How to Get an American Express Work-From-Home Job in Customer Care

Have you ever had an issue with your bank account or credit card provider and needed to talk to a customer service representative?

Maybe you had a discrepancy with your monthly bill or perhaps you needed to report a lost debit card — both of these instances require talking to another person on the phone to quickly solve your problems.

What you may not have realized is that the people on the other line could have been working from home as virtual employees.

Credit card companies — specifically American Express — hire hundreds of virtual customer care representatives to handle their customer service.

In this article, we’re going to talk about an excellent work-from-home job for the most driven and dedicated employees: a Virtual Platinum Customer Care Professional for American Express.

We’ll go over the responsibilities of this remote job, the worker requirements, the benefits and compensation, and how you can apply.

Job Description

In short, Virtual Customer Care Professionals for American Express help customers in any way they can.

This could be addressing customer issues regarding an account, upgrading a customer to a new credit card, or finding solutions to customer problems.

A typical day in the life of a Customer Care Professional involves taking customer calls and addressing customer inquiries.

A majority of your day will be spent on the phone, helping customers and employing sales techniques to earn more business.

Since this job is fully remote, you’ll be able to work from the comfort of your own home.

However, you will have to follow a set schedule that you’ll receive from American Express.

Your schedule may vary from week to week, but you’ll have some say in when you’re available to work.

Depending on how much you’re willing to work, there are both full-time and part-time positions.

If you decide that a part-time role is more fitting, you’ll be required to have a weekly schedule of 20 hours.

If a full-time position is what you’re looking for, then you’ll need to remain flexible about which hours you can work.

You likely won’t work a typical 9-to-5 shift.

Responsibilities

As a Customer Care Professional, you’ll be responsible for taking phone calls from customers throughout your shift.

Each phone call will present a unique scenario in which you’ll consult with card members to address their concerns and needs, promote the benefits of American Express credit cards, update customer account information, and ensure goodwill on behalf of the company.

Your main goal will be to handle any problems that may arise.

In doing so, customers will remain happy, and American Express will be able to retain its current customers.

For example, if a customer calls Customer Care to complain about an extra service fee, it will be your job to pull the customer’s information and begin to resolve the problem.

As you talk through the situation, you’ll need to maintain a positive and helpful attitude to ensure that the customer remains happy, and you’ll do everything in your power to bring about a positive outcome.

You’ll also try to upsell current customers to better American Express products whenever possible.

This is not only good for American Express but also for you as you’ll be compensated with additional sales incentives.

For example, if you find out that a customer travels frequently and there’s a certain American Express card that offers much better travel benefits, you could tell them about all the additional benefits and bonus points they could receive and encourage them to sign up.

If they sign up, you’ll be rewarded for hitting certain performance marks and sales goals.

So what qualifications do you need to land one of these positions?

Qualifications and Requirements

Since building solid relationships with its customers is critical to its business, American Express looks to hire only the best customer service representatives out there.

Minimum Requirements

The minimum requirements for becoming an American Express Customer Care specialist are a high school diploma (or equivalent) and at least two years of previous experience in customer service.

Having a bachelor’s degree is definitely an added bonus, but it’s not required.

On top of these basic requirements, there are a handful of professional skills you’ll need to secure a position.

The Integrity to Handle Sensitive Information

Since you’ll be handling customers’ personal and financial information call after call, American Express is putting a great deal of trust in you.

Before hiring, they need to make sure they can absolutely trust you.

American Express will run a background check before hiring you as an employee.

A Passion for Sales

Sales will be a critical aspect of your job and one of your main performance indicators.

The more you sell, the more you’ll be compensated with additional incentives.

If you have a passion for sales and a drive to close deals, then this is the perfect job for you.

The Stamina to Answer Many Calls

You should be prepared to receive a stream of calls on all your shifts.

This may drive some people crazy.

But if this is the right job for you, you’ll think of it as more opportunities to help customers, and in turn, to increase your chances of closing sales.

Having positive customer interactions will be your key to reaping more bonuses.

The Ability to Adapt to All Communication Styles

Not only should you be resilient to the number of calls that come in, but also to the nature of each call.

Some people may be quiet, some may be talkative, some may be happy, and some may be mad.

It will be your job to match your tone to the communication style of each caller.

Inevitably, some customers will be upset, and you will have to diffuse the situation and maintain your composure.

Technical Savvy

Part of your job will require you to use customer software to handle incoming calls and view customer information.

You’ll also need to be familiar with Windows applications.

As long as you know your way around a computer, you should be fine in this department.

A Commitment to Punctuality and Reliability

Nobody wants an employee who doesn’t show up to work without giving notice or is consistently late every single day.

Since you’re working from home, you’re given a lot of responsibility to make sure you clock in and start working on time.

System Requirements

Beyond the worker requirements, there are also some technical requirements you’ll need to properly set up your workspace and work at home.

These include the following:

• Dedicated and separate high-speed internet service
  • At least 25 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload speed
  • Must be DSL or cable, no wireless or satellite services are allowed
• Dedicated and separate analog landline phone
  • No VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)
  • A phone modem is preferred over a wall jack
• A secure home office that is free of distractions and background noise

The nice part about working remotely for American Express is that they will cover your internet and phone bill (for your work lines) through an approved provider in your area.

If there isn’t an approved provider in your area, American Express will cover your installment fees, and you’ll be given a monthly allowance to cover the connection cost.

Location Requirements

As the final job requirement, you’ll need to be located within the United States and be able to legally work as a U.S. citizen.

Depending on which role you apply for, you’ll also have to reside in certain states.

For example, some positions don’t give Alaskan residents the opportunity to apply.

Other positions — like the part-time role — don’t allow applications from Alaska, California, or Hawaii.

Make sure you read the fine print before applying.

Benefits and Compensation

American Express Customer Care positions are great opportunities for people looking for a decent-paying job that also allows the flexibility of working from home.

On top of the hourly pay, you’ll also have access to cash bonuses, performance incentives, and great benefits.

The hourly wage for Customer Care Professionals is around $17.

Plus, you can access additional pay — through profit sharing, incentive bonuses, and commission sharing — that can be as much as $8,500.

Some of these extra bonuses are largely performance-based, so not everyone will have the same results.

Here are the averages, according to Glassdoor:

You can also access the excellent benefits that American Express has to offer.

This includes health and dental insurance, 401(k) contributions, paid vacation time, and much more.

As you go through the interview process, make sure to clarify with human resources the exact details of everything mentioned above.

Apply Today

If you think you might be interested in an American Express work-from-home position in Virtual Customer Care, then make sure to check out the full-time job listing and part-time positions on their job portal.

Not only is this a great opportunity to get your foot in the door at one of the most recognizable companies on the planet, but you could also use this gig to build your resume and qualify for a whole range of other career opportunities.

We wish you the best of luck in nailing your interview process and becoming part of the AMEX team.