Branding and cross-selling

American Express used to be a brand that had a classy reputation. For years they survived attacks on their business by Visa and MasterCard by maintaiing a status as a class act.

I got some kind of ad in the mail from American Express Publishing today.

I'm not even sure what they're trying to sell. It appears they're trying to be Publisher's Clearing House. Two pages of hype and color. I don't even want to read it.

Are they just determined to kill any possible value the brand might have?