There are two ways to access a Card application:
 

1. Access Key and a URL Link
   
   • You can provide Applicants with a link to the application site and an Access Key via email.
   • Your Access Keys may be posted on your company’s internal intranet site or internal documents.
      
2. Email Invitation
   • Applicants receive two emails from American Express, initiated by their Program Administrator, inviting them to apply for their Corporate Card.
     
   • One email will contain a link to the application site, the other will contain an Application ID that they’ll need to log on and complete their application.
      

Once on the Card application site, Applicants will be instructed to enter their corporate email address and Application ID or Access Key to begin their Corporate Card application.

Program Administrators can send up to 10 applications at a time by entering the Applicant’s first name, last name, and email address. This will create a unique Application ID for each Applicant that is automatically delivered to them via emails from American Express.

When initiating applications with Bulk Apply, which works with an access key, Program Administrators can initiate up to 3,000 applications at a time by uploading an Excel template. For Bulk Apply instructions and to download the Excel template, click the Bulk Apply “Learn More” button in the middle of the GAFC dashboard.

Applicants will have seven days to complete their application prior to it being cancelled by the system. If the application is not completed within that timeframe, the Program Administrator will have to initiate the Card application again. If the applicant edits the application and saves it for later, then the seven-day period will reset for another seven days.

The Card Applicant will receive email reminders to complete any non-started or pending application.

Yes, Applicants will be notified which fields are mandatory while completing the online application. If they encounter any errors, Applicants will see an error message with instructions on what to do.

There is not an option within Access Key Details to select Card delivery options. If Central Card Delivery is ON, their Card will be delivered to the Business Address.

If Central Card Delivery is OFF, the Applicant is advised that their Card will be delivered to the address they selected as their Statement/Billing address.

Unless your company has arranged to distribute Cards centrally, the Applicant can choose to have their Card sent to their residential address or company address.

After they’ve completed all the mandatory fields in the application, they’ll reach a Review and Submit screen. There, they can review and modify fields if necessary. Once finalized, Applicants will need to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the Submit button. A screen confirming that their application has been submitted will then appear. The approval process is automated and fully online, meaning there is no need for any paper copies or wet signature in this process.

Please have the employee check their ‘Junk’ or ‘Spam’ folders as emails are sent from a generated email tool. Program Administrators can resend the application emails via the ‘Track Applications’ tab.

An Access Key is a unique code created in @ Work, and each one is associated with a Basic Control Account for your company. The Access Key carries information about the Basic Control Account set up such as Product, Billing and Liability Type, to the Card application. Program Administrators can mandate Cost Center ID or the Employee ID and even the length of the fields required.

Program Administrators can create an Access Key on the GAFC PA Dashboard by following the steps below:

1. Click ‘Create’ in the Access Key Overview section
2. Choose the BCA for the Access Key
3. Set the options you would like associated with the Access Key (more details on options below)
4. Confirm and Create

Yes, if you want to mandate that applicants enter their Cost Center or Employee ID on applications, including the length of the fields required, check the boxes for these items during the Access Key set-up process.

No, all Program Administrators with permissions for a Basic Control Account will have full visibility to manage and use Access Keys created for those Basic Control Accounts. You may only need one Access Key for each Basic Control Account. If a Basic Control Account has both Corporate Executive Gold and (Green) Corporate Cards associated to it, you will need one Access Key for Corporate Executive Gold and one for (Green) Corporate Card. If you prefer, you can create multiple Access Keys for a Basic Control Account if there are different departments and/or Approver combinations required. These Access Keys can be leveraged by all Program Administrators responsible for those departments and Approvers.

There is no limit to how many Access Keys can be created for each Basic Control Account or by each Program Administrator. Developing consistent naming conventions and internal workflows will help your organization optimize the number of Access Keys created.

No, not always. To initiate an application without an Access Key, you can select the ‘Quick Send’ option to send application(s). The Card application will be sent straight to American Express after the Applicant submits it. Use this option when Program Administrator approval is not needed once the application is completed.

Access Keys do not expire. However, if the Program Administrator who set up the Access Keys moves to a new role, or leaves the company, we recommend an active Program Administrator edit the Access Key to ensure all notifications stay within the group. We always recommend at least two Program Administrators register for GAFC to ensure all roles can be completed any time.

There is no limit to the number of applications issued for any Access Key.

Yes, provided the new Program Administrators are set up with permissions at the same Basic Control Account level, new Program Administrators can access, use, and maintain the Access Keys.

No, there is no expiration date for Global Apply for Card Access Keys.

When setting up the Access Key, the User can choose either:

• Pre- and Post-Approval, where a Pre-Approver (e.g Line Manager) approves the application prior to being sent to the employee and a Post-Approver reviews and approves the completed application.
• Pre-Approval, where only a Pre-Approver approves the application. Once the Applicant completes the application, it will be routed to American Express for processing.
• Post-Approval, where there is no Pre-Approver, and the Program Administrator reviews and approves the completed application prior to submission.

Quick Send allows you to quickly initiate an application to an employee from within @ Work.

• Select a Basic Control Account and enter the employee’s first name, last name, and email, then review and submit.
• Once the application is completed by the Applicant it will go directly to America Express for processing.
• No Access Key or Final Approval is required. Use Quick Send when you want to quickly provide a Card to an employee without the need for an Access Key or additional approvals.

Customize Approvals provides flexibility for Program Administrators to adapt the approval flow for their application process. Approvals can be selected when the Program Administrator creates their Access Key and can be modified at any time.

The following approval options are available:

• Program Administrator assigns Approvers, where the Program Administrator assigns the Approver(s) for the Card application. Up to three Approvers can be assigned.
• Card Applicant selects Approver, where the Card Applicant will input the Approver(s) for their application.
• Assigned and Final Approval, where an Assigned Approver will preapprove the Card application and the Program Administrator (Final Approver) reviews the completed application before submitting to American Express.
• No Assigned Approver, where there is no Assigned Approver needed before the Applicant can start their Card application.
• Review for Final Approval, where the Program Administrator reviews the completed application prior to approving and submitting to American Express.
• No Final Approver, where the Program Administrator initiates the application and the Applicant completes and submits the application directly to American Express for processing.

The Assigned Approver can be a manager or leader who needs to approve the employee for a Card. Assigned Approvers are different from the Program Administrator(s) who are the Final Approvers for applications.

Yes, Approvers will receive an email shortly after the Card application has been submitted. They can decision whether an employee is eligible to apply directly from the email, without needing an @ Work ID.

An Assigned Approver should be an employee of the company and therefore have a company email address.

Yes, Program Administrators can view the email addresses for the Assigned Approvers in the ‘Track Applications’ tab and edit the details by selecting the application and clicking on the Resend button.

Yes, Program Administrators have the option to edit the Assigned Approver email address in the ‘Track Applications’ tab by clicking the application and selecting the Resend button.

The Assigned Approver has 45 days to approve the application. If the Assigned Approver hasn’t approved the application within that timeframe, the application will be cancelled.

No, the application cannot be reinstated. The Program Administrator will need to re-initiate a new application for the employee.

No, the application cannot be reinstated. The Program Administrator will need to re-initiate a new application for the employee.

Applications with Assigned Approvers will route to the Program Administrator for final review in two situations:

• When the Assigned Approver and Final Approvals are set up on the Access Key, or,
• The application is submitted via the Card Applicant Self-Initiated Link with an Access Key with Assigned Approvers.
  • 100% of Card Applicant Initiated applications are routed to Program Administrator for final approval for validation purposes, regardless if the Access Key does not indicate a Post-Approval.

Applications can’t be changed once they’ve been initiated to the employee with No Final Approval.

Yes, all applications initiated will appear under the ‘Track Applications’ tab.

Once completed, applications requiring Final Approval appear in the ‘To Do List’ tab for all Program Administrators with GAFC permissions under that Basic Control Account.

The Program Administrator who last edited the Access Key will receive an email notification that they have an application to review.

No. You can choose to opt-out of Final Approval and the application will be submitted to American Express directly without any Program Administrator review. By default, the ‘Review for Final Approval’ has been set to ‘Yes’ for every Access Key.

Yes, there are two types of applications that don’t go to the Program Administrator for final review and approval: ‘Quick Send’ applications and applications initiated by a Program Administrator using Access Keys without Final Approval selected.

Once completed, applications requiring Post-Approval appear in the To Do List tab for all Program Administrators with GAFC permissions under that Basic Control Account. In addition, the Program Administrator who last edited the Access Key will receive an email notification that they have an application to review.

The Program Administrator who set up or last edited the Access Key will receive an email notification that there is a completed application to review. When any Program Administrator logs onto Global Apply for Card, they will see applications to review and approve in the ‘To Do List’.

• Change delivery address from residential to business (unless the company is set up on Central Card delivery).
• Edit some of the non-personally identifiable information on the application such as Employee ID or Cost Center.
• Route the application back to the Applicant to correct fields with errors, and include a note with details on what the Applicant needs to correct.
• Approve applications one at a time or all at the same time.
• Cancel applications one at a time or all at the same time.
• Change from or to Expedited Card Delivery.

American Express does not guarantee at any time certain delivery date or time frame for ExpeditedCard Delivery. Expedited Card Delivery time is subject to the courier services available in the country in which the requested delivery address is located.

When a Program Administrator routes the application back by selecting the link that says ‘Route back to Applicant’, they can enter comments as to why they are routing it back, and theApplicant will receive the details in an email. The Applicant then logs in again using the details in their email, fixes the errors and re-submits to the Program Administrator for review. When the application is rerouted to the Applicant, the application status will appear as ‘Sent to Employee’ in the ‘Track Applications’ tab since the Card application is pending with the employee.

The ‘Track Applications’ tab allows you to view any individual Card application and its status in the system.

GAFC statuses include:

• Sent to Employee
• Pending
• Pre-Approver
• Pre-Approver Cancelled
• Pending Program Administrator Review
• Pending American Express Approval
• Approved by American Express
• On Hold by American Express
• Cancelled by American Express
• Declined by American Express
• Program Administrator Declined
• Application Expired

The ‘Track Applications’ tab can be used to check the status of the application throughout its lifecycle. This section will show the status at every stage of the application.

Yes, the applicant will receive an email notification advising that the company has declined/cancelled their application within 15 minutes.

The Applicant will receive an email notification advising that the company has declined/cancelled their application within 15 minutes.

To initiate Card applications with either an Access Key or using the Quick Send function, look for  GDC CPC as a selection in the “Card Type” drop-down menu.

As a Program Administrator, you will be able to:

• Initiate CPC along with the other Corporate Cards in one digital location      
• Monitor and approve all Corporate Cards in a single view with filtering options
• Add and set spending limits¹ for Card Applicants and review and edit spending limits¹ before approving Card applications

You can determine whether spending limits¹ should be selected by the Program Administrator or the Card Applicant. When Card Applicants select their spending limits¹, Program Administrator’s final approval will be automatically required before approving the application.

No, any in-progress/outstanding applications for GDC CPC in the Apply for Card (AFC) tool will not transfer to Global Apply for Card.

No, Access Keys from Apply for Card will not transfer over to Global Apply for Card.

You may visit the dedicated webpage on the GDC Resource Center related to this enhancement to learn more.