Chip Lupo, Credit Card Writer
@CLoop
Yes, you can use your American Express credit card before it arrives because American Express gives eligible cardmembers access to their credit card number as soon as they get approved. You can start using your American Express credit card immediately after approval by adding the card details to a digital wallet. To receive access to your American Express credit card information, you must apply online (via desktop or mobile device) or over the phone with a customer service representative.
How to Use an American Express Credit Card Before It Arrives
- Apply for your American Express credit card online (via desktop or mobile device) or over the phone with a customer service representative and wait for a response. American Express will usually let you know if you were approved within minutes.
- Get your 15-digit American Express credit card number. American Express will email you the account information immediately after approval.
- Add your new American Express credit card information to a digital wallet, such as Apple Pay™, Google Pay™, Samsung Pay, PayPal or Amazon Pay.
- Use the American Express credit card to pay for purchases through the digital wallet.
The physical credit card that American Express will send you should arrive within 5-7 business days. Keep in mind that the credit card you receive will have the same 15-digit number as the one in your digital wallet, and you can continue to use both in parallel.

People also ask
Did we answer your question?
Important Disclosures
Ad Disclosure: Certain offers that appear on this site originate from paying advertisers. For full transparency, here is a list of our current advertisers.
Advertising impacts how and where offers appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear and their prevalence). At WalletHub we try to present a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.
Advertising enables WalletHub to provide you proprietary tools, services, and content at no charge. Advertising does not impact WalletHub's editorial content including our best picks, reviews, ratings and opinions. Those are completely independent and not provided, commissioned, or endorsed by any company, as our editors follow a strict editorial policy.