards in the United States. This meant, as a practical matter, that U.S. banks could not issue American Express cards.These rules were struck down as a result of antitrust litigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, and are no longer in effect. In January 2004, American Express reached a deal to have its cards issued by a U.S. bank, MBNA America.

#4.Traveler’s cheques
Amex is the largest provider of traveler’s cheques in the world.In 2005, American Express released the American Express Travelers Cheque Card, a stored-value card that serves the same purposes as a traveler’s cheque, but can be used in stores like a credit card. The card has since been discontinued as of October 31, 2007, due to “changing market conditions”. All cardholders were issued refund checks for the remaining balances.