A class action lawsuit was filed against American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. The lawsuit accused American Express of using anti-steering rules in its merchant agreements to stop merchants from encouraging customers to use lower-cost payment cards. Plaintiffs alleged that those rules inflated prices for consumers who used Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and debit cards, even if they never used an American Express card.
The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 2019. It was litigated for years, certified in part, tried to a jury, and ultimately settled after trial. In July 2026, the court gave final approval to a $17.5 million settlement.


