American Express reviews

4.1

81% would recommend to a friend

(18,594 total reviews)
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Stephen J Squeri

89% approve of CEO

79% positive business outlook

American Express has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 18,594 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The American Express employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Finance industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

19K reviews
4.0
Dec 29, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

High work standards, respect for people, work like balance and benefits package. There are also a lot of training opportunities and, if you're smart enough to learn who to connect with, plenty of opportunities for growth. At Amex you have the chance to work with top notch professionals and all sorts of experts, thus learning from the best. Teamwork is a guiding principle and you can always count on people to help you out. If you prove yourself capable and trustworthy you receive lots of autonomy to do your job. Amex is quick to recognize a job well done (sometimes too quick!).

Cons

Base pay at Amex is really poor and the internal mechanisms to assess equity are outdated and way too slow. Having good benefits is just one thing that makes a great place to work great. Amex's compensation philosophy is to pay below the market and compensate with benefits. But to be truly effective the benefits package lacks flexibility (childcare allowances are only useful if you have a child). Therefore, the company should update it's salary position, become more competitive as far as base pay goes, and re think its benefits package to make it more suitable to different employee populations.

4.0
Dec 17, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amex is a company filled with generally bright and dynamic idnviduals. The company places a strong emphasis on people leadership and development, leading bright motivated people to stay and do well, but also generating a strong "insider/outsider" dynamic where it quickly becomes clear that there is a chosen set of individuals who are being tracked for future opportunities. The firm is highly relationship driven, and building internal "champions" and a strong network of relationships is key to ensuring that one ends up on the fast track.

Cons

Comp is definitely below industry standards, but given the tremendous opportunity for work/life balance, AXP can afford to pay less since the roles are generally in strong demand in the market. The company's highly matrixed and consensus driven culture allows people at all levels to be involved in discussions on a wide array of topics (particularly nice for development of problem solving/business judgment as a junior person), but often leads to slow decision making that results in the firm missing major market opportunities.

4.0
Nov 26, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

American Express has very strong values as a company, and it's employees are very dedicated to the vision. As a current employee, I value my management team's commitment to my professional growth and work / life balance. I have been with the company for five years and have been given several opportunities to diversify my skill sets, including specializing in marketing analysis, working overseas to gain international experience (via the 6 month Global Rotation program), doing customer marketing and product marketing. I enjoy working alongside my coworkers and believe that I work amongst the best and brightest in the industry.

Cons

The leadership at American Express is sometimes varied. The company allows you to change jobs every 18 months, and this is very much the culture here. People don't stay in their jobs long enough to make a meaningful impact. This also gives employees the false impression that they have the experience they need to move to Senior Management, just because they've been in 3-4 positions within just a few years. Also, the pay at American Express seems to be below industry standards and is a common complaint amongst coworkers. However I believe the people and the positive work environment may be worth the 10-20% lower pay, as compared to other financial service institutions.

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Glassdoor has 21,948 American Express reviews submitted anonymously by American Express employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if American Express is right for you.