Interesting 2018 AMEX Annual Report Findings

[RicHowe]

I was combing through the latest Annual Report (2018) by American Express and saw some interesting tidbits of information.

Average consumer basic Card Member spending (US): $20,840.00 (by contrast average commercial spend was $14,161.00)

Average consumer basic Card Member spending (outside US): $15,757.00

Other Revenue (which includes the lonely and forgotten Traveler's Cheque): $1,360MM (down from $1,678MM in 2016) 

I can say I beat that consumer average spending on my cards by a mile. I've nearly spent that much just in the 1st quarter of this year. (yeah, I'm a fanboy) 

I may purchase some traveler's cheques and put them up somewhere as they will soon be extinct and may have value to collector's and historians one day. Hard to believe that only 20 years ago the AMEX Traveler's Cheque was once a virtual global currency.

[Revelate]

Yeah when it comes to things like spending I'd like to know the median too since a couple heavy spenders can skew that (like income distribution).

My expenses are a little high because I'm stuck travelling to SF more frequently than I thought (oh well, SW A-List gimme!), though wound up spending more than usual last month 5k through the credit cards but it's probably around 4k on average currently x 12 so ballpark 50k for the year.  Admittedly almost all with Chase rather than Amex .

[calyx]

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@RicHowe wrote:

I may purchase some traveler's cheques and put them up somewhere as they will soon be extinct and may have value to collector's and historians one day. Hard to believe that only 20 years ago the AMEX Traveler's Cheque was once a virtual global currency.

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I remember my Grandma getting traveler's checques before her trips when I was a kiddo - I thought they were the height of sophistication.

[Anonymous]

Revelate "Don't Leave Home WIthout It" ... time for you to help American Express with a little spend!!!

[Revelate]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Revelate "Don't Leave Home WIthout It" ... time for you to help American Express with a little spend!!!

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Hehe well I did make a tax payment on my Marriot Amex last month, so they got something!

[kilroy8]

When I joined the Army, in Basic Training, they paid us in AmEx Traveler's Checks.

[Anonymous]

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@kilroy8 wrote:

When I joined the Army, in Basic Training, they paid us in AmEx Traveler's Checks.

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WOW! Now that is a first. Did not know they did something like that! We got cold hard cash.

[ChargedUp]

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@Revelate wrote:

Yeah when it comes to things like spending I'd like to know the median too since a couple heavy spenders can skew that (like income distribution).

My expenses are a little high because I'm stuck travelling to SF more frequently than I thought (oh well, SW A-List gimme!), though wound up spending more than usual last month 5k through the credit cards but it's probably around 4k on average currently x 12 so ballpark 50k for the year.  Admittedly almost all with Chase rather than Amex .

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It's good to know I'm not the only one that ended up working in the Bay Area. I put $60K through my Chase twins last year alone, and thankfully more than half was reimbursible expenses. Driving I-5 back and forth from LA/OC means my Amex Simply Cash spends more time in Exxon/Mobil pumps than in my wallet.