A Journey With American Express

I am so thrilled that so many of you have become regular readers of this site. On The Road was born out of a lifelong idea to share the places and things that I see and do. Kudos to the good Dr. for the great book, Oh The Places You Will Go, a true inspiration for this idea. As I travel, for business (as is usually the case) or for pleasure (too rarely) I must admit that am constantly amazed and inspired by all that life has to offer us. The ability to share that with an audience is truly energizing.

We live in a society I feel that is too often hot or cold. The experiences we share are very rarely mediocre, rather they are either the greatest or the worst. We don’t just tell jokes, we tell “the funniest” jokes. We don’t share gossip, we share “the greatest” story. When we tell tales of tragedy, they are always “the saddest”. I think that it is acceptable to say that things are, “just okay”. Not everything has to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Anyways, I was recently approached by American Express to consider a new program they are starting. American Express has asked a few bloggers to become members of their new Enthusiast Program. Here are the details:

American Express approached me to be an “Enthusiast” because they thought my obsession with travel related to specific Charge Card rewards and benefits. They told me they were looking for bloggers who would be willing to use an American Express Charge Card for two months and share my experiences using it on my blog – and on their site.

I already had a Platinum Card. One cool thing was that they gave me 50,000 Membership Rewards points right away. (The reason for this was because I’m only working with them for two months and they wanted me to be able to apply them to my life while I’m featured in the program.) They asked me to share my experiences with you through my posts and Tweets. I was told I could share my own opinion – positive or negative.

I was not paid. (I did get 50,000 Membership Points credited to my account.) I was invited to visit American Express headquarters in New York City and they handled the modest travel expenses. Our meeting occurred in September during the U.S. Open so they had a ticket for me and a guest to watch the US Open.

Guidelines for our Relationship with Social Media Influencers

When American Express reached out to me, they gave me the following “terms of engagement” that they asked me to follow:
· Be transparent and disclose my relationship and anything I’ve received as a result of my relationship with American Express.
· Be honest about my opinions.
· Offer suggestions and concerns.
· Clearly articulate when I am being compensated – by cash or in any other way – for consulting or other duties I may perform.
· Shared this policy openly and publicly.

So, for the next little while you will see posts and topics as you usually do, however they may have a comment here or there, good or bad about my American Express card. As you have come to learn, what you will find will be fair and balanced and of course opinionated.

Jonah