AMEX Personal Saving Overview

Many people are more familiar with AMEX as a credit card company, but AMEX also offers bank accounts. These accounts are under American Express National Bank, and currently include a Saving Account and CDs. Their Saving account is pretty decent: with no fees at all, it offers 1.15% APY (as of 2020.6.14). This Saving account is also FDIC-insured, with coverage up to $250,000, so it is a legitimate and standard bank product.

Account Opening Bonus

Normally this saving account does not come with an account opening bonus; you can just apply directly on the AMEX website.

However, today I received a 25,000-point account opening bonus offer, and the email was sent to my AMEX Green credit card account. I asked around in a group chat, and it seems some others received it as well, so it may be worth checking your email. That said, some people received an email with no account opening bonus at all—just a regular advertisement.

If you also received this offer, here are the key details to note:

  • You need to deposit $25,000 by July 18, 2020 and keep the funds there through October 16, 2020
  • The account opening bonus will be awarded in 8-12 weeks
  • After receiving the bonus, you cannot close the Saving account for 12 months; and the linked credit card (a charge card) also cannot be closed or downgraded within 12 months. Otherwise, your account opening bonus may be clawed back.
  • The account opening bonus counts as interest, so you should receive a 1099INT. Presumably MR will be valued at 1c/p, which means $250.
25,000 Membership Rewards points will be credited to your account within 8-12 weeks after you, as the primary account holder, deposit a total of $25,000 (the "Threshold Amount") or more of new money (not transferred from an existing Personal Savings account) into your American Express Personal Savings account by July 18, 2020 and hold those funds in your account through October 16, 2020. Our obligation to credit your account is also contingent on you not engaging in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with this offer in any way, as described below.

We may consider the number of Personal Savings accounts you have opened and closed as well as other factors in deciding on your offer eligibility. We may not credit Membership Rewards points, we may freeze Membership Rewards points already credited, or we may take away Membership Rewards points from your account, if we determine in our sole discretion that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the offer in any way or that you intend to do so. For example, if you cancel your Personal Savings account within 12 months after acquiring it; or cancel or downgrade your card account within 12 months. We may also cancel this account and other accounts you may have with us. NOTE: The value of the bonus may be taxable income to you and may be reported on IRS Form 1099. You are responsible for any federal or state taxes resulting from the bonus. Please consult your tax advisor if you have questions about the tax treatment of the bonus.

Features

  • Interest rate: 1.15% APY
  • Fees: No monthly fee, and no minimum deposit requirement

This Saving account does not come with a corresponding Checking account, so funding it is a bit inconvenient. You need to link it to another Checking account and transfer money in from there. Alternatively, you can mail a check to AMEX’s bank address in Salt Lake City (not recommended, since losing it would be a hassle).

Also, this saving account does not have a dedicated mobile app; you can only log in and view it from a computer, and there is no online chat customer service either.

Summary

If you just want to quietly save money and earn a relatively high APY, this account is a fairly low-maintenance option.