A look inside American Express’s cross-sell strategies

As part of Comperemedia’s Trends reporting series, our team of experts has been diving into cross-selling trends in financial services. The trends range from industry-wide insights into banking, credit cards, mortgages and loans, to brand strategies and consumer life cycles. While analyzing cross-sell direct mail volume in the banking space specifically, there was a noticeable bi-monthly jump in direct mail volume led by American Express. When breaking this down further, some interesting insights into the brand’s strategies were revealed.

American Express focused on cross-selling its High Yield Savings Account in the banking space, particularly during rate hikes. Cross-sell direct mail made up 7% of American Express’ total credit card and loan acquisition efforts but accounted for 86% of its banking mail volume, predominantly promoting its High Yield Savings Account, from March 2023 to March 2024. Leading a marketing push when rates increased allowed the brand to center higher APYs in its marketing, a method that likely allowed the brand to hold customers’ interest.

In its creative strategies, Amex relied on longstanding, well-established messaging in its advertising. Using aspirational imagery, centering rates, and comparing them to the national average, allowed Amex to focus on tried-and-true methods rather than taking a risk in untested waters. Similarly, by using layouts that consumers have seen before, the increased rates likely stand out even more, since they are the only aspect of the creative that changed.

Finally, the brand introduced exclusivity in January 2024, offering a higher savings APY of 4.60% to Platinum Card Members. The additional perk of an increased savings APY likely proved the worth of the Platinum Card even more, justifying the high annual fee. The brand could have further demonstrated the value of the APY by comparing it to the APY offered to other consumers, rather than just comparing it to the national average.

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