Consumer and commercial payment cards issued directly by American Express in the United States generated $659.64 billion in purchases at merchants last year, up 8.2% over 2013. Outstandings tied to all card products that offer credit increased by 5.8% to $93.82 billion, up $5.14 billion over 2013. American Express cards issued directly by Amex grew to 44.8 million, up 1.7 million or 4.0% over 2013. American Express branded cards issued by third parties — Bank of America, Bank of Hawaii, Barclays, Citigroup, First National of Nebraska, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Synchrony Financial (fo...