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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000004962-07-000053.txt : 20071108
<SEC-HEADER>0000004962-07-000053.hdr.sgml : 20071108
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20071107200111
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000004962-07-000053
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	8-K
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT:	20071107
ITEM INFORMATION:		Regulation FD Disclosure
FILED AS OF DATE:		20071108
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20071107

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			AMERICAN EXPRESS CO
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000004962
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	FINANCE SERVICES [6199]
		IRS NUMBER:				134922250
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			NY
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		8-K
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	001-07657
		FILM NUMBER:		071223053

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		200 VESEY STREET
		STREET 2:		50TH FLOOR
		CITY:			NEW YORK
		STATE:			NY
		ZIP:			10285
		BUSINESS PHONE:		2126402000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		200 VESEY STREET
		STREET 2:		50TH FLOOR
		CITY:			NEW YORK
		STATE:			NY
		ZIP:			10285
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>8-K
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>visasettlement.txt
<DESCRIPTION>8-K RE VISA SETTLEMENT DATED NOVEMBER 7 2007
<TEXT>
                                 UNITED STATES
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                                   FORM 8-K

                                CURRENT REPORT

                    Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                        Securities Exchange Act of 1934


      Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 7, 2007


                           AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



          New York                      1-7657                 13-4922250
- -----------------------------  ------------------------    -------------------
(State or other jurisdiction   (Commission File Number)     (IRS Employer
 of incorporation                                            Identification No.)
 or organization)


       200 Vesey Street, World Financial Center
                  New York, New York                             10285
       ----------------------------------------               ----------
       (Address of principal executive offices)               (Zip Code)


      Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (212) 640-2000

                                      None
              ---------------------------------------------------
         (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of
the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

  [  ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act
        (17 CFR 230.425)
  [  ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act
        (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

  [  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
        Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

  [  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
        Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))


<PAGE>


Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On November 7, 2007, American Express Company (the "Company") issued a press
release announcing that it has reached an agreement with Visa Inc., Visa USA
and Visa International to drop Visa as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging that
MasterCard, Visa and their member banks had illegally blocked the Company
from the bank-issued card business in the United States. A copy of such press
release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and
is incorporated herein by reference.


Exhibit

99.1     Press Release, dated November 7, 2007.








<PAGE>


                                   SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                       AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
                                       (REGISTRANT)

                                       By /s/ Stephen P. Norman
                                          --------------------------
                                          Name:  Stephen P. Norman
                                          Title: Secretary

Date:   November 7, 2007

<PAGE>


                                 EXHIBIT INDEX

Item No.     Description
- --------     --------------------------------------

99.1         Press Release, dated November 7, 2007.
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.1 PRESS RELEAS
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>visaexhibit99_1.txt
<DESCRIPTION>VISA SETTLEMENT PRESS RELEASE
<TEXT>
                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

RELEASE   NEWS RELEASE   NEWS RELEASE   NEWS RELEASE   NEWS RELEASE   NEWS RELEA

[LOGO OF AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY]                     American Express Company
                                                       American Express Tower
                                                       World Financial Center
                                                       New York, N.Y. 10285-4805

CONTACTS:                         Investors/Analysts:  Alex Hopwood
                                                       212-640-5495
                                                       alex.w.hopwood@aexp.com

                                               Media:  Judy Tenzer
                                                       American Express
                                                       212-640-0555
                                                       judy.g.tenzer@aexp.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  Michael O'Neill
                                                       American Express
                                                       212-640-5951
                                                       mike.o'neill@aexp.com



    AMERICAN EXPRESS REACHES $2.25 BILLION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH VISA



NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 7, 2007 -- American Express said today that it has
reached an agreement to drop Visa as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging that
MasterCard, Visa and their member banks had illegally blocked American Express
from the bank-issued card business in the United States.

Under terms of the settlement agreement, Visa will pay a maximum amount
of $2.25 billion to American Express. Individual banks named in the lawsuit
will also be dropped as defendants. These include: J.P. Morgan Chase, Capital
One, U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo and Providian. The agreement is subject to the
approval of Visa's member banks.

MasterCard remains the sole defendant in the American Express case. The
lawsuit, which was filed in Federal court (November 2004) by American Express,
seeks monetary damages for the lost business opportunity that resulted from
the illegal conspiracy to boycott American Express. American Express is
expected to seek damages in the billions of dollars. As the sole remaining
defendant, MasterCard would be liable for the full amount.

"The size of this settlement, along with earlier court rulings,
underscores the seriousness of the damage done by the illegal boycott," said
Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive. "We plan to move forward
with the litigation to hold MasterCard accountable for the illegal actions
that blocked banks from working with us for many years and to seek full
compensation for the value that would have been generated for our
shareholders."

Under terms of the agreement reached with Visa, Inc., Visa USA, and Visa
International, American Express will receive an aggregate maximum payment of
$2.25 billion. An initial payment of $1.13 billion will likely be recognized
by American Express in income during the fourth quarter 2007. The remainder,
payable in installments of up to $70 million per quarter over the next four
years, is subject to achieving certain quarterly performance criteria within
the U.S. network services business of American Express.

"Given the strong growth momentum we have built within that business, we
are highly optimistic in our ability to meet those performance requirements,"
said Mr. Chenault.

In light of the settlement, American Express said that it is likely to
incur a number of significant additional fourth quarter expenses, including:


        Incremental investments in marketing, promotion,
        rewards, cardmember services and other business building
        initiatives designed to capitalize on competitive
        opportunities in the payments industry at a time when some
        competitors are pulling back.

        Additional funding for the American Express Foundation,
        which will support the company's ongoing philanthropic
        activities.

        Litigation expenses related to the lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard.

Given the continued evolution of its rewards programs, the Company also said
that it is currently evaluating enhancements to its method of estimating its
liability for Membership Rewards(R), including the consideration of an
actuarial based approach for estimating the ultimate redemption rate. These
enhancements could result in a significant one time addition to reserves upon
implementation.

"Rewards and customer loyalty programs have been a key element of our
success, and we expect them to continue to be a centerpiece of our strategy
going forward," said Mr. Chenault. "The overall economics of a rewards-based
strategy are very favorable: higher spending, stronger loyalty and superior
credit metrics. Our expectation is that more Cardmembers will enroll in
rewards programs and generate a growing share of their overall spending with
American Express. Our higher enrollments and improvements to the program in
recent years are causing us to continually evaluate and enhance the method to
estimate the ultimate usage of points earned by our Cardmembers."

The aggregate cost associated with this potential addition to the Company's
Membership Rewards liability and the other items mentioned above could
represent a significant portion of the payment expected to be realized this
quarter.

The Company said that any decisions about whether to reinvest future
payments into business building activities will be made on a quarter by
quarter basis over the next four years. "This settlement compensates us in
part for past damages in a way that allows us to invest in our future," said
Mr. Chenault. "We intend to be consistent with our approach of the last
several years, capitalizing on marketing and promotional opportunities and
enhancing our network when we see chance to gain a competitive advantage. We
have been generating very attractive returns on our investment spending of
the past few years and believe that the pipeline of market opportunities will
continue to be strong in the years ahead.

"At a time when weakness in parts the economy is affecting many financial
services companies, the settlement will give us greater flexibility and
confidence to meet our financial goals while continuing to fund business
building initiatives and support future acquisitions."


Ed. Note: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY WILL HOLD A CONFERENCE CALL FOR INVESTORS
TO DISCUSS THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY AT 5:00 P.M. (EST). INVESTORS MAY CALL
800.288.8960 OR 612.332.0228, CONFERENCE ID: 894290.

A live audio Webcast of the investor conference call will be available to
the general public on the American Express Web site at
HTTP://IR.AMERICANEXPRESS.COM.

A replay of the investor conference call will be available later this
evening at the same Web site address.

American Express Company is a leading global payments, network and travel
company founded in 1850. For more information, visit WWW.AMERICANEXPRESS.COM.




THIS RELEASE INCLUDES FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS
AND UNCERTAINTIES. THE WORDS "BELIEVE," "EXPECT," "ANTICIPATE," "OPTIMISTIC,"
"INTEND," "PLAN," "WILL," "COULD," "WOULD," "LIKELY," AND SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS
ARE INTENDED TO IDENTIFY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. READERS ARE CAUTIONED
NOT TO PLACE UNDUE RELIANCE ON THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, WHICH SPEAK
ONLY AS OF THE DATE ON WHICH THEY ARE MADE. THE COMPANY UNDERTAKES NO
OBLIGATION TO UPDATE OR REVISE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. FACTORS THAT
COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THESE FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING: THE ACTUAL AMOUNT
SPENT BY THE COMPANY IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2007 ON MARKETING, PROMOTION,
REWARDS AND CARDMEMBER SERVICES BASED ON MANAGEMENT'S ASSESSMENT OF
COMPETITIVE OPPORTUNITIES AND OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING ITS JUDGMENT; THE
COMPANY'S ABILITY TO DEVELOP NEW AND ENHANCED CARD AND PREPAID PRODUCTS,
SERVICES AND REWARDS PROGRAMS, AND INCREASE REVENUES FROM SUCH PRODUCTS,
ATTRACT NEW CARDMEMBERS, REDUCE CARDMEMBER ATTRITION, CAPTURE A GREATER SHARE
OF EXISTING CARDMEMBERS' SPENDING; THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO GROW AND EXPAND
THE GLOBAL NETWORK SERVICES BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING, AMONG
OTHER THINGS, THE SUCCESS OF SUCH GLOBAL NETWORK SERVICES BUSINESS IN MEETING
THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS CALLED BY THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT DESCRIBED IN
THIS RELEASE; THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO CONTROL AND MANAGE OPERATING,
INFRASTRUCTURE, ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION EXPENSES AS BUSINESS EXPANDS OR
CHANGES, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE THE PROVISION FOR THE
COST OF THE MEMBERSHIP REWARDS PROGRAM; ACCOUNTING CHANGES; AND OUTCOMES AND
COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LITIGATION REFERENCED IN THIS RELEASE, INCLUDING
OBTAINING THE APPROVAL OF VISA'S MEMBER BANKS TO THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
DESCRIBED IN THIS RELEASE AND THE OUTCOME OF THE LITIGATION AGAINST
MASTERCARD. A FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF THESE AND OTHER RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
CAN BE FOUND IN THE COMPANY'S ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED
DECEMBER 31, 2006, AND ITS OTHER REPORTS FILED WITH THE SEC.
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
</SEC-DOCUMENT>
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