AMEX: How much above minimum payment to avoid trouble?

[Trivolve]

Good to know. I'll definitely thread lightly - prob will just pay 3x minimum and if they call me I'll just PIF immediately. My AMEX lines are important to me since together they're more than 2x my total CL from my other cards.

BTW it's not a BT, it's just a large $4k purchase i recently made. 

[takeshi74]

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@Trivolve wrote:

How much above minimum payment to avoid trouble?

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Minimum payment really doesn't matter.  Utilization (and how long your utilization remains high) does.  The standard guidelines apply: 30% max, ~10% ideal.

[vwgrrc]

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@lhcole77 wrote:

Agreed. Why would a 12 month 0% promo be offered if they weren't going to allow people to use it?

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I agree too.

Can someone confirm that paying min. during intro APR also cause trouble?

[score_building]

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@vwgrrc wrote:

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@lhcole77 wrote:

Agreed. Why would a 12 month 0% promo be offered if they weren't going to allow people to use it?

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I agree too.

Can someone confirm that paying min. during intro APR also cause trouble?

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It's YMMV. As cashnocredit refers to above from FICO's banking analytics blog, paying the min portrays a higher risk card holder. This behavior is monitored closely by a lender, in connection with a host of other factors. May or may not cause them to move to act. Paying as much as one can more than the min is prudent when possible (ideally at least 10% of outstansing balance) since it can elevate repayment score and reduce the odds of min pay becoming an issue over time.

[enharu]

Based on recent comments by Amex executives about the upcoming everyday card, they seem to be more open to getting more revenue from interest fees. So maybe Amex is changing their risk algorithms, at least for that card.

That being said, Amex is still a spend centric PIF lender for the most part. If you want to avoid trouble / hassle, then don't try your luck. If you are comfortable with a FR, then by all means do whatever you deem fit.

[score_building]

I doubt their comments can be construed as paying the min will be overlooked (by their risk analytics) on the new product.

[Kayo]

I think Amex, given the nature of their lending practices, have to be very conservative with their risk profile. Anytime an account can go from a $3000 opening credit limit to $25,000 in under a year is incredibly risky for any lender.

Amex makes their money from swipe fee's and membership fee's. Interest charges are risky and not their main focus. They'll keep you around with a high balance IF you can remove some of the risk by verifying your financial ability to repay. If not, then your customer profile doesn't fit their business model and they'll close the account.

Offering 0% and high credit limits are just ways for them to compete with other credit cards. They still expect you to pay off your balance quickly and keep spending.

[PNut08]

I really think it depends on what % util. you have on the card and for how long. Also, you can call AmEx and let them know. For example, I'm about to execute a cross country move for the navy. I called Amex and gave them dates for our move because my spouse and I will be using the cards in multiple states over a short time period (~9 days). During that phone call, the CSR asked if I had an idea about how much of my CL would be in use and asked about an idea for the pay off timeline. I said we would use about 50% of the CL and it would be paid off within a month of when I arrive at my new command (our travel allowances are disbursed once we check into the new command). The CSR said she was noting it on my account and that it was no problem. Also, this card is brand new and within a month I will have in use 50% of my $6k CL as a new account holder. The CSR noted it on my account and said it's no problem.

[abundancejones]

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@PNut08 wrote:

I really think it depends on what % util. you have on the card and for how long. Also, you can call AmEx and let them know. For example, I'm about to execute a cross country move for the navy. I called Amex and gave them dates for our move because my spouse and I will be using the cards in multiple states over a short time period (~9 days). During that phone call, the CSR asked if I had an idea about how much of my CL would be in use and asked about an idea for the pay off timeline. I said we would use about 50% of the CL and it would be paid off within a month of when I arrive at my new command (our travel allowances are disbursed once we check into the new command). The CSR said she was noting it on my account and that it was no problem. Also, this card is brand new and within a month I will have in use 50% of my $6k CL as a new account holder. The CSR noted it on my account and said it's no problem.

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This is encouraging news if you for some reason have to keep a balance on your AMEX. In fact, you can call in and offer this information to other, less strict banks as well. 

Credit is there to be used, and yes, that means you will sometimes have to carry a balance. 

[improvingmycredit]

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@enharu wrote:
Based on recent comments by Amex executives about the upcoming everyday card, they seem to be more open to getting more revenue from interest fees. So maybe Amex is changing their risk algorithms, at least for that card.
 

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+1 to this. :-)

I've read several new articles out about Amex treading into improving their revenue though a change in their lending pracitces- primarily interest revenue.

Regardless of this, I think that Amex won't take AA against you for utilizing their 0% Promos as long as you are current with your payments (not just with them but with all lenders) and you are making larger than the minimum payments (with all lenders). As a poster suggested- if you are paying at least 10% of the balance and current along with keeping utility low amongst all your accounts, you should have no problems with Amex.  Just my take. Hope this helps.