Job Description

Since we first entered the travel business in 1915, our Travel Network has grown to become one of the world’s largest travel networks. But more than our size, we pride ourselves on our philosophy. At American Express, we don’t just help our Card Members travel the world—we help them truly experience it.

As a Work at Home Travel Counselor within American Express Travel, you will work in a virtual environment that will be aligned with our service center, taking incoming calls from Card Members, providing knowledgeable and consultative service based on your own experience and expert knowledge of the travel industry. Using effective questioning and rapport building, you will be able to make personalized recommendations and bookings through your understanding of the products and benefits available and ability to match these to the Card Members’ requirements. American Express fosters a goal-oriented environment, where you will be frequently coached as our commitment to help you develop world-class consultative skills. We want extraordinary Travel Counselors who can surpass our Card Members’ expectations by creating travel experiences of a lifetime.

As a Travel Counselor, you will be responsible for:

• creating memorable travel experiences for our Card Members by booking leisure travel with a key focus in domestic and international destination air, car and hotel travel arrangements
• being accountable and taking ownership of the Card Members’ experience from beginning to end
• staying ahead of industry trends and continuously building destination knowledge
• creating innovative ways to resolve Card Members’ issues or concerns to win their loyalty and travel spend; ultimately making loyal enthusiast out of the customer, so they will recommend American Express Travel to others

Candidates must be available to work between the hours of 7:00am – 1:00am ET, Monday - Sunday. Hours of operation may change due to business need.

If you know what it takes to provide a true ‘luxury’ experience, this may be the role for you. To learn more, click on www.americanexpress.com/careers

BENEFITS - (Based on individual elections) • Competitive salary • Exceptional cash incentive bonus programs and recognition programs • Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (Day 1) • Generous vacation and vacation purchase plan • 401(k) WITH company match of 5% after 6 months • Legal assistance, pet insurance, life and disability insurance • Medical and dependent care reimbursement programs • Domestic partner benefits

American Express is an equal opportunity employer.

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.

Qualifications

A successful applicant will have the following qualifications: Travel Industry Experience:

• Previous travel industry experience is necessary. A minimum of 2 years recent experience selling domestic and international travel is required. Strong international air booking experience is also essential; in combination with car and hotel is highly preferred.
• Extensive domestic and international destination knowledge, including knowledge of emerging destinations is essential to be successful.
• Customer Service and Communication Skills: The customer experience is our top focus so you will have a strong desire to provide an excellent service to our customers.
• Our customers have very different requirements from call to call so you will need to be able to identify these through the rapport you build and confidently match products and services to meet their needs and exceed their expectations.
• The ability to communicate with our customers is vital to your success in this role. It is important to be able to adapt your approach to the customer, providing personal insight and building a strong rapport. Your customer interaction will mainly be on the phone but strong written skills via e-mail are also very important.
• Previous call center experience is preferred.
• GDS and Computer Skills: GDS/computer reservations experience is required, Sabre is preferred.
• You must be IT literate as you will need to be able to understand and use internet search sites and e-mail, in addition to the GDS and other in-house systems. There is a great deal of multi-tasking involved in these roles and your ability to quickly and confidently navigate a number of systems at once will be vital.
• Research / information gathering and problem solving skills are essential, you will deal with a wide variety of inquiries so your ability to ‘think on your feet’ and provide in-depth solutions quickly and efficiently is essential.
• Sales Skills: Sales experience will be beneficial so that you can cross-sell relevant products and services.
• Effective consultative selling skills and the ability to listen to the customers’ needs, in turn offering confident recommendations, resulting in high satisfaction from the customer with the service they received

Other Skills:

• Time management skills are a must – due to the multi-tasking nature of the role, you will need to be re-prioritizing your workload regularly in order to meet your deadlines.
• The ability to adapt to an ever changing environment and being resilient
• Must have a can do attitude, curiosity and a healthy competitiveness
• Willingness to accept frequent feedback and openness to incorporate changes in service style
• Ability to work flexible shifts including nights and weekends is essential

The following are some of the requirements of the Work at Home Program. By applying for this position you are confirming and agreeing that your home will comply with the following.

LOCATION: • Although this position is considered Work at Home, the candidate must reside within the state of Illinois, including the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area surrounding counties that are located in Wisconsin and Indiana: • Gary, IN Metropolitan Division o Jasper County (IN) o Lake County (IN) o Newton County (IN) o Porter County (IN) • Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division o Lake County (IL) o Kenosha County (WI)

ACCESS TO YOUR HOME/WORK SPACE: • You will provide American Express or their representative’s access to your home to conduct an audit of your work space for WAH compliance standards through the year.

WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT: • All electrical equipment is free of recognized hazards that would cause physical harm (frayed wires, bare conductors, loose wires, flexible wires running through walls, exposed wires to the ceiling). • Your home's electrical system will permit the grounding of electrical equipment. Use 3 wire circuit analyzer provided to test all outlets that will be used for the home office.

WORK AREA: • Adequate room for a home office. You will need to provide specific details including size and location of room.

COMPUTER WORKSTATION: • American Express will install high-speed internet access and land-based telephone access at your residence, through service providers that are approved by American Express. Internet service must be DSL or Cable (no wireless or satellite ISPs allowed), with at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds is required. Business class service preferred where available. High speed internet and phone lines will be dedicated lines that will be used exclusively for business use, and will be separate from any personal phone/data services.

Applicant’s homes must be compatible to work in conjunction with American Express technological processes.

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other status protected by law. Click here to view the "EEO is the Law" poster.