How to buy Bitcoin (BTC) with an American Express card from the USA

What follows is a comprehensive guide to buying Bitcoin with an American Express card, including the pros, cons, and details on fees.

American Express credit cards and charge cards can be used to buy Bitcoin — and other cryptocurrencies — but there are important considerations before you whip out your card.

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Step 1: Pick an exchange

The first step is to sign up with an exchange that accepts American Express cards as a payment method. Unfortunately, American Express is not accepted as widely as Visa and Mastercard (a problem you’ve probably already bumped into). All of the exchanges listed on this page accept deposits made with American Express.

When deciding which exchange to use, pay close attention to credit card processing fees, brokerage/spread, trading fees, and withdrawal fees.

Although you may mostly be interested in buying Bitcoin now, check what other features are available on the platform, like the ability to stake for a reward, lending against your Bitcoin, or trading NFTs.

Step 2: Verify your identity

After you have set up your account, you’ll typically need to confirm your identity. You’ll probably be asked to produce photographic ID such as your driver’s license or passport. It isn’t uncommon for an exchange to ask for a selfie of you holding the ID.

Step 3: Decide how much to allocate

Bitcoin’s price is influenced by many different factors. Supply and demand, government regulations, media hype, investor sentiment, and what Elon Musk tweets about all play a role. Needless to say, it is a very volatile asset class. Be clear about what you’re getting yourself into and carefully decide how much to allocate to this investment.

Step 4: Fund your exchange account

The next step is to add funds to your account with your American Express card.

• American Express allows crypto purchases. However, they limit how much you can buy each day and overall for the month.
• American Express classify crypto purchases as a cash equivalent, which means they incur the cash advance interest rate. Note that this means interest will begin to accrue from the date of the transaction (if you aren’t using a charge card).
• Most exchanges charge a fee to process deposits made with a credit card. This fee is in addition to the interest charged. It may be higher than you would pay using a Visa or Mastercard.
• Deposits made with an American Express card are typically available in your account immediately.

Step 5: Configure an order

After depositing funds to your account, you can place an order and buy Bitcoin.

Market orders require very little configuration and execute at the next best market price. They are the easiest and fastest way to buy.

Trigger orders are configured to execute at a set price and can be used to carry out a trading strategy, i.e. buy at a certain price in the future.

Some exchanges may also let you set up a recurring order to buy Bitcoin regularly, provided that you have adequate funds in your exchange account.

Step 6: Buy

Once you decide which type of order you want to place, fill out the order form and submit it. Your Bitcoin will be available in the exchange wallet shortly after.