American Express, or Amex, is best known as a credit card issuer, but its product offerings aren’t limited to just credit accounts. Amex’s online bank has more to offer, including personal savings and checking accounts, loans, investment management services, and business accounts and lines of credit.
American Express National Bank’s product offerings
American Express National Bank currently offers the following products and account options:
American Express Rewards Checking
Existing American Express cardholders can apply for a rewards checking account that has no required opening deposit and no monthly fees and offers membership rewards points on eligible debit card purchases.
High-yield savings accounts
American Express offers a high-yield online savings account with no minimum balance requirements or monthly fees. This account currently boasts an annual percentage yield (APY) of more than 4% — interest compounds daily and is deposited into your account every month.
Certificates of deposit (CDs)
American Express’s CD accounts come in various term lengths, ranging from 11 months to five years, with interest rates as high as 4.50%. This account has no minimum balance requirement or monthly fee. Interest is compounded daily and deposited monthly until your CD matures.
Individual retirement accounts
American Express offers traditional or Roth IRA plans for retirement savers who want to grow their savings tax-free or tax-deferred. Customers can choose between an IRA High Yield Savings or IRA Certificate of Deposit account. These accounts have no monthly fees and no minimum deposit amount to open.
Credit cards
American Express’s list of available credit cards is expansive, it includes travel cards, cash back cards, rewards cards, cards with no annual fee, 0% introductory APR cards, airline credit cards, hotel credit cards, low-interest cards, and balance transfer cards.
Personal loans
American Express cardmembers can apply to finance personal expenses with a personal loan ranging from $3,500 to $40,000. Amex personal loans can be used to consolidate debt, make home improvements, fund big purchases, and more. Amex does have rules against using these loans for post-secondary education expenses, real estate, business, securities, vehicle purchases (other than as down payment for a vehicle), and to pay balances on American Express-issued Cards.
Business banking
Business customers can take advantage of American Express’ business checking accounts, business credit cards, payment solutions, corporate cards, business lines of credit, and more.
Account fees
Here’s a closer look at the account fees American Express National Banking customers can expect to pay:
Monthly fee for online checking: $0
Monthly fee for online savings: $0
Incoming wire transfer fee: $0
Outgoing wire transfer fee: $20 per transfer
Overdraft fee: $0
Pros and cons of American Express National Bank
Customers should note a few major perks and drawbacks before banking with American Express.
American Express National Bank pros
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No monthly fees. American Express does not charge banking customers any fees for monthly account maintenance.
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No overdraft fees. Account holders won’t be charged an overdraft fee for transactions that overdraft their account, even if that transaction results in a negative balance.
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No minimum opening deposits. Amex’s bank accounts don’t have minimum opening deposit requirements, meaning customers can decide how much they want to deposit into their bank account.
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24/7 customer service hours. Amex banking representatives are available 24/7 via phone or online chat.
American Express National Bank cons
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Limited account offerings. Apart from its selection of credit cards, American Express offers few bank account options, with just one checking account and savings account to choose from. Although, it does offer more than one CD term.
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No physical branches. American Express is an online-only bank with no physical bank branches for customers to visit. Banking customers must do all of their banking online or via mobile app.
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Must have an Amex card to open a checking account. Amex has certain requirements for its checking account that limit availability to all consumers. To open a checking account, you must have a basic U.S. consumer card issued by American Express at least three months old.
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Savings accounts do not come with an ATM card. Amex doesn’t provide ATM cards for savings account holders, which could make it a bit more challenging to access your funds quickly if you need to.
American Express National Bank customer support and mobile banking experience
American Express National Banking representatives are available via telephone and live chat 24/7. General inquiries and deposits can also be made via mail.
Customers can use the American Express mobile app to check account balances and pending transactions, set payment reminders, track and redeem membership points, and more. The app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play and has a rating of 4.9 and 4.0, respectively.
American Express National Bank’s social and environmental impact
American Express’s social and environmental goals include three key pillars — building financial confidence, advancing climate solutions, and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In 2022, Amex made progress toward those goals by issuing over two million new cards to cardmembers from underrepresented groups and investing more than $500 million in investments, community development loans, and grants to support affordable housing, small business needs, and job creation.
In the past year, American Express submitted emissions reduction targets to the Science Based Targets initiative as part of its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2035. Amex also spent over $750 million with underrepresented-owned suppliers in 2022, including $60 million with Black-owned suppliers to help promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
American Express National Bank FAQs
Does American Express have a bank?
Yes. American Express is most popularly known as a credit card provider, but it does have a banking arm with consumer banking products.
Does American Express National Bank have any brick-and-mortar locations?
No. American Express does not have physical bank branches. However, it offers a fee-free ATM network of more than 37,000 MoneyPass ATMs nationwide for cash withdrawals.
Is American Express National Bank FDIC Insured?
Yes. American Express National Bank is an FDIC-insured institution.
Our methodology
Our grading system, collected and carefully reviewed by our personal finance experts, comprised over 600 data points for over 20 FDIC-insured online banks to develop our list of the top 10 best online banks. We compared these banks across key metrics, including fees, customer experience, product selection, account features and security, and environmental and social responsibility.
The banks on our list could earn a maximum of 75 points across all five categories. Here’s a closer look at the categories we considered:
Fees: 20 points
We weighed each bank’s fees for its most basic checking and savings account options, as well as overdraft fees and ATM fees. Banks were awarded points for having no or lower fees, greater fee transparency, and clear, easy-to-access fee structures.
Customer service experience: 28 points
Customer service is a key element in a bank’s product offering, especially with online banks, where visiting a branch and asking for in-person help is usually impossible. Banks were scored on metrics including mobile app ratings on Apple and Google storefronts and methods for reaching customer service representatives. Banks that offered phone, chat, and email contacts were awarded the maximum points in that category.
We examined each website for information clarity as part of the customer service offering assessment. This subjective assessment looked at each bank’s website design, ease of navigation, language clarity, and whether customers could easily gather all the needed information to make an informed decision about any particular product.
We also awarded points to banks that offered more extensive ATM networks, credit monitoring tools, and educational resources.
Product selection and account features: 14 points
Each bank we analyzed could earn one point per product for each of the following:
We also looked at the speed of ACH transfers and gave banks points for same- or next-day transfers, early access to paychecks, Zelle as a service, and being part of FedNow — the Federal Reserve’s instant payment service.
Security: 10 points
We carefully considered each bank’s security measures to protect your money and sensitive information. We looked at factors such as multi-factor authentication, website encryption, alerts for suspicious activity, zero fraud liability, and whether each bank had a dedicated security page or hub.
Environmental and social responsibility: 3 points
Many consumers consider a bank’s carbon footprint and philanthropic efforts before deciding on a particular institution. As such, banks that have dedicated pages to their philanthropic efforts and environmental goals, and have pledged to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 scored up to 3 points for doing so.