February 2021

American Express (American Express International Inc. Hong Kong Branch), is committed to protecting your privacy. Our global set of Data Protection and Privacy Principles outline our commitment to the privacy of all our customers.
This Online Privacy Statement outlines what information we collect online, why we collect it, and how we access, use, disclose, and protect it.  This includes information we collect online through:

• Online services we operate – such as our websites and mobile apps. 
• Services or content we provide to third party platforms – such as online communications, social media pages, voice assistant apps, and digital ads. 
• All other services or content that link to or reference this statement.  

Keep in mind, this statement doesn’t apply to online services operated by American Express that provide and maintain their own online privacy statements. 

Our websites and apps are not intended for use by children under 18 years of age. We don’t knowingly collect information online from – or market online to – children under 18 years of age.

Here’s something to keep in mind

We may provide you with more details about how we use your information, depending on the product or service you use. In this case, we’ll provide additional Terms & Conditions, privacy statements, or notices. 

If you are a customer of American Express International, Inc., Hong Kong Branch, please also refer to our Notice to Customers relating to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (the "Notice"). The Notice explains how we will handle your personal information, and covers both online and other information. It sets out the purposes for which your personal information will be used, to whom your personal information may be disclosed, summarizes your rights under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (including your right to opt-out from the use of your personal information for direct marketing purposes) and gives details of an American Express officer to contact about your personal information. Your personal information is important. You should read the Notice carefully to ensure you understand how we will use your personal information and your rights. You should also read the declarations contained in the application form before applying for an American Express Card, if you do not want to receive direct marketing, make the appropriate selection(s) to opt-out.

Third-party services – such as social media sites – have additional terms that explain how they handle your information. Please take a moment to review the terms of any other online services you use, to ensure your security. 

What’s in this statement?

A. Information We Collect

B. Use of Information

C. Disclosure of Information

D. Aggregated and Anonymized Information

E. Security

F. Your Rights

G. Your Choices

H. Contacting Us

I. Changes to This Statement

A. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The type of information we collect depends on the product or service you use.  In some cases, you provide us with this information directly. You disclose information such as your name, date of birth, address, phone number, and email when you:

• Apply for an American Express product or service online.
• Access our online account services.
• Book a flight through American Express Travel or purchase something on our websites.
• Enroll in an Amex Offer, participate in a promotion, or take one of our surveys.

If you apply for an American Express Card online, we may collect more detailed personal information such as:

• Your employment details.
• Your income.
• Biometric information.

We’ll only collect personal information for legitimate business purposes.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We also collect information through Cookies and Similar Technologies when you use our online services or access content online.

A cookie is a small data file that a website transfers to your computer. Similar technologies include clear GIFs, web beacons, and pixel tags, which tend to be transparent images on websites. Our Cookies and Similar Technologies collect information about your device, operating system, and web browser. They also collect information about your use of the device. 

Cookies and Similar Technologies collects information that includes:

• The operating system or type of device you use to open emails from American Express.
• Information related to your IP address, such as your domain, internet provider, and general geographic location.
• How you use our websites and apps, such as what you search for on our websites and apps, the pages you view, how long you stay, and how often you visit them.
• How you search for our websites or apps, which website or apps directed you to us, and, in some cases, if you’ve visited a website operated by one of our business or commercial partners.
• Ads or online content created by American Express or our business and commercial partners that you view, access, or click.
• Whether you open our emails, which sections you click, and how often you open them.
• If you use your mobile device to access our products or services, we may collect information related to that device, such as your location.

Other Sources of Information

We may collect your information from other sources in accordance with product or service-specific privacy notices we’ll send you. For example, in accordance with the Notice, we may collect information from your Card transactions, publicly available records and databases, or third-party sources, such as credit bureaus. We may combine this other information with the information we collect under this statement.

B. USE OF INFORMATION
We use information about you in a number of ways. We’ll use it to:

• Deliver and improve our products and services.
• Process your application for one of our products or services, process and complete transactions, let you know about new features and benefits, and manage your accounts.
• Recognize you and your device in order to better communicate more effectively.
• Determine whether you may be interested in new products or services.
• Advertise and market our products and services with your consent, along those of our commercial and business partners. See the Digital Advertising section below for more information.
• Conduct research to better understand our online visitors, customers, and Card Members.
• Request feedback or reviews about our products and services, along with those of our commercial and business partners.
• Analyze the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing campaigns.
• Manage our business risks, such as fraud and credit and security risks.
• Review and process your application for one of our products or services.
• Manage your existing products or services.
• Detect and prevent fraud or criminal activity in order to safeguard your accounts.
• We may use automated systems to help us make certain decisions, process card applications, manage fraud, and assess security risks.
• We’ll also perform other duties required or permitted by law, or with your consent.
  

Digital Advertising

We advertise through our websites and apps, as well as third-party platforms. We may use your information to serve your devices marketing content or ads across tailored to your interests and general geographic location.

Here are some ways this works:

• We use online behavioral advertising to collect information through Cookies and Similar Technologies regarding your online behavior over time and across different websites. Then, we use this information to serve you content or ads tailored to your interests.
• We may also provide content on social media sites and participate in targeted advertising campaigns on these platforms.
• If you follow our social media pages or “like” content on these platforms, we may use your information to improve what and how we serve content to you on social media.
• Keep in mind, we don’t own these websites and apps, and are required to use your information only in ways that are consistent with the privacy policies and Terms & Conditions of these platforms.

C. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

We may disclose information about you when necessary. We could disclose information to:

• Providers who perform services for us that include printing, mail, advertising and marketing. We require all of such service providers to protect personal information according to our standards and use it only for the purposes we allow.
• Regulatory authorities, courts, and governmental agencies, in order to comply with legal or regulatory requirements, assist in legal or regulatory investigations, and protect the rights of American Express or others.
• Companies within the American Express group.
• Business or commercial partners – other financial institutions, loyalty programs, travel partners, and certain advertising partners with whom we offer or develop products and services.
• Necessary parties involved in the sale of all or part of a company in the American Express group, or its assets.
• Other relevant third parties, as required or permitted by law or with your consent. 
  Cross-Border Transfers of Personal Information. We may need to transfer personal information to other countries with different data protection laws, in order to provide you with our products or services, unless it’s restricted by applicable law. Keep in mind, no matter where we process personal information about you, we’ll always protect it in the manner described in the Data Protection and Privacy Principles, this Statement, and in accordance with applicable laws. 

D. AGGREGATED AND ANONYMIZED INFORMATION

We sometimes process information so that it no longer identifies any individual. This is referred to as aggregated and anonymized information. We use aggregated and anonymized information to:

• Analyze patterns among groups of people, Such as Card Members and online users.
• Create business insights or statistical research reports.
•  Improve our advertising and our business. We sometimes share aggregated and anonymized information with third parties, for many of the same reasons mentioned above. 

E. SECURITY

We use administrative, organizational, technical, and physical security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your personal information. Here’s what you should know:

• These measures include technological safeguards and appropriate access controls to data and facilities.
• We take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify your personal information when we no longer need it.
• We keep personal Information for only as long as necessary to provide you with products or services – unless we’re required or permitted to keep it for longer by law, regulation, or for litigation or regulatory investigations.

F. YOUR RIGHTS

You have the right to access, update, and change or correct your personal information in certain instances. They include:

• Requesting details on the personal information we have about you and instructing us to update, change or correct such information.
• Withdrawing your consent to receive promotion offers free of charge at any time.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights or if you have questions about how we process information about you, please feel free to get in touch, at the details below.

G. YOUR CHOICES

You have the power to make choices about how American Express uses your information for marketing and advertising purposes. We work with a range of advertising partners including ad networks, ad servers, and social media platforms to serve you our ads online. Your choices may vary, depending on whether we’re serving you ads through websites, email, apps, or social media.  

• You can change your cookie preferences in your Browser (for example, Chrome, Safari or Internet Explorer) or your mobile device settings to limit the ways in which cookies may be used to collect and use information about you. Click here for more information.
• You can adjust how we use your information through your mobile device settings – for example, you can turn off location-based services and device ad tracking.
• If you don’t want to receive direct marketing communications from us, you can opt out through:
  • Completing and returning  the Opt Out Form
  • Email: Click unsubscribe on the bottom of an email and follow the instructions or go to the email preference page.: 

Keep in mind, even if you opt out of direct marketing, we’ll still communicate with you in order to service your account, fulfill your requests, or administer a promotion or program you’ve opted to be part of.

Communication Preferences

You can also make choices about how we communicate with you. To update your  communication preferences, you can: 

• Log into your account to update your marketing choices.
• Call the number on th back of your card

H. CONTACTING US

If you have any questions about this statement, feel free to get in touch at the number on the back of your Card or write to the Data Protection Officer at the following address:

The Data Protection Officer
American Express International Inc. Hong Kong Branch
18/F, 12 Taikoo Wan Road, Hong Kong

You can update your personal information by logging into your account online or in your Amex® App anytime. We’re here for you 24/7.  

I. CHANGES TO THIS STATEMENT
We may change this statement when necessary. Depending what we change, we may let you know in advance. Whenever we make any changes, we’ll update the “Effective Date” at the top of this page. Any changes to this statement will become effective immediately when posted. When you continue to use our products and services following an update, it will indicate that you accept the revised statement.