Why the notice exists: federal rules on sharing and limits
American Express says financial companies choose how they share your personal information, that federal law gives consumers the right to limit some but not all sharing, and that federal law requires it to tell you how it collects, shares and protects your personal information.
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Supporting quotations
Financial companies choose how they share your personal information. Federal law gives consumers the right to limit some but not all sharing. Federal law also requires us to tell you how we collect, share, and protect your personal information.
Qualifications & exceptions
Which kinds of sharing federal law lets you limit is spelled out in the "Why can't I limit all sharing of personal information?" row, not in this row.
Sharing & Disclosure · Context
How to read the sharing table, with the California rule
The notice says all financial companies need to share customers' personal information to run their everyday business, and that the table lists the reasons financial companies can share, the reasons American Express chooses to share, and whether you can limit that sharing. Each row of the table reads across three columns: the reason, whether American Express shares for it, and whether you can limit it. For accounts with a California billing address, American Express says it will not share personal information except to the extent permitted under California law.
Details
Where
California billing address
Condition
account has a California billing address
Supporting quotations
In the section below, we list the reasons financial companies can share their customers' personal information; the reasons American Express chooses to share; and whether you can limit this sharing.
Reasons we can share personal information | Does American Express share? | Can you limit this sharing?
If your American Express account has a California billing address, we will not share your personal information except to the extent permitted under California law.
Qualifications & exceptions
The California statement applies when the American Express account has a California billing address.
The California statement sits in the closing "Other important information" section, below the table.
Not stated here
The source does not say what California law permits, so the effect of the California statement on any particular table row is not stated.
Sharing for everyday business purposes: yes, you cannot limit it
American Express shares personal information for its everyday business purposes, such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus. The table's limit column says No: you cannot limit this sharing.
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Supporting quotations
For our everyday business purposes - such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus | Yes | No
Qualifications & exceptions
The examples are introduced with "such as", so they are illustrations rather than a closed list.
Sharing & Disclosure · Company practice
Sharing for American Express's own marketing: yes, no limit in this table
American Express shares personal information for its own marketing purposes, to offer its products and services to you. The table's limit column says No, but points to the "To limit direct marketing" box for additional privacy choices.
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Supporting quotations
For our marketing purposes - to offer our products and services to you | Yes | No (but please see the "To limit direct marketing" box below for information about additional privacy choices)
Qualifications & exceptions
The additional privacy choices are about direct marketing communications and are described in the "To limit direct marketing" box, not in this row.
Cross-references
contrast (model-proposed): Sharing for joint marketing with other financial companies — Own-marketing sharing is for American Express's offers to you; joint marketing is a formal agreement between nonaffiliated companies that together market to you. Both rows answer Yes with no limit in the table.
Sharing & Disclosure · Company practice
Sharing for joint marketing with other financial companies
American Express shares personal information for joint marketing with other financial companies, and the limit column says No. The notice defines joint marketing as a formal agreement between nonaffiliated companies that together market financial products or services to you, and says its joint marketing partners include financial companies.
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Supporting quotations
For joint marketing with other financial companies | Yes | No
A formal agreement between nonaffiliated companies that together market financial products or services to you. ● Our joint marketing partners include financial companies.
Qualifications & exceptions
"Include" means the partners named are not stated to be the only kind of partner.
Not stated here
The source does not name any joint marketing partner or say which information is shared with them.
Cross-references
contrast (model-proposed): Sharing for American Express's own marketing: yes, no limit in this table — Own-marketing sharing is for American Express's offers to you; joint marketing is a formal agreement between nonaffiliated companies that together market to you. Both rows answer Yes with no limit in the table.
Sharing & Disclosure · Company practice
Affiliates' everyday business purposes: transactions and experiences
American Express shares information about your transactions and experiences with its affiliates for the affiliates' everyday business purposes. The limit column says No: you cannot limit this sharing.
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Supporting quotations
For our affiliates' everyday business purposes - information about your transactions and experiences | Yes | No
Qualifications & exceptions
This row is about information on transactions and experiences; creditworthiness information is a separate row with a different limit answer.
Cross-references
defined by (model-proposed): Definition of affiliates — The affiliates definition explains who the affiliates in this row are.
Sharing & Disclosure · User right or choice
Affiliates' everyday business purposes: creditworthiness, which you can limit
American Express shares information about your creditworthiness with its affiliates for the affiliates' everyday business purposes, and the limit column says Yes: you can limit this sharing. For accounts with a Vermont billing address, American Express says it automatically treats the account as if you had directed it not to share creditworthiness information with its Affiliates.
Details
Where
Vermont billing address
Condition
account has a Vermont billing address
Supporting quotations
For our affiliates' everyday business purposes - information about your creditworthiness | Yes | Yes
If your American Express account has a Vermont billing address, we will automatically treat your account as if you have directed us not to share information about your creditworthiness with our Affiliates.
Qualifications & exceptions
The Vermont treatment applies when the account has a Vermont billing address and concerns creditworthiness information only.
Other accounts limit this sharing through the methods in the "To limit our sharing" box.
Not stated here
The source does not say whether the Vermont treatment changes any other table row.
Affiliates marketing to you: yes, and you can limit it
American Express shares personal information so that its affiliates can market to you, and the limit column says Yes: you can limit this sharing.
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Supporting quotations
For our affiliates to market to you | Yes | Yes
Qualifications & exceptions
How to limit is described in the "To limit our sharing" box; the "To limit direct marketing" box describes separate choices about offers by mail, telephone and e-mail.
Sharing & Disclosure · Company practice
Nonaffiliates marketing to you: no
For nonaffiliates to market to you, American Express answers No. The limit column says "We don't share personal information". The No carries a parenthetical: American Express says it may share aggregated or de-identified data.
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Supporting quotations
For nonaffiliates to market to you | No (although we may share aggregated or de-identified data) | We don't share personal information
Qualifications & exceptions
This row is about nonaffiliates marketing to you; the notice separately says it shares personal information with nonaffiliate service providers that perform services on its behalf and with joint marketing partners.
Not stated here
The source does not define aggregated or de-identified data or say whether it counts as personal information.
Cross-references
contrast (model-proposed): Definition of nonaffiliates, including service providers — The nonaffiliates-marketing row says the limit column "We don't share personal information", while the definition says nonaffiliates with which American Express shares personal information include service providers, including direct marketers, that perform services on its behalf. The row concerns nonaffiliates marketing to you; the definition concerns service providers acting on American Express's behalf. The source does not state how the two relate.
Sharing & Disclosure · User right or choice
How to limit sharing: online or by phone
To limit sharing, you can visit www.americanexpress.com/communications online or call 1-855-297-7748, where a menu prompts you through your choice(s).
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Supporting quotations
Visit us online: www.americanexpress.com/communications or ● Call 1-855-297-7748 - our menu will prompt you through your choice(s)
Qualifications & exceptions
In the table above, only the rows answered Yes in the limit column are limitable: affiliates' creditworthiness information and affiliates marketing to you.
New customers: sharing can begin 30 days after the notice was sent
If you are a new customer, American Express says it can begin sharing your personal information 30 days from the date it sent this notice.
Details
When
30 days from the date the notice was sent
Condition
you are a new customer
Supporting quotations
If you are a new customer, we can begin sharing your personal information 30 days from the date we sent this notice.
Qualifications & exceptions
The wording is "can begin sharing", a permission, and the 30 days run from the date the notice was sent.
Not stated here
The source does not say how a customer is classified as new or how the notice is sent.
Cross-references
qualifies (model-proposed): How to limit sharing: online or by phone — The ways to limit sharing sit beside a timing statement for new customers: American Express can begin sharing 30 days from the date it sent the notice.
When you are no longer a customer, American Express says it continues to share your personal information as described in the notice. You can still contact it at any time to limit its sharing.
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Supporting quotations
When you are no longer our customer, we continue to share your personal information as described in this notice. However, you can contact us at any time to limit our sharing.
Not stated here
The source does not state how long information about former customers is kept or shared.
American Express says it provides additional privacy choices to customers. To tell it you do not want your personal information used to communicate with you about offers by mail, telephone and/or e-mail, you can visit www.americanexpress.com/communications online or call 1-855-297-7748; the telephone number is not available for choices about e-mail communications.
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Supporting quotations
We provide additional privacy choices to customers.
To let us know if you do not want us to use your personal information to communicate with you about offers by mail, telephone, and/or e-mail: ● Visit us online: www.americanexpress.com/communications or ● Call 1-855-297-7748 (except for choices about e-mail communications)
Qualifications & exceptions
E-mail choices cannot be made by calling; they are made online.
Cross-references
qualified by (model-proposed): Privacy elections may not carry over across products — Choices made for one product or service may not automatically be applied to other products and services, which qualifies the direct marketing choices.
Sharing & Disclosure · Restriction or exception
Why you cannot limit all sharing, and where state law may add rights
American Express says federal law gives you the right to limit only three things: sharing for affiliates' everyday business purposes of information about your creditworthiness, affiliates using your information to market to you, and sharing for nonaffiliates to market to you. It adds that state laws and individual companies may give additional rights to limit sharing, and refers you to the closing "Other important information" section, which also says state law may be more protective than federal law.
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Supporting quotations
Federal law gives you the right to limit only ● sharing for affiliates' everyday business purposes - information about your creditworthiness ● affiliates from using your information to market to you ● sharing for nonaffiliates to market to you
State laws and individual companies may give you additional rights to limit sharing. See below for more on your rights under state law.
Other important information
State law may be more protective than federal law.
Qualifications & exceptions
"May give" means additional rights are possible, not promised.
In the table, American Express answers No for nonaffiliates marketing to you, so that federal right has no sharing to limit in this notice.
Not stated here
The source does not list which states or companies give additional rights, beyond the California and Vermont billing-address statements in the closing section.
The notice defines affiliates as companies related by common ownership or control, which can be financial and nonfinancial companies. American Express says its affiliates include companies with the American Express name, including financial companies such as American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. and nonfinancial companies, and may also include other companies related by common ownership or control, such as AMEX Assurance Company, a provider of American Express Card-related insurance services.
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Supporting quotations
Companies related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies.
Our affiliates include companies with the American Express name, including financial companies such as American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. and nonfinancial companies. Affiliates may also include other companies related by common ownership or control, such as AMEX Assurance Company, a provider of American Express Card-related insurance services.
Qualifications & exceptions
"Include", "such as" and "may also include" mean the examples are not a complete list.
Not stated here
The source does not list the nonfinancial affiliates.
Definition of nonaffiliates, including service providers
The notice defines nonaffiliates as companies not related by common ownership or control, which can be financial and nonfinancial companies. It says the nonaffiliates with which American Express shares personal information include service providers, including, for example, direct marketers, that perform services or functions on its behalf.
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Supporting quotations
Companies not related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies.
Nonaffiliates with which we share personal information include service providers, including, for example, direct marketers, that perform services or functions on our behalf.
Qualifications & exceptions
The sharing described here is with service providers that perform services or functions on American Express's behalf.
Not stated here
The table does not say which row covers sharing with these service providers, and the source does not list other kinds of nonaffiliates it shares with.
Cross-references
contrast (model-proposed): Nonaffiliates marketing to you: no — The nonaffiliates-marketing row says the limit column "We don't share personal information", while the definition says nonaffiliates with which American Express shares personal information include service providers, including direct marketers, that perform services on its behalf. The row concerns nonaffiliates marketing to you; the definition concerns service providers acting on American Express's behalf. The source does not state how the two relate.
Sharing & Disclosure · Permission or license
AMEX Assurance Company customers: purposes for which information may be disclosed
For AMEX Assurance Company customers, the notice says personal information may be disclosed by American Express to detect fraud or misrepresentation, to verify insurance coverage, to an insurance regulatory authority, to law enforcement or another governmental authority pursuant to law, or to a group policyholder for purposes of reporting claims experience or conducting an audit.
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Supporting quotations
Personal information may be disclosed by us to detect fraud or misrepresentation, to verify insurance coverage, to an insurance regulatory authority, law enforcement or other governmental authority pursuant to law, or to a group policyholder for purposes of reporting claims experience or conducting an audit.
Qualifications & exceptions
The wording is "may be disclosed", a permission rather than a statement that each disclosure always occurs.
Disclosure to law enforcement or another governmental authority is tied to "pursuant to law".
Not stated here
The source does not say whether the customer can limit these disclosures.
California billing address: no sharing beyond what California law permits
If your American Express account has a California billing address, American Express says it will not share your personal information except to the extent permitted under California law.
Details
Where
California billing address
Exception
except to the extent permitted under California law
Supporting quotations
If your American Express account has a California billing address, we will not share your personal information except to the extent permitted under California law.
Qualifications & exceptions
The statement applies when the account has a California billing address.
Not stated here
The source does not say what California law permits, so it does not say which sharing in the table stops for these accounts.
Vermont billing address: creditworthiness sharing with affiliates treated as limited
If your American Express account has a Vermont billing address, American Express says it will automatically treat your account as if you had directed it not to share information about your creditworthiness with its Affiliates.
Details
Where
Vermont billing address
Condition
account has a Vermont billing address
Supporting quotations
If your American Express account has a Vermont billing address, we will automatically treat your account as if you have directed us not to share information about your creditworthiness with our Affiliates.
Qualifications & exceptions
The statement applies when the account has a Vermont billing address and is limited to creditworthiness information shared with Affiliates.
Not stated here
The source does not say whether the Vermont treatment affects any other sharing.
Cross-references
qualifies (model-proposed): Affiliates' everyday business purposes: creditworthiness, which you can limit — The Vermont billing-address rule changes the creditworthiness row for those accounts: they are automatically treated as if the customer had directed American Express not to share that information with its Affiliates.