American Express Bank is the a part of the well known Credit Card Company we know as AMEX or American Express. American Express Bank is bona fide federal savings bank and issues Certificates of Deposits to its customers.

The good news is the some of CD rates American Express Bank is offering are above national average. There are a few CD products where their rates are far below the national average.

National Average of CD Rates

As of today, AMEX’s three month certificate of deposit are  yielding .60 percent which is below prevailing average rate  of 0.725. The 6 Month CDs are yielding rates of 1.00 percent  which is also below national average of 1.018 percent.

The certificate of deposit rate which are higher than national averages are the ones that are for Long term.  These days national average for 12 month CD rates is at 1.308 percent.  American Express is offering 1.75 APY on 12 month certificates of deposit. Similarly the spread between national average and American Express Bank’s 18-Month CD rates is significant. earlier is at 1.447 percent while later is at 2.15 percent.

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When it comes to credit cards, American’s are least educated people around the world. Our knowledge about them comes mostly from friends and family or credit card sales people. After a long search on forums and blog comments I have come up with the list of 10 things that most of people should know about their credit cards and they don’t. It’s my contribution to help you learn more about your own credit card rights and providing you means and methods to protect them

1) Your Credit Card is Not Valid Till  You Sign it

There is a panel on the back of your card that says “Not Valid Unless Signed”. A large number of people ignore this or just write  “SEE ID” or “CHECK ID”. They become very shocked when some diligent merchants refuse their card.

Let’s have a look at what VISA’s procedures says about what should happen when a customer presents an unsigned card:

1. The merchant will ask for customer’s ID like Driving Licence or Passport.
2. Customer will be asked to sign the card. If he signs it, the signature on the card will be compared to the signature on his ID.
3. If customer refuses, the card will not be accepted.

It is a known fact that most of the merchants don’t follow this policy, but some like UPS are quite strict.

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