A
American Express Network Decline CodesAmex 101
Expired Card / Invalid Expiration Date
Hard Decline
Permanent failures that should not be retried
Do Not Retry
Retry will not succeed
Description
The card has expired or the expiration date provided is invalid.
Recommended Action
Ask the customer to update their card details with a valid expiration date or a new card.
Common Causes
- Card expiration date has passed
- Expiration date format is incorrect
- Replacement card issued but payment method not updated
Recovery Tips
- Use Account Updater to automatically fetch new card credentials
- Send a dunning email prompting the customer to update their payment method
Quick Reference
Code
101
Category
Hard Decline
Retryable
No
Source
Amex
Recoverability verdict
Retrying 101 will not work
This is a hard decline. Retrying code 101 will not recover the payment. But most merchants seeing this code also have soft declines they are not recovering. Check what your retry strategy is leaving behind.
Related Decline Codes
109Non-Retryable
Invalid Merchant
The American Express network does not recognise the merchant with the submitted transaction details. This needs to be investigated by the acquirer or payment service provider.
110Non-Retryable
Invalid Amount
The card issuer has declined the transaction due to a format or amount field error.
111Non-Retryable
Invalid Account
The card issuer is unable to find the card or account number. The account may be closed or the number may be incorrect.
115Non-Retryable
Requested Function Not Supported
The card issuer does not support the requested transaction type on this card.