American Express 1998 Annual Report Download - page 17

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15
American Express Relationship Services also
manages our interactive and smart card initiatives.
We have made a number of minority investments
in Internet firms over the past few years, and we
invested in four additional companies in 1998:
Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, which supplies
online information guides and event ticketing for
consumers and merchants; Concur Technologies,
which provides employee desktop solutions including
travel and expense management; SaveSmart, which
offers personalized electronic promotions from
participating merchants; and @Back-up, which
offers computer back-up services over the Internet.
We also invested in Proton World, a leading
developer and licenser of smart card electronic
purse and related technology, and became a licensee
of the MULTOS smart card operating system.
Each of these investments is modest in size.
Express Relationship Services’ fee-based services,
such as airflight and baggage insurance, grew
7 percent during 1998.
We added to these traditional products by
launching three new fee-based services: Credit
Protection for the Charge Card, which provides
coverage for outstanding balances in the event of
disability or involuntary unemployment; Home
Services, providing discounts on home repair
and improvement; and Home Protection, which
extends warranties for major home systems
and appliances.
During the year, we launched electronic gift
cards with Tower Records and Chanel. These
products, which work like an electronic gift certi-
ficate, are designed to help merchants increase
business and customer loyalty.
WORLDWIDE ANNUAL SPENDING PER CARD
AMERICAN EXPRESS VS. VISA/MASTERCARD CARDS
American Express
Visa/MasterCard
Purchases of goods and services only.
American Express figures exclude
network cards as well as spending
on those cards.
*Estimate for Visa/MasterCard figures.
Source: The Nilson Report,
Oxnard, Calif. ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98*
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
Average annual spending on American Express Cards is significantly higher than on Visa or MasterCard
products — due in part to the appeal of rewards programs and to our expanded merchant coverage. This
higher spending volume helps us maintain our position as the single largest card issuer in the world.