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AMERICAN EXPRESS CUSTOMER INTERNET PRIVACY STATEMENT - Canada

This Privacy Statement sets out how Amex Bank of Canada and Amex Canada Inc. (“Amex Canada”) and its agents and service providers (“we”) collect, use and safeguard the personal information you provide to us on our website. This Privacy Statement should be read in conjunction with the Amex Canada Privacy Code which is Amex Canada’s privacy policy and the Privacy Notice and/or Consent to Use of Personal Information for your Amex Canada product or service, if applicable. This Privacy Statement applies to customers of Amex Canada, visitors to our Canadian website and Amex Canada advertising on the internet. We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time and the most recent version will be available on this website. Date Last Revised: April 2009.

SECURITY

When you send confidential personal account data to us on an American Express Web site, we require that a "secure session" first be established using Secure Socket Layer (SSL). For further information about SSL and the safety and confidentiality of personal data transmissions over the Internet, please read our Security Q&A

INFORMATION COLLECTION ON OUR WEBSITE

When you browse www.americanexpress.ca and have not registered for any online service from American Express or accessed the website from a personalized communication, you browse anonymously. Personal information – such as your name, address, phone number or e-mail address – is not collected as you browse. If you register for an online service, access our website from an e-mail or other personalized communication sent to you or provide us with personal information, you will allow us to identify you.

For both anonymous visitors and known visitors to our website, we collect information such as the server your computer is logged onto, the domain name of your internet service provider, your browser type and version (for example, Netscape or Internet Explorer) and your IP address. An IP address is a number that is assigned to your computer automatically and required for using the Internet. We may also derive the general geographic area associated with an IP address. We use “cookies”, sometimes in combination with “web beacons” or similar technology to collect information about how this website is used such as average time spent on this website, pages viewed, and information searched for, access times, response rates to online or e-mail advertising and other relevant information about your online experience. If you are an anonymous visitor, the information in this paragraph does not personally identify you.

If you would like to learn more about cookies, web beacons and similar technology including your option to turn off or refuse to accept a request to place a cookie, please read About Cookies below for more information.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT WHEN YOU REGISTER, APPLY OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFY YOURSELF

In order to provide you with a particular product or service online, we may request that you voluntarily provide us with personal information, including your e-mail address and account number(s), for purposes such as website registration, correspondence, checking your statement online, conducting a transaction, participating in online surveys and otherwise enabling us to provide online products or services to you in an efficient manner. As noted above, if you register for an online service or access our website from an e-mail or other personalized communication sent to you or provide us with personal information, you will allow us to identify you. For example, when you enroll for Online Services or submit an application online for one of our products or services, you provide us with personal information.

When you register, apply or otherwise identify yourself, we may combine information about your use of www.americanexpress.ca and the online product or service you utilize with certain other online and offline information we have about you in order to customize your online experience and present you with relevant online and offline offers and updates.

For more information about our collection of personal information generally, please read the Amex Canada Privacy Code and the Privacy Notice and/or Consent to Use of Personal Information for your Amex Canada product or service, if applicable.

INFORMATION USE

We use information collected through your use of our website and by using cookies, web beacons and similar technologies in order to track the use of and enhance the development of our website, to tailor offers on this and other websites on which we advertise, to analyze the effectiveness of such offers and to customize our website.

When you register, apply or otherwise identify yourself online, this also allows us to personalize our communications and offers to you and allows us to provide you with a more effective user experience by recognizing when you are on this website. It also assists us in processing applications, completing your transactions, responding to your requests, providing products and services that you have requested and notifying you of account, product or service updates.
For more information about cookies and similar technology, please read About Cookies below.

USE OF E-MAIL ADDRESS

If you provide us with your e-mail address, or have done so in the past, or if we obtain your e-mail address from another source with your consent, we may send you e-mails so that we can make marketing offers or provide services to you if you are a customer. Examples of e-mail servicing include notifications that your online statement is ready for viewing or various e-mail alerts about your account which we may provide.

When we send e-mails to you, we may be able to identify information about your e-mail address, such as whether you can read graphic-rich html e-mails. If your e-mail address is html-enabled, we may choose to send you graphic-rich html e-mails.

Please note: we do not provide your e-mail address to third party business partners without your consent. However, we may send you offers on behalf of these business partners. Keep in mind that if you take advantage of an offer from an American Express business partner and become their customer, they may independently wish to send offers to you. In this case, you will need to inform them separately if you wish to decline receiving future offers from them.

DECLINING E-MAIL OFFERS

We provide customers with an easy means to decline receiving e-mail offers. Although some customers tell us they appreciate receiving e-mail offers, we recognize the importance of providing you with a choice. At any time, you may request to discontinue receiving these offers from us by clicking on the "How to decline e-mail offers" link below, clicking on the opt-out link usually located in the footer of the email or simply replying to the e-mail and typing "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.

All e-mail offers that you receive from us will inform you of how to decline receiving further e-mail offers.

How to decline E-mail

ADS ON THIS AND OTHER WEBSITES

If you have arrived at this website by clicking on an ad for one of our products or services or our ad has appeared on another website that you have visited, a cookie may be used in combination with web beacons or similar technology to help manage our online advertising. This session cookie helps us determine which of our ads and which external websites attract the most visitors to our website. In addition, we may display ads on this and other websites and we or an advertising service provider such as DoubleClick will place or read a cookie on your computer and will use non-personal information about your browser and your online activity to display ads or content on this and other websites. This cookie is a persistent cookie. Our use of cookies for these purposes is anonymous and not personally identifiable.

Please click here for more information about or to opt-out of the DoubleClick ad-serving cookie.

CHILDREN

We do not use www.americanexpress.ca to knowingly solicit data from or market to persons under the age of majority.

ABOUT COOKIES AND RELATED TECHNOLOGY

A cookie is a small piece of information that a website transfers to the hard drive of a visitor’s computer for record-keeping purposes. A web beacon, also known as a "clear GIF" (a common format for image files), is an invisible file located on web pages that you visit. They are often used in combination with a cookie to track navigation of a website. If you visit a page on this website that contains a web beacon, it communicates with your computer to determine, among other things, whether you have been to that page before or viewed a particular advertisement.

A cookie is used to help a website distinguish a user's browser as a previous visitor and thus save and remember any preferences that may have been set while the user was browsing the site. Cookies can also be used to collect information about how websites are used and help to manage online advertising by enabling us to understand which ads bring users to our website and tailor offers on this and other websites on which we advertise.

Cookies do not contain information that identifies you personally. A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive, pass on computer viruses or capture your e-mail address or other personal information. American Express uses both session cookies and permanent cookies at www.americanexpress.ca.

Session cookies are only active during the period that you are logged onto the American Express website and are removed when you leave. We use session cookies to maintain security, to facilitate your session and to keep track of the sections of the website that have been visited. This temporary cookie allows us to better serve you by providing conditional enhancements to your visit in accordance with your selected preferences. 

Permanent cookies remain on your hard drive until you remove them through your browser’s internet security settings. Permanent cookies are used to provide a more comfortable and personalized online experience. They store user preferences such as language, thus eliminating having to make the same entries on each visit.

If you become a registered user on an American Express website (with a designated user ID and password), we use permanent cookies so that we can provide customized information that we believe will be of value to you based on preferences indicated and, other information we have about you as an American Express customer.

It is possible to set your browser to inform you when a cookie is being placed -- this way, you have the opportunity to decide whether to accept the cookie. If you are just browsing our website and are not a registered user, you do not have to accept a cookie and you may still continue utilizing the site. However, if you will be accessing your confidential account information (such as Online Services), you must accept our website's cookies as they are essential for website administration and security. By accepting a cookie, keep in mind that your choice to decline e-mail marketing offers remains unaffected.

Here is how to set your cookie preferences:

Firefox 3.0 for Windows
To begin, please click on the “Tools” menu and select "Options". Click the "Privacy" icon that appears along the top of the newly opened window. To enable cookies, check the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. To disable cookies, uncheck the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. Select "OK" to close the "Options" window.

Firefox 2.0 for Windows
To begin, please click on the “Tools” menu and select "Options". Click the "Privacy" icon that appears along the top of the newly opened window. To enable cookies, check the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. To disable cookies, uncheck the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. Select "OK" to close the "Options" window.

Firefox 1.5 for Windows
To begin, please click on the “Tools” menu and select "Options". Click the "Privacy" icon that appears along the top of the newly opened window. Choose the "Cookies" tab to enter the cookies setting options. To enable cookies, check the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. To disable cookies, uncheck the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. Select "OK" to close the "Options" window.

Firefox 1.0 for Windows
To begin, please click on the “Tools” menu and select "Options". Click the "Privacy" icon that appears along the top of the newly opened window. Choose the "Cookies" to expand the cookies setting options. To enable cookies, check the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. To disable cookies, uncheck the "Allow sites to set Cookies" box. Select "OK" to close the "Options" window.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows
To begin, please click on the "Tools” menu and select "Internet Options". Select the "Privacy" tab. Select the "Advanced" button which can be found within the series of buttons within the Settings. Make sure that "Override automatic cookie handling" is selected in order to tailor the browser to accept all cookies. If you wish to disable persistent cookies, select the "Block" option for first-party and then select the checkbox for "Always allow session cookies". Select "OK" in Advanced Privacy Settings. Select "OK" in Internet Options.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 for Windows
To begin, please click on the "Tools” menu and select "Internet Options". Select the "Privacy" tab. Select the "Advanced" button which can be found within the series of buttons within the Settings. Make sure that "Override automatic cookie handling" is selected in order to tailor the browser to accept all cookies. If you wish to disable persistent cookies, select the "Block" option for first-party and then select the checkbox for "Always allow session cookies". Select "OK" in Advanced Privacy Settings. Select "OK" in Internet Options.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows
To begin, please click on the "Tools” menu and select "Internet Options". Select the "Security" tab and then "Custom Level" to display Security Settings. Scroll down until you see the cookie section of the list. Select "Enable" to enable cookies. To disable persistent cookies, select the "Disable" option under "Allow cookies that are stored on your computer". Select "Enable" to enable cookies. Select "OK" in Security Settings. Select "OK" in Internet Options.

Netscape Navigator 7.2 or later for Windows
To begin, please click on the "Edit” menu and select " Preferences ". Select the triangle next to "Privacy & Security" and select "Cookies". Select "Allow all cookies" or one of the other two enable options to accept cookies. Select "OK" to close the Preferences window.

Apple Safari 2.0 or later for MacOS
To begin, please click on the "Safari” menu and select "Preferences". Select the "Security" icon from the menu to display the cookie options. Select "Always" to accept all cookies. To disable cookies – de-select “Always”. Close the Preferences window.

Questions about this Privacy Statement?

If you are a Canadian customer and have questions about this Privacy Statement or your account, please call 1-800-668-AMEX. You may also write to us at:

Customer Service, Protection of Personal Information
101 McNabb Street
Markham, Ontario
L3R 4H8

AMEX CANADA PRIVACY CODE

American Express has long recognized and fully accepted our responsibility to safeguard the privacy, confidentiality and security of the personal information entrusted to us. This Privacy Code sets out the privacy policy of Amex Bank of Canada and Amex Canada Inc. (“Amex Canada”), and applies to their products, services and customers (including prospective customers) in Canada. The Code is consistent with the American Express Customer Privacy Principles, which apply to all American Express operations worldwide.

Related Links

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