I have been an American Express customer for 23 plus years. Got a card in college. That is the longest running membership I have had. American Express is riding the baby boomer bonanza and globalization. The baby boom bonanza should go on for at least 10 years.

Today’s high school and college kids may see a new currency and transaction vehicle, but short-term, American Express – the franchise – is golden.

That said, I don’t own the stock. It recently hit an all-time high so it meets my criteria, but so have hundreds of other stocks and I don’t/can’t own them all.

American Express is one of those brands and stocks that I would buy in a 20 percent correction. Recognized by Business Week as the 14th most recognized brand, I consider them the Nike of finance. They are cool. They continue to innovate in their category. Their advertising is cutting edge.

Looking at their lifetime stock chart you notice the big drop leading up to 9/11. Other than that, it has been hard to stop this financial juggernaut and AMEX is totally Wallstrip worthy.

If I could pass one investment tip onto my kids it would be to set aside a little money every month to invest in those brands they rely on and use. It is why my kids own Chipotles and Apple. I will pull the trigger on American Express in a big correction, but I may not get that for a while.

The American Express story is one so simple that I wish that a course in long-term investing was a required course in first year college.

Here are two great AMEX ads with Ellen Degeneres courtesy of YouTube:

So original here: