FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

FILING · MN · 2017 FDD · 8+ YEARS OLD

American Express Travel Related Services FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) — 2017

The FDD is the 23-item legal disclosure every U.S. franchisor must hand you at least 14 days before you sign or pay anything (FTC Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436). American Express Travel Related Services's most recent FDD tracked here is the 2017 FDD · 8+ years old, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal) (a newer issuance very likely exists; ask the franchisor for it). Registration-state filings are public records, so you can read it free, with no sign-up.

Get the documentpublic record · PDF
Download from the Minnesota regulator (free) ↗

PUBLIC RECORD · FILED 2017 · SOURCE STATE MN

What the 2017 filing revealedextracted from the filing
ITEM 5Initial franchise fee$30,000
ITEM 7Total initial investment$30K–$50K
ITEM 3Disclosed litigation matters43
ITEM 19Earnings disclosure (FPR)None — no earnings claim published
ITEM 20Outlets (fiscal 2016)10 franchised at year end
ITEM 21Franchisor financial statementsUnmodified (clean) opinion — PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Item 21 · American Express Travel Related Services's own audited statements2017 FDD · page-cited

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2017 FDD; revenue fell 6% from FY2014 to FY2016.

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

  • Fiscal years covered: FY2014, FY2015, FY2016 (2017 FDD)
  • Statements are for: not extracted
  • Parent / owner: not identified in the statements
Fiscal yearFY2014FY2015FY2016
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

How to read this: royalties recur as long as franchisees trade; initial and development fees arrive only when new franchises are sold. A franchisor whose revenue leans on initial fees is funding itself by selling territories, and that revenue stops when sales slow. Under ASC 606 most franchisors recognize initial fees over the agreement term, so the line understates the cash collected in a strong selling year. Ad-fund revenue, where reported, is included in total revenue as the statements present it.

Each figure links to its page in the filed PDF. “Matched to statement” means our extraction and a second, rule-based read of the statement page agree; “extracted · not cross-checked” means the statement page is a scanned image or could not be read as text. Figures we could not place on a consistent scale are withheld, not guessed. Spotted an error? Report a correction.

Every figure above was extracted by software from the 2017 American Express Travel Related Services FDD as filed (figures are not individually checked by a person) and links back to that document. Fields that could not be extracted are omitted; no figure here is estimated. Extraction errors are possible: the filing controls, and FDDs are reissued annually; verify against the current issuance before relying on any number. Spotted an error? Franchisors and owners can report it via the contact on our Terms page.

American Express Travel Related Services FDD questions, answered

Where can I download the American Express Travel Related Services FDD for free?

American Express Travel Related Services's 2017 Franchise Disclosure Document is a public record, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). It can be downloaded free from the source link on this page — no broker form, no email signup required.

What year is American Express Travel Related Services's most recent FDD on file?

The most recent American Express Travel Related Services FDD tracked here is the 2017 FDD · 8+ years old, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). Franchisors must update their FDD annually, so a newer issuance very likely exists; confirm you are reading the current issuance before signing.

Does American Express Travel Related Services's FDD 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.

What does American Express Travel Related Services's FDD Item 20 show?

In fiscal 2016, American Express Travel Related Services ended with 10 franchised outlets and opened 10.

The American Express Travel Related Services validation checklist

questions built from this brand's own filings · read them all on the profile

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