Great opportunities if you can 'play the game' well - Director American Express Employee Review

4.0
Nov 18, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The number one pro is the people you will work with: Amex attracts people who are not only smart and driven to succeed, but in general are willing to help others along the way. It is a highly collaborative environment - in part this is forced by the matrixed organizational structure, and this can be a negative in that it slows down decision-making, but it is also an outcome of the type of individuals who get hired, and who stick around. Second, while it is a brand-driven company renowned for its advertising, it is a fundamentally sound business with extraordinary attention paid to risk assessment and quantifiable outcomes. If you don't have a finance background or an aptitude for numbers you can certainly get by, but if you can combine quant savvy with creative thinking and influencing skills you will do very well. Management is generally very open to work-life balance needs, and takes employee development and satisfaction extremely seriously. There are exceptions of course, but there are a lot of good people leaders here.

Cons

Performance doesn't always guarantee career success - beyond a certain level - probably Director or above - you need a senior leader acting as your 'champion', to get you in the door and then keep you moving forward. The company tends to dip its toes in cutting edge segments, but when times get tough they are the first to go regardless of their strategic, long-term importance. The need to manage multiple stakeholders for every decision can be frustrating, and often there is no clear 'owner' for a decision.

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5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work-life balance and benefits

Cons

Outdated systems and people repeating work

3.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Complimentary lunch and starbucks everyday - On-site clinic for basic check ups - Hybrid

Cons

you will be taking phone calls every minute of the day. There will come a time where you feel like at the bottom of the world. You will ask yourself "is my role in life to help people reset their password online and assist them in logging in?" You cannot use the bathroom whenever you want, they have time coding that if you "abuse" them you will be flagged and subject to discipline. You have to give world class service but at the same time rush them off the phone or else you are not getting paid a good bonus. You will quickly find yourself gasping for air and time to relax when you take 50+ calls a day , you will feel drained. When is finally time to move up there is a high chance you will be paid less than you're current role as there are no bonuses in higher roles.

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