American Express Announces $500 Million Public Equity Offering of Common Stock

NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
American Express announced today that it has commenced a public offering of $500
million of its common stock for sale to the public. American Express will also
grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $75
million of its common stock.

The company will use the capital raised through the equity offering for general
corporate purposes which may include, subject to regulatory approval, the
partial funding of a repurchase of $3.4 billion of preferred shares issued to
the U.S. Treasury as part of the Capital Purchase Program (CPP).

The company announced last month that it was seeking permission to repay the
government investment, after receiving a final report from the Federal Reserve
that concluded there would be "no capital need" under the more adverse
assumptions used by the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program. In accordance
with guidance from the Federal Reserve, the company`s public equity offering is
a precondition to repurchasing the preferred shares issued to the Treasury.

"We`ve always viewed the Capital Purchase Program as a temporary program and are
pleased to be in position to repurchase the preferred shares issued to the
Treasury," said Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer,
American Express.

American Express has filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will file a prospectus supplement related to
this offering. Prospective investors should read the registration statement
(including the base prospectus), the prospectus supplement and other documents
the company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the
company and the offering. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell
or the solicitation of any offer to buy the common stock, nor shall there be any
offer or sale of the common stock in any jurisdiction in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The offering will be made only by means
of a prospectus. Investors may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on
the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Additionally, the prospectus can be requested
by contacting Goldman, Sachs & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 85 Broad
Street, New York, NY 10004, telephone: 212-902-1171 or 866-471-2526, fax:
212-902-9316, email: Prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com.

American Express Company is a leading global payments and travel company founded
in 1850.

The information presented in this press release may contain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements, which may be expressed in a variety of ways, including
the use of future or present tense language, relate to, among other things, the
company`s expectations with respect to the repayment of the CPP investment.
These statements are based upon current beliefs and expectations and are subject
to significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the company`s
control). Factors that could cause the company`s results to differ materially
can be found in the risk factors set forth in the Company`s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company`s Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, the prospectus relating to
the offering and the Company`s other filings with the SEC.

American Express Company
Media:
Joanna Lambert, 212-640-9668
joanna.g.lambert@aexp.com
or
Michael O`Neill, 212-640-5951
mike.o`neill@aexp.com
or
Investors/Analysts:
Alex Hopwood, 212-640-5495
alex.w.hopwood@aexp.com
or
Ron Stovall, 212-640-5574
ronald.stovall@aexp.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009