Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
Cox L Kevin
  2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO [AXP]
5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
Chief Human Resources Officer
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
200 VESEY STREET, AMERICAN EXPRESS TOWER
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
12/01/2016
(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10285-5001
4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)
5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)
6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
Common Stock 12/01/2016   M   52,903 A $ 49.13 52,903 D  
Common Stock 12/01/2016   S(1)(2)   48,970 D $ 72.3 (3) 3,933 (4) D  
Common Stock 12/01/2016   S(2)   3,932 D $ 72.3 (5) 22,068 I By GRAT II
Common Stock               22,359 I By GRAT I
Common Stock               52.63 (6) I by 401(k) Trust

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)
6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)
8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)
9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)
10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) $ 49.13 12/01/2016   M     52,903 01/31/2009(7) 01/30/2018 Common Stock 52,903 $ 0 72,097 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
Cox L Kevin
200 VESEY STREET, AMERICAN EXPRESS TOWER
NEW YORK, NY 10285-5001
      Chief Human Resources Officer  

Signatures

 /s/ Carol V. Schwartz, attorney-in-fact   12/02/2016
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) The reported disposition represents the sale of shares to cover the cost of exercise and withholding tax obligations arising from the stock option exercise reported above and the sale of 50% of the net shares acquired from this exercise; the reporting person will retain the balance of the net shares in accordance with the Company's retention guidelines for executive officers.
(2) The sales reported in this Form 4 were effected pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted by the reporting person on October 31, 2016.
(3) The price reported in Column 4 is a weighted average price. These shares were sold in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $71.79 to $72.72. The reporting person undertakes to provide to American Express Company, any security holder of American Express Company, or the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, upon request, full information regarding the number of shares sold at each separate price within this range.
(4) This balance also reflects the prior transfer of shares from the reporting person's direct holdings to indirect holdings in the GRATs shown below.
(5) The price reported in Column 4 is a weighted average price. These shares were sold in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $71.90 to $72.57. The reporting person undertakes to provide to American Express Company, any security holder of American Express Company, or the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, upon request, full information regarding the number of shares sold at each separate price within this range.
(6) Shares held in reporting person's account under the Company's Retirement Savings Plan. This plan uses unit accounting, and the number of shares that a participant is deemed to hold varies with the unit price of the Company pooled stock fund.
(7) 31,250 of the options exercised became exercisable on 1/31/2009; the balance became exercisable on 1/31/2010.

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