Answered September 2026

It forks: you cannot use an ordinary P.O. box instead of the required U.S. home street address, and Amex’s published rules do not confirm whether it will accept one as an additional mailing address.

“I just got my ITIN and plan to use the Amex Global Transfer method to get my first US credit card based on my foreign Amex history. Can I use a PO box as a mailing address for Amex?”

Summary

Your ITIN is one of the identifiers Amex tells phone applicants to have ready. If you have a qualifying foreign Amex account and an actual U.S. home street address, the P.O. box issue does not have to stop your application. [2][3]

Your answer depends on whether the P.O. box would replace your required home address or merely be an additional mailing address.

Home street address plus mailing requestbest route

Give Amex your actual U.S. home street address for the application. You can request the P.O. box only as a separate mailing address, but Amex’s public instructions do not guarantee that it will accept the box or send the first card there. [1][2][5]

P.O. box as your only addressnot enough

Do not enter an ordinary P.O. box in place of your home address. Amex asks for a U.S. home address, and the bank’s requires a residential or business street address. [1][5][6][7]

You genuinely have no street addressnarrow exception

The federal exception allows an APO/FPO box or a next-of-kin or other contact’s residential or business street address. Use the phone route and explain the applicable exception; do not falsely describe someone else’s address as your home. [2][5]

Having an ITIN does not remove Amex’s ability to request identity and address-verification documents. [2][4]

Read the full explanation

Watch out for

A P.O. box is not the required street addressAmex tells Global Transfer applicants to provide a “new U.S. home address,” while the federal bank-identification rule requires an individual’s residential or business street address. An ordinary USPS P.O. box does not satisfy those published requirements. [1][5]

The no-street-address exception is narrowOnly if you genuinely have no residential or business street address does the federal rule allow an APO/FPO box or the residential or business street address of a next of kin or another contact. It does not list an ordinary USPS P.O. box. [5]

Separate P.O. box delivery is not promisedAmex’s published Global Transfer instructions require a home address and say it will send the card after approval, but they do not say whether the first card can be sent to a separate P.O. box. If that delivery arrangement is essential, use the published phone-application route and request it without replacing your home address. [1][2]

Your foreign Amex must qualifyYou must be the primary cardholder of an eligible Amex-issued card held for at least three months, with the account open and in good standing; bank-issued Amex cards and corporate cards do not qualify. Initially, Amex permits one U.S. card and may request identity or address-verification documents. [3][4]

Next steps

These steps keep your Global Transfer application consistent with both Amex’s published process and the federal address rule.

Before applying

Confirm your foreign Amex qualifies

Corporate cards and cards issued by another bank on the Amex network are not eligible for this Global Transfer process. Amex allows one U.S. card through the process initially. [3][4]

Requirements

You are the primary cardholder

The card was issued directly by American Express

You have held it for at least three months

The account is open and in good standing

If you cancelled it, cancellation was within the last three months

Before starting the application

Prepare your identity and address details

Use your home street address—not an ordinary P.O. box—as the application address. Amex asks phone applicants to have all these details available, and the federal rule requires a residential or business street address. [2][5]

Requirements

Existing foreign Amex account details

Actual U.S. home street address

U.S. home phone number

U.S. bank details

Passport details

Employment details

ITIN

When ready to apply

Choose the appropriate application channel

For a standard application, use https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/company/about-us/moving-abroad, select a personal card, click “Already a Card Member,” and enter your existing account number, U.S. home address, and home phone. If separate P.O. box delivery or the no-street-address exception matters, apply by phone at 877-621-2639, Monday through Sunday, 8:00–23:00 EST. [1][2]

Requirements

Your preferred U.S. personal card

Your existing Amex account number

After submission

Respond to any verification request

Amex says it may contact you within one week for identification documents or additional information and may request address verification. Its public page does not specify a response deadline or which proof-of-address documents it will request. [4]

Requirements

Any identity documents Amex requests

Any address-verification documents Amex requests

Others who faced this

You are not the first to go through this. Here is how it went for others who asked the same thing.

Trying to use Amex global transfer, they want a piece of US ID/visa

u/Inner_Parfait_6906r/amexAug 16, 2026

Lmao what I just did global transfer and all I had to do was upload my I-94, passport and proof of US address and I got it a month ago Didn’t even have my ssn at the time

4 View on Reddit

Legal sources

This answer is based on American Express’s U.S. Global Card Transfer instructions, the current eCFR customer-identification rules, and American Express’s official resolution-plan filing.