Pros
Amex has developed a strong culture which promotes diversity, openness, and personal development. Embodying that culture are people who are generally friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. Not many Type-A personalities here, lots of B+s, which is a good thing in my book. Makes it a lot easier to come to work each day. While not true of every group/function, Amex overall keeps its promise of work-life balance, especially for NYC. Nearly 4 weeks of vacation for managers, plus 4 summer flex days. A 45-55 hour work week is typical for the people around me. At Amex, you are expected to change jobs about every 1.5 - 2 years. You post internally and interview. Your networking ability is tested and rewarded. This is great for people who tend to get bored easily, and offers a way to develop new skills and handle new responsibilities. As a premier financial services company, amex has many international opportunities in some of the world's greatest cities. Movement across geographies is supported and encouraged (esp when the economic environment is healthy).
Cons
There are some things that plague Amex. One is slow decision making... it can take weeks or months for even minor projects to build consensus and finally get underway (if lucky). Powerpoint is the local language, and countless presentations often result in limbo. I often feel as if management is overstaffed. The current economic conditions will result in upcoming layoffs - I am skeptical that senior management will make the best decisions regarding who to keep, but I hope to be proved wrong. One large underlying concern is the lack of technological competence that is pervasive throughout the organization. As a credit card company, we have a tremendous abundance of data about our cardmembers and the merchants at which they spend. This can clearly provide a huge competitive advantage for us, but I don't feel the company spends enough time or money to truly develop the infrastructure it needs to benefit from this data. We need to start thinking about ourselves as a technology company in part, or risk getting left behind by network competitors, Visa and Mastercard. It is worth mentioning that the company has poor health benefits. If you are single, and in relative good health, then this is not a big concern, but this tends to be a common area of concern for many employees..