From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2017 FDD · 8+ years old — too old to rate
American Express Travel Related Services
Travel agencies · parent company: not identified
American Express Travel Related Services franchises travel agency locations that operate within the American Express travel network. A franchisee runs a travel agency selling leisure and business travel, using the brand's booking resources and supplier relationships to serve local clients.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Filing too old to rate
The newest FDD we hold for this brand is from 2017, more than two years old. Franchise systems change a lot in that time, so we don't rate it until we have a current filing.
Exit rate · fiscal 2016
No franchised base
no franchised outlets at the start of the year
Cost to open
$30K–$50K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from American Express Travel Related Services's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2017, extracted 2026-07-23) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
We don't rate on an FDD more than two years old; the loan record and model are shown as context until a current filing arrives.
FDD record · Item 20
Filing too old
Latest FDD we hold is from 2017.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
No SBA loans found
No 7(a)/504 loans matched to this brand.
Modeled risk
Not scored
Too little evidence for the model.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Clean opinion
Unqualified audit, 2017 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2016
Insufficient trend data.
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
The franchisor reported no franchised outlets at the start of fiscal 2016, so there is no franchised exit rate to report; the outlet tables below show what it does operate.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 0 |
| Opened | 10 |
| Transfers | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 10 |
| Net change | +10 |
The franchisor's own finances
FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2017 FDD
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2017 FDD; revenue fell 6% from FY2014 to FY2016.
This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.
Audit opinion
Unmodified (clean) opinion
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Revenue · FY2016
$32.12B
extracted · not cross-checked
Net income · FY2016
$5.41B
extracted · not cross-checked
Where FY2016 revenue came from
Royalty share not extracted
initial-fee share not extracted
Show the statement figures ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Fiscal year | FY2014 | FY2015 | FY2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $34.19Bextracted · not cross-checked | $32.82Bextracted · not cross-checked | $32.12Bextracted · not cross-checked |
| Net income (loss) | $5.88Bextracted · not cross-checked | $5.16Bextracted · not cross-checked | $5.41Bextracted · not cross-checked |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $30,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $30K–$50K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$30K–$50K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$30,000
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
See Item 6
not a single flat % — read the fee table
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on labor, rent, supplies, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for American Express Travel Related Services with a buyer-paid CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 2 wage cases against operators of this system, recovering $10K in back wages for 2 workers. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
2
Back wages owed
$10K
Employees affected
2
Since 2020
0
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual American Express Travel Related Services franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not American Express Travel Related Services itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Cases are matched to the brand by trade name and may include misattributed employers. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2021.
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
Filed against the franchisor · CourtListener/RECAP ↗ · 32mo ago
6 questions to ask an American Express Travel Related Services franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what American Express Travel Related Services has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
American Express Travel Related Services’ FDD makes no financial performance representation at all — legally, they've told buyers nothing about earnings. What did your first 24 months actually look like, month by month?
When a franchisor won't publish numbers, existing owners are the only source. Silence in Item 19 is a choice, not a requirement.
FDD Item 19 · 2017
- 02
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 03
Item 3 discloses 43 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?
Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.
FDD Item 3 · 2017
- 04
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 05
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 06
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if American Express Travel Related Services’ numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.
A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing American Express Travel Related Services’ numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
American Express Travel Related Services franchise questions, answered from the filings
How much does a American Express Travel Related Services franchise cost?
Per American Express Travel Related Services's 2017 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $30,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $30K–$50K (Item 7).
Does American Express Travel Related Services disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — American Express Travel Related Services's 2017 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.