American Express has launched a donation matching programme to help local communities in the US impacted by COVID-19.
Through Amex’s Membership Rewards programme, card members can use their points towards a donation to Feeding America through JustGiving.com. Amex will match the dollar amount of each donation – up to $1m in total donations.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Feeding America is nationwide network of over 200 food banks and feeds more than 46m people.
Amex said: “We created the Membership Rewards donation matching programme out of a strong desire from our Card Members to use Membership Rewards points to support organisations fighting COVID-19.
“We know that together with our Card Members, we can make a difference for organisations providing critical support during this time. We encourage Card Members across the U.S. to join us in our efforts to address the impact of COVID-19.”
This comes after the company pledged $5m to fight the spread of COVID-19 and support relief efforts. This amount includes the company’s previous commitment of $2m in grants to the International Medical Corps, the CDC Foundation, Feeding America and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization.
In addition, Amex expects to make additional grants to community organisations.
Offering credit card relief
Amex is also one of the companies offering relief to its credit card customers.
The payments giant will has waived/refunded interest fees, late fees and returned check fees for customers as long as they contact customer support.
Amex cardholders can contact the customer support team by calling the number on the back of their credit cards. They can also use the Amex app or 24/7 chat feature on he Amex website.
The company said: “We know the past several weeks have been extremely difficult as the situation with coronavirus continues. Nothing is more important to American Express than the health and safety of our customers, and that of our colleagues. We want you to know that we’re here to help.”
