American Express Personal Loans Review

Our take on American Express

American Express offers low-rate personal loans and charges no upfront fees — only four of Credible's lending partners offer lower rates, and only by a small margin. Plus, it's taken top honors for customer satisfaction three years running in J.D. Power’s annual Consumer Lending Satisfaction study. But you must be invited to apply, and loans are limited to current Amex cardholders. 

Who is an American Express personal loan best for?

• American Express card members: American Express personal loans are available only to select Amex cardholders. It may not be worth opening an American Express credit card just to get a personal loan offer. But if you get an offer, consider whether it makes sense to use the loan — perhaps to consolidate or refinance higher-rate debt. Rates are highly competitive (starting at 6.99% APR and topping out at 19.99%), and there are no origination fees.
• Borrowers with excellent credit: With excellent credit (an 800+ FICO score), you could qualify for Amex’s rock-bottom rate. Only a handful of lenders offer rates this low. 

Who (or what) is American Express not best for?

• Non-customers: You can’t apply for an Amex personal loan unless you receive an invite as a current card holder.
• Borrowers without excellent credit: While American Express doesn’t disclose specific credit score requirements, the company typically extends offers only to its most qualified customers. 
• Small loans: The smallest personal loan you can get from American Express is $3,500. If you need less, consider a lender offering small personal loans or use your American Express credit card to cover the expense.
• Paying off Amex credit card debt: Though you can use an AMEX personal loan to pay balances off or down with other credit card companies, you can’t use it toward Amex credit card debt. 

Pros and cons

Details on the pros

• Competitive rates: American Express personal loan rates range from 6.99% to 19.99%. Only 4 Credible partners offer lower starting rates, and not by much (Achieve has the lowest starting rates at 5.74%.) 
• No origination fees: Amex doesn’t charge origination fees on personal loans. These fees are usually deducted from the loan amount upfront. Like many lenders, American Express also doesn’t charge prepayment penalties for paying off your loan early. 
• Funding as soon as 1 business day: Once the loan is approved, funds can be in your account within 1 business day, though your bank could take additional time to make the funds available.
• Highest ranked lender for satisfaction (J.D. Power): In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study, American Express was the highest-ranked lender for unsecured personal loans. This was the third year in a row that Amex claimed the top spot.

Details on the cons

• Invitation-only loans: The biggest drawback of Amex personal loans is that you can only apply if you have an American Express credit card and receive an invitation.
• $3,500 minimum borrowing amount: The smallest amount you can borrow is $3,500, which isn’t ideal if you need a smaller loan. Consider other lenders if you want to borrow less, such as Best Egg ($2,000) or LendingClub ($1,000).
• High late fees: American Express charges a $39 fee if you make a late payment or have insufficient funds in your account on your payment date. The latter may also result in a fee from your bank.
• Restrictions on debt consolidation: One of the most popular uses for a personal loan is debt consolidation. However, American Express doesn’t allow you to use the loan funds to pay off existing American Express credit card debt.

How to qualify for an American Express personal loan

Qualifying for an American Express personal loan is tough: You must 1) be a current card member, and 2) be invited to apply. To do so, log in to your account and see if you’ve been preapproved. If you have, your approved max borrowing amount and rate may already be provided.

Because of its exclusive nature, Amex doesn’t list any income or credit score requirements for its personal loans. However, Amex does note that you must be:

• 18 years or older
• A U.S. citizen or a resident of the U.S. or its territories

American Express personal loan purposes

You can use a loan from Amex for most typical personal loan purposes, including:

American Express fees and penalties

American Express doesn’t charge application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties. However, late payments and insufficient funds are assessed a $39 fee.

American Express vs. other lenders

American Express company details and history

American Express was founded on March 18, 1850, as an express delivery company. Amex then entered the financial industry with money orders and travelers checks in 1891. Amex launched its first credit card in 1958 and has since expanded to offer financial services and travel booking. In 2017, the company began offering personal loans.

Contact information

To speak with someone specifically about personal loans, use the following contact info:

• Phone: 1-844-273-1384 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET)
• Mail (general inquiries): American Express, P.O. Box 981535, El Paso, TX 79998
• Mail (bill payment): American Express, P.O. Box 1270, Newark, NJ 07101

You can also manage your account online or via the mobile app, which has a chat feature.

Methodology

Credible evaluated 32 lenders across 1,184 data points to choose the best lender overall plus top picks for different borrowers and use cases. Across lenders, we collected data on customer experience and service options, minimum and maximum fixed interest rates, minimum and maximum loan amounts, funding times, loan terms, fees, discounts, third-party reviews, and more.

We assigned a score to each attribute based on how that feature compared with the same feature for every other lender in the set. Scores were weighted according to their relative importance — for instance, maximum origination fee scores received a high weight since loan cost is among the most important factors in determining loan value. Individual attribute scores were then added to determine each lender's overall star rating. 

Attributes were grouped into categories; each category contributed to lender scores as follows: 

• Borrower cost (22.5%): Origination fee ranges and minimum and maximum APRs measure upfront and overall costs and lender accessibility across credit score groups.
• Flexibility (22.5%): Maximum loan terms, number of loan purposes, minimum and maximum loan amounts, and availability of joint and secured loans measure the range of options for loan size, repayment terms, and loan types.
• Eligibility and availability (22.5%): Minimum income requirements, funding speed, minimum credit score requirements, and state availability measure how easily and how quickly borrowers can access personal loans.
• Reputation (15%): Trustpilot, Better Business Bureau, and J.D. Power ratings measure customer satisfaction.
• Discounts, customer service, and account management (12.5%): Discounts for autopay and direct pay, plus availability of mobile apps and live customer support chat, measure borrower perks and ease of loan management.
• Partner lender data (5%): Data from loans closed by our partners, including average rates, loan amounts, funding time, and eligibility criteria, measure real-world performance and borrower outcomes.

Non-partner lenders were evaluated based on the same criteria but not assigned star ratings. Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our full personal loans lender rating methodology.