Q: How can you apply for an American Express Red Card?

A: This is a question I get asked regularly, so at this point I figure it would be easiest to write a blog post about the Red Card

What is it?
This credit card has been around since 2006. It’s a rewards card, but different in that the rewards your earn go to charity. On annual spending of above £5,000, the charitable donation is 1.25% of your purchases. For less than that amount, it’s 1.00%. These proceeds go to The Global Fund – an organization founded in 2002 to fight the pandemics AIDS/HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.

Who has one?
A number of A-list talent have supported the American Express Red credit card. Examples include supermodels Gisele Bündchen and Ella Macpherson, as well as the musician Bono. Gwnyth Paltrow has been photographed with the card before.

Kanye West has also favorably discussed the AmEx Red Card and Timbaland even rapped about it a couple years ago in his song The Way I Are.

How to get it?
If you live in the USA, you’re not going to find an American Express Red Card application to fill out… because it’s only available in the UK. For those residents, fortunately the card has no annual fee and the requirements to qualify are reportedly similar to the AmEx Green and Gold cards.

So unfortunately as of now, Americans can’t get the card. Hopefully, American Express will bring the Red Card to the United States someday. Considering that The Global Fund helps people in over 136 countries and has saved over 2,000,000 people, it’s too bad this card isn’t available outside the United Kingdom.

*2012 update* Back in spring 2011 American Express stopped accepting new applications for the RED Card, unfortunately. Hopefully they aren’t phasing it out, because it’s such a great cause.

p.s. If you’re an American and looking for a American Express that’s new and unique, check out the Zync card