Search Tips

Before You Begin
Keyword Search Strategies
Advanced Search Strategies
Helping Your Business



Back to Top Before You Begin
This site allows you to save search criteria and suppliers by creating cookies on your computer. Please note that if you clear cookies from your computer, you may lose the cookies that "remember" your saved searches and suppliers. If you need to clear cookies, first download, e-mail, or print Your Saved Suppliers and Your Saved Searches so you can easily re-create your lists.



Back to Top Keyword Search Strategies

Using multiple keywords is an efficient way to get focused search results.

  • When using multiple keywords use "or" to request that any of your keywords be included in the search results. (e.g. searching for "American or Express" returns results containing "American" OR "Express")
  • Use "and" to request that all keywords be included in the search results. (e.g. searching for "American and Express" returns results containing "American" AND "Express".
  • Use "-" to request one term without the other. Searching for "American - Express" returns results containing "American" but NOT "Express".
  • If you do not use a connecting word, like "and", "or", the AND functionality will default. Therefore, searching for "American Express" returns results just as if you typed in "American and Express"

Using the Wild Card asterisk* for company names:


If you don't know the full name of a company, you may enter a portion of the name along with an asterisk ‘*' (wildcard search) to aid your search. Examples of wildcards include:
  • Wildcard (*) at the beginning of an entry. For example, typing "*Wholesale" in the name text field will retrieve all companies with the word Wholesale in the company name.
  • Wildcard at the end of an entry. For example typing "Office*", in the name field will retrieve all companies whose names start with the word Office.
  • Wildcard in the middle of an entry. For example, typing "J* Automotive" will retrieve all companies whose names begin with the letter J and contain the word Automotive.
  • Multiple wildcards in the name field. For example, typing in "J* Auto*" in the name field will retrieve all companies that begin with the letter J and contain the word Auto.


Here are some helpful tips to begin search:


You can search for a company in the directory in several ways - by Company Name, Location, Industry Type, etc. or by using keywords associated with a company.

If you're in the market for anything such as lumber, shoes, office supplies, etc. you can enter keywords and start your search. If you don't get immediate results, try widening your search. Tip. When widening your search, we recommend starting with an Industry Type and narrowing your search from there.

The more content you put into a search, the narrower your search results will be. A narrower search can be a big advantage. For instance, if you're business remodels kitchens and you need to find local suppliers for your new client, it's a good idea to search using the zip code option either by plugging the zip code into the Keywords field or typing it into the Zip Code field within Advanced Search. Tip. If you'd rather do a national search for suppliers, leave the zip code out and you'll find more results across the United States and Canada.



Back to Top Advanced Search Strategies

Use Location


You can enter an exact location, an area defined by miles within a zip code of your choice, or select from our list of US states and Canadian regions. Tip. If you order supplies via online or catalog, you may want to leave these search fields blank.

Use Industry Codes


Merchant Commodity Codes (MCC) are universally used by card issuers to categorize industries and are provided for you to use as an alternate search option. You can search by any combination of MCC, Industry Type, and Industry Sub-Type. Tip. Look up MCC from the List of all MCC Codes link. Once you get to know the MCC names and numbers, you can type them into the fields provided for quicker searching.

Saving Searches


Your Saved Searches make it easy for you to come back to a Search you've previously done. If you have certain suppliers that you use consistently for transactions, you can give yourself easy access to the search criteria you used to find them by creating Your Saved Searches. That way, if you'd like to find out if there are any new competitors that you might try out in order to save your business money, you can use the same search criteria to generate new results. Perhaps you'll find a new supplier that provides you with greater benefits than your existing supplier.

Saving Suppliers


Keep your list of suppliers on hand so you have them when you need them. Once you have a list of saved suppliers, you can print, e-mail, and download them for easy access and repeat orders.




Back to Top Helping Your Business

Cardmembers benefit from using the OPEN B2B Directory.

Using these suppliers entitles you to the benefits of using the American Express Card.
  • Greater freedom in cash flow management because you can float expenses by paying with your Card
  • You'll get even more rewards of your Card when you put more of your core business expenses on the Card. If your Card offers Membership Rewards® points, click here to see just how much you can get by using your Card for business purchases.
  • OPEN Savings® provides you with automatic savings when you use your Card at participating companies. For more information and for a full list of participating OPEN Savings partners, click on this link. opensavings.com

Find New Suppliers

New suppliers are regularly added to the directory, as they decide to accept the American Express Card. So, if your supplier did not previously accept your Card, remember to search again the next time you visit the site.

For More Search Tips click here to go to our FAQ.