INVEST Terms & Conditions
1. INVEST is limited to Basic American Express Members with a Consumer Card who have a permanent residence in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands or have an APO/FPO/DPO mailing address and who are not a control person. Additional Card Members are not eligible to enroll in INVEST. Enrollment in INVEST requires you to have an eligible Vanguard brokerage account(s) and a total balance of $3,000 to be managed by INVEST. If you already have one or more existing brokerage accounts with Vanguard, you can select to enroll those accounts with INVEST as long as you have a minimum total balance of $3,000 of eligible investments in those accounts, each with at least $3,000 in eligible investments. VAI reserves the right to un-enroll you from INVEST if you maintain balances lower than $3,000. See VAI’s Form CRS and INVEST Brochure for more information.
For each brokerage account you wish to enroll in INVEST, the entire balance must be in eligible investments. The following types of investments are ineligible for enrollment in INVEST: Non-Vanguard mutual funds, individual bonds, securities traded on international exchanges, preferred stocks, penny stocks, illiquid stocks, and options. If you have these ineligible investment types in an existing brokerage account, you may choose to sell and move them to the brokerage account’s settlement fund to make your brokerage account eligible for enrollment in INVEST. VAI typically will invest your assets in a portfolio of Vanguard ETFs®, which are commission-free through Vanguard brokerage accounts, and Vanguard mutual funds. Vanguard brokerage accounts are offered through and maintained by Vanguard Marketing Corporation (“VMC”), a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA and SIPC. VAI is a subsidiary of Vanguard Group, Inc. (“VGI”), and an affiliate of VMC. Neither VGI, VAI, nor its affiliates guarantee profits or protection from losses.
2. INVEST’s advisory services and financial planning tools are provided solely by VAI, a registered investment adviser. Please review VAI’s Form CRS and the INVEST Brochure for important information about VAI’s services, including its asset-based service levels. INVEST’s financial planning tools provide projections and goal forecasts, which are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of future results. All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
Amex does not guarantee the services of VAI and makes no claim or promise of any result or success by retaining VAI. Your use of INVEST, including your decision to retain the services of VAI, is at your sole discretion and risk.
Amex and its affiliates will not be responsible or liable to you for any use or processing of such information or any acts or omissions by Vanguard or any sub-processor or other third party acting on Vanguard’s behalf.
3. INVEST users are eligible for one initial consultation phone call with Vanguard Advisors, Inc. (VAI), which must be scheduled on or before your first INVEST anniversary. If you have an end-of-day balance of at least $50,000 of assets under management (AUM) with INVEST then you will be eligible for an unlimited number of advisory phone calls with VAI. If the total balance of your AUM falls below $50,000, you have 30 days to bring it back up to $50,000. If you fail to do so, you will no longer be eligible for unlimited access to advisory calls. VAI will waive the requirement to bring your AUM back up to $50,000 until March 31, 2024. Notwithstanding this waiver, if your AUM drops below $30,000 at any time, you will no longer be eligible for unlimited access to advisory calls. You can restore your eligibility for an unlimited number of advisory calls if your account again has an end-of-day balance of at least $50,000 of AUM with INVEST. Access to advisory calls may be modified or discontinued anytime at VAI’s discretion. Multiple Vanguard Advisors support INVEST clients. The Vanguard Advisors featured here may not be the ones you speak with during your consultation(s).
4. Membership Rewards points are determined as of each anniversary of your enrollment in INVEST based on the average end-of-day balance of taxable assets under management with INVEST over the 12 months prior to your INVEST anniversary, as follows: 5,000 points if you have taxable assets of at least $50,000 and up to $100,000; 25,000 points if you have taxable assets greater than $100,000 and up to $500,000; and 50,000 points if you have taxable assets greater than $500,000. For example, if your INVEST anniversary is June 1st, and you had an average end-of-day balance of $75,000 in taxable assets between June 1st and May 31st, you would receive 5,000 Membership Rewards points. If instead you had an average end-of-day balance of $230,000 in taxable assets, you would receive 25,000 Membership Rewards points. Taxable assets include assets in Vanguard brokerage accounts enrolled in INVEST and held individually or jointly (i.e. joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTWROS)), but do not include assets in traditional or Roth individual retirement accounts. Points typically will be posted to your Membership Rewards program account within 8-12 weeks of your INVEST anniversary. If you are no longer enrolled in INVEST on your next anniversary, you will not be eligible to receive the Membership Rewards points. You will need an INVEST account or Membership Rewards program account at the time of fulfillment to receive Membership Rewards points. If you do not have a Membership Rewards program account when you enroll in INVEST, American Express will open one on your behalf. You are not eligible to receive Membership Rewards points for INVEST if you are subject to tax withholding.
To redeem points, you must have a Membership Rewards-enrolled Card (which may include a Debit Card associated with an American Express Rewards Checking Account) or continue to be enrolled in INVEST at the time you redeem points. If you have a Membership Rewards-enrolled Card at time of redemption, you will be able to redeem the points the same way you always have. If you no longer have a Membership Rewards-enrolled Card at time of redemption, but continue to be enrolled in INVEST, you will be able to transfer points to limited hotel and travel partner rewards programs starting after your INVEST account anniversary. Until then, you may not be able to redeem points unless you open a new Membership Rewards-enrolled Card.
Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards® program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms for more information. Participating partners and available rewards are subject to change without notice. The value of Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke this offer at any time without notice, including by revoking your eligibility to receive Membership Rewards points through INVEST if American Express determines, in its sole discretion, that you have violated the Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions, or have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with your Membership Rewards program account.
Membership Rewards points received through INVEST may be considered taxable income to you and may be reported on an IRS Form 1099. You are responsible for any resulting federal or state taxes. Please consult your tax advisor if you have questions about the tax treatment of Membership Rewards points.
5. American Express High Yield Savings Accounts are offered by American Express National Bank. Member FDIC. FDIC insurance limit is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. Assets managed by INVEST are not FDIC insured.
The cash bonus is based on the average daily balance of the funds maintained in your American Express High Yield Savings Account (HYSA) over the 12 months prior to your INVEST anniversary. For example, if your INVEST anniversary is June 1st, and you had an average daily balance of $29,000 in your HYSA between June 1st and the following May 31st, you will be eligible for a $30 cash bonus ($15 x 2-$10,000). If, instead, you had an average daily balance of $32,000, you will be eligible for a $45 cash bonus ($15 x 3-$10,000). The cash bonus will be credited to your HYSA within 8-12 weeks of your INVEST anniversary. “Average daily balance” refers to the “current balance” in your account, - i.e., funds that have been posted to your account. This is important to understand: American Express cannot tell when you initiate a transfer of funds to your HYSA – American Express can only see the funds when they are “posted” to your account, so the only way American Express can tell that you’ve met the average daily balance threshold is if the funds are posted to your HYSA by your INVEST anniversary. Do not wait until the last minute, as linking an external bank account to fund deposits to your HYSA can take up to 2 days. Transfers will typically take less than 24 hours to “post” after your external bank account is linked to your HYSA, but the exact timing is dependent upon your external bank’s processing time. Because some of this timing is outside of your and American Express’s control, American Express recommends you take the necessary steps to fund your HYSA well in advance of your INVEST anniversary to ensure you satisfy the terms of this offer. American Express’s obligation to credit your HYSA is also contingent on you not engaging in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with this offer any way.
To be eligible for the cash bonus, you must be enrolled in INVEST and have a HYSA in good-standing as of your INVEST anniversary that is linked to the American Express online account that you used to enroll in INVEST. The cash bonus will be based on your HYSA that is linked to the American Express online account that you used to enroll in INVEST. If you do not have a HYSA when you enroll in INVEST, you can open one later using the American Express online account that you used to enroll in INVEST to be eligible for a cash bonus on your next INVEST anniversary. If you are no longer enrolled in INVEST before your INVEST anniversary, or you no longer have a HYSA as of your INVEST anniversary that is linked to the American Express online account that you used to enroll in INVEST, you will not be eligible for a cash bonus on what would be your next INVEST anniversary. If you were eligible for a cash bonus on your INVEST anniversary, then terminate your enrollment in INVEST after your INVEST anniversary, you will still receive the cash bonus unless you also close your linked HYSA before the cash bonus posts to your account.
Limit one cash bonus under this offer per HYSA each year. If you have more than one HYSA (including as a joint accountholder) associated with your American Express online account that you used to enroll in INVEST, the cash bonus amount will be based on the HYSA with the highest average daily balance over the 12 months prior to your INVEST anniversary, and credited to that HYSA, unless that HYSA already received a cash bonus that year, in which case the cash bonus will be based on, and credited to, the HYSA with the next highest average daily balance over the 12 months prior to your INVEST anniversary. If a HYSA is jointly owned by two INVEST customers (for example, if joint HYSA accountholders are separately enrolled in INVEST), the joint HYSA will also only receive one cash bonus per year.
American Express may not credit the cash bonus, may freeze a cash bonus that has already been credited, or may take away the cash bonus, if American Express determines in its sole discretion that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the offer in any way. American Express may also cancel your HYSA, and other accounts you may have with American Express, if American Express determines gaming behavior has been shown. In addition, because American Express needs your HYSA to be open for American Express to credit your cash bonus, American Express may not issue the cash bonus if you close your HYSA within 12 weeks after your INVEST anniversary. Your balance may decline after your INVEST anniversary, but the HYSA must remain open.
American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke this cash bonus offer at any time. For more information on HYSA, visit go.amex/savingshome.
6.The Vanguard brokerage accounts that you enroll in INVEST are subject to an annual gross advisory fee of 0.50% for an all-index investment option or 0.55% for an active/index mix. However, the gross advisory fee
is reduced by a credit of the actual revenue that VAI, or its affiliates, retains from certain assets in brokerage accounts enrolled in INVEST, resulting in a net advisory fee.
The net advisory fee will be the fee collected from your brokerage accounts enrolled in INVEST and is approximately 0.45%. Your net advisory fee will vary based on your unique asset allocation, account type, and specific holdings in each brokerage account enrolled in INVEST. For more information, please review VAI’s Form CRS and the INVEST Brochure.
First-time enrollees in INVEST will not be charged an advisory fee on any brokerage accounts enrolled in INVEST during the introductory period. Your introductory period begins when you complete enrollment of your first brokerage account in INVEST and ends on the earlier of the close of your first billing period (generally 90 days) or the date you unenroll from INVEST, whichever occurs first. During your introductory period, VAI will reduce the advisory fee on your enrolled brokerage accounts and Amex will pay VAI the amount of the reduced advisory fee that would otherwise be charged to you. If you unenroll from INVEST during the introductory period, you will not owe an advisory fee on any brokerage accounts enrolled in INVEST at that time. However, you will not be eligible again for this introductory fee waiver if you choose to re-enroll in INVEST at a later date. This offer may be modified or discontinued anytime at VAI’s discretion without notice.
All costs associated with fund expense ratios still apply at all times. It's important to be aware that actively managed funds will have higher expense ratios than index funds.You should also consult your brokerage account commission and fee schedule for other charges that apply to your account.
7. The national rate referenced is from the FDIC's published Monthly Rate Cap Information for Savings deposit products. Visit the FDIC website for details.
