Pros
Adequate benefits. Good time off policies. Plenty of sick time. Lots of internal programs for wellness and family support. Some job descriptions get work from home opportinites, others have mandates for in-office only 5 days a week. There are some great leaders here, people who make you want to do better. Amex follows a balanced scorecard approach to performance that enphasizes goals and leadership. It's not really pay for performance, since you are competing against your own group(no matter how large) in your own pay grade, but if you're a top performer, and you navigate the politics correctly, you will be rewarded.
Cons
Not that this is a con per se, but it's a bank. Make no mistake about this fact. This is a bank holding company that has a large adversion to risk. If you're looking for somehwere to fail quick and often, this is not the place for you. They feed on sure bets, and if it's not a sure thing, they have no problem crashing projects over and over to make them look successful in the end. Unfortunately this really affects the project management and technical staff and their morale, it makes them look like they aren't doing their jobs correctly, however, in reality, they are doing their best to make it all work. Amex is becoming more technologically driven but blocked by legacy midsets. Most of the tech management here are middle aged guys(and women) or older who are used to legacy IT project, operations and engineering development. When they attempt to implement development techniques like Agile methodologies(by decree of upper management) it looks gangly and disorganized. They fail to realize that a mindset change must occur across the whole organization in order to become a high tech, fast moving, technology-based company, not simply introducing a bunch of mis-managed and disjointed methodologies that are trying to be forced into place. Advancement is a tricky thing here at Amex. Politics play a large role. SVPs choose VPs, VPs choose Directors and Directors choose managers based on unpublished and many times intangible criteria. Again, if you are a top performer, you WILL be recognized, but you may not even be close to getting a promotion. There is a standing mandate for preference towards women and minorities(if applicable) however, in my experience, the pool for outstanding women and minorities is very small compared to other demographics. However, the biggest CON is the lack of a documented path to advancement. No one can tell you exactly how to move up. They will tell you what they "think" is the way, or maybe the way "they" did it, but there is no documented or accurate way to plan your development. The real answer, as someone already reviewed, is to build sponsorship and followership within the company and hope that a well fitting position opens under a leader you know.