topic Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By" in Credit Cards

American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

KayMD — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:41:05 GMT

I have a American Express ZYNC card.

To date, I have always paid the balance due in full
on (or before) the date on the payment stub
labeled "PLEASE PAY BY:"

I spoke with a CSR today at AMEX who informed me that
the "Please pay by" date is not the real "due date"
..that I really had until the day before my next billing
cycle ended to pay in full and avoid any charges.

In my case the dates are something like this:

The "please pay by" date is 05/26/11

The day before my next billing cycle ends is 06/26/11.

Is this correct?

Can someone tell me the real scoop on AMEX payment dates?

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

Max09 — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:54:56 GMT

KayMD wrote:
I have a American Express ZYNC card.
To date, I have always paid the balance due in full
on (or before) the date on the payment stub
labeled "PLEASE PAY BY:"
I spoke with a CSR today at AMEX who informed me that
the "Please pay by" date is not the real "due date"
..that I really had until the day before my next billing
cycle ended to pay in full and avoid any charges.
In my case the dates are something like this:
The "please pay by" date is 05/26/11
The day before my next billing cycle ends is 06/26/11.
Is this correct?

Can someone tell me the real scoop on AMEX payment dates?

I never heard that before. I always paid before or no later than the "Pay by Date" - I would be careful if I were you - the csr may be wrong. Usually the date on the statement is the due date. My amex is a charge card so I'm not sure if the same goes for the Zync card. You may want to ask to speak to account manager.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

spankyspanky — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:57:26 GMT

Sounds scary to me. I personally treat AMEX like they're the top priority of all my bills, and they accordingly treat me with respect.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

daytrade5 — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:59:38 GMT

That doesn't sound right to me... The due date is just that, the last day you have to pay any amount owed. With my Amex, they give me about 15 days after my statement cuts to pay them in full (charge card). I would continue on the payment path that you are on right now to avoid any issues in the long run. :smileyhappy:

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

DI — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:14:18 GMT

daytrade5 wrote:
That doesn't sound right to me... The due date is just that, the last day you have to pay any amount owed. With my Amex, they give me about 15 days after my statement cuts to pay them in full (charge card). I would continue on the payment path that you are on right now to avoid any issues in the long run. :smileyhappy:

+1 I go by whatever due date appearing on my statement . The rare occasions when I let an AMEX balance report, I always pay the minimum amount due immediately after the new statement generates. Then later that month, I pay the full balance along with any other new charges.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

GQ-007 — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:20:03 GMT

The CSR is correct. The pay by due date is a bit misleading. According to the CSR who I spoke with, this date is normally 2 weeks before the statement cuts and is provided as guide if you mail your payment. By adhering to that due date, payments mailed will normally reach American Express in timely manner.

To validate this information is correct, I established the date my statements cut on the 26th of each month. Yet my due dates are always approximately two weeks before my statement cuts. I don't follow the due date. I coordinate my payments before the 26th.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

DI — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:27:39 GMT

It amazes me the amount of people who still mail in their payments. I see why I'm always seeing job listings for people to process AMEX mail at the Ft. Lauderdale, FL location.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

hedgeclipper2 — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:30:13 GMT

I pay my statement balance for my Blue and Gold cards the day the statement generates. Don't want to ruffle any feathers.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

daytrade5 — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:39:56 GMT

jthedges wrote:
I pay my statement balance for my Blue and Gold cards the day the statement generates. Don't want to ruffle any feathers.

I hear ya! :smileyhappy:

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

aliciam — Thu, 19 May 2011 17:35:52 GMT

I used to work for Amex in the Sm. Business cards customer service. It's true. The "please pay by" date is a guideline for which to send in your payment. As long as it posts before the next statement cuts, you are good.

That being said, I always send in my payment by the "please pay by" date. I don't really feel like risking AA from the beast...

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

aliciam — Thu, 19 May 2011 17:38:12 GMT

And by send in, I mean make a payment online. I don't get the mailing of payments, either.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

JRomulus — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:52:32 GMT

From the Amex site:

When is my Charge Card payment due?

If you have an American Express charge card, payment is due in full when
you receive your monthly statement. The "pay in full" nature of the charge card
assures Cardmembers that no finance charges will be assessed on the charge card
balance. As a payment reminder, we include a "Please
Pay By Date" on the statement, a suggested payment date that is two weeks after the statement closing date.

The first sentence just means "it's due", not that "it's late".

So, I'm guessing that as long as your payment hits their books before the next statement closing date you're good..... but I guess like others have said, why poke the beast?

I like auto-pay (use it as a backstop in case I zone out and forget send the monthly payment) and for charge cards it automatically pays two weeks after the statement closing date.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

vish1 — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:47:34 GMT

KayMD wrote:
I have a American Express ZYNC card.
To date, I have always paid the balance due in full
on (or before) the date on the payment stub
labeled "PLEASE PAY BY:"
I spoke with a CSR today at AMEX who informed me that
the "Please pay by" date is not the real "due date"
..that I really had until the day before my next billing
cycle ended to pay in full and avoid any charges.
In my case the dates are something like this:
The "please pay by" date is 05/26/11
The day before my next billing cycle ends is 06/26/11.
Is this correct?

Can someone tell me the real scoop on AMEX payment dates?

I was told the exact same thing by Amex CSR. This said, I still pay before the date that my statement shows.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

KayMD — Sat, 21 May 2011 10:00:09 GMT

Cool. The reason for this is that I have a Prom coming up and all my money has been going into the cost of this once in a lifetime night. So I need a little more time to pay off my $200 bill.

What's on my plate:

Senior Dues

Prom

Obligations (Money that I owe the school) ex: lost school book, class fees

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

shadow2k — Sun, 22 May 2011 12:19:13 GMT

KayMD wrote:
I have a American Express ZYNC card.
To date, I have always paid the balance due in full
on (or before) the date on the payment stub
labeled "PLEASE PAY BY:"
I spoke with a CSR today at AMEX who informed me that
the "Please pay by" date is not the real "due date"
..that I really had until the day before my next billing
cycle ended to pay in full and avoid any charges.
In my case the dates are something like this:
The "please pay by" date is 05/26/11
The day before my next billing cycle ends is 06/26/11.
Is this correct?

Can someone tell me the real scoop on AMEX payment dates?

Your dates look off to me. Your pay by date is typically the same every month. So if it is 5/26, it would also be 6/26...and it isn't going to the same as your next billing cycle ending. Look at it this way. If you bought something on 4/27 right after a statment cut, your next bill doesn't print until 5/26...so pay by date would be when...6/26?...and you don't have to "actually" pay until when, 7/26? No, that's flat out wrong.

My pay by date is typically the 10th, or roughly 25 days after the statement cut on the 15th. So bill prints on 5/15, bill due on 6/10. That's the 25 day grace period that all your lenders talk about. Pay before that date, no interest. Now technically if I pay before the next bill cuts on 6/15...I'd probably avoid lates and interest. That's how most billing systems work...but I always pay before the Pay By date, and have never tested it with anything that would affect my credit.

This is roughly the same billing system used by 90% of companies that I'm aware of. My company will bill you on the 1st, it is due approx 3 weeks later, and says you are late if you don't pay it by that date. But you'd only get a late fee if the next statment prints on the 1st without your payment being received.

I wouldn't play around with my credit and test this out though.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

networkguy — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:19:55 GMT

I'll reitterate what others have said. On charge cards, the "pay by" date is NOT your actual pay by date. Your actual due date before it's considered late is one day before your next billing cycle ends. Which will typically be about 2 weeks after your "pay by" date. In my mcase, my statement ends on the 26th, and my pay by date is the 13th of the following month; however, my REAL pay by date is the 25th of the following month.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

Wolf3 — Sun, 22 May 2011 16:58:50 GMT

It would be a violation of the credit card law to assess a late fee on the "suggested date".

From my past experiences with them on a green card, paying by the statement date was the expectation,

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

KayMD — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:13:51 GMT

My statement close date is on the 11th of each month.

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

superfresh08 — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:27:10 GMT

I just called AMEX because I am a new customer and want to stay in full compliance. My statement closes tomorrow and the CSR stated that I will have a "Please Pay By Date" which is "suggested" BUT I have 30 days to pay in full. That 30 days is my "Grace Period" He stated that techinically my bill is due in full BEFORE the close of the next bill cycle, which would be 30 days. I like this because life happens and you just don't know what your financial state may be at a given time do to things out of your control. I hope this helps...

Re: American Express Payment Date "Please Pay By"

danpass — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:40:06 GMT

I have to say that a CSR told me the same thing, "until the day before the next statement close"

I didn't like it either. I have Auto-Pay set up for the regular due date and the Due Amount.