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I have had PRG with Float feature for almost 2 years. The rate is like 18% and I have never used it. Got this email just now and I can't quite understand it. Is it different than POT? or POT at 15.49%?
Not everyone with an American Express® Card qualifies for the same features. You are invited to enroll in the Extended Payment Option, which gives you the flexibility to carry a balance or pay in full each month. |
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Whether you're booking a vacation, furnishing a new home or paying for something unexpected, the Extended Payment Option gives you the choice of payment flexibility. Why not take advantage of this opportunity? |
Offer expires September 30, 2016 . |
Fine Print: "The Annual Percentage Rate ("APR") for Pay Over Time features may vary and is determined by adding the Prime Rate plus 11.99%, currently 15.49"
Looks like they actually reduced the interest rate of Pay Over Time on Charge Cards :]
Edit: I tried to enroll and it looks like you may be grandfathered in at the crappy 18.49% rate. May call in the morning and see how to get the lower rate for emergencies.
Extended Payment Option
Our records indicate that you are already enrolled in the Extended Payment Option.
If you have questions, please call the customer service phone number on the back of your Card.
Done. Opened a SM and the CSR gave me a number to call. APR Lowered on PRG from 18.49% to 15.49% :]
@elim wrote:Done. Opened a SM and the CSR gave me a number to call. APR Lowered on PRG from 18.49% to 15.49% :]
The card shouldn't even have a pay over time feature, or an interest rate. By definition the PRG is a charge card, not a credit card.
AMEX executives are dumber than a box of rocks compared to what they used to be.
@Anonymous wrote:
@elim wrote:Done. Opened a SM and the CSR gave me a number to call. APR Lowered on PRG from 18.49% to 15.49% :]
The card shouldn't even have a pay over time feature, or an interest rate. By definition the PRG is a charge card, not a credit card.
AMEX executives are dumber than a box of rocks compared to what they used to be.
Agreed. I can see wanting a lower rate for emergencies but this just isn't the card for it regardless. An APR reduction is always good, but I still wouldn't be using it on this card.
If I come back from overseas and my house is burned down. It will get used
The PRG is by definition whatever Amex wants its to be. If they want to offer the feature to carry a balance then that's their right and it hardly affects other cards or people that don't have the card. This pay over time feature isn't something new and has been around for many many years, even back when Amex executives werent dumber than a box of rocks.
@Anonymous wrote:The card shouldn't even have a pay over time feature, or an interest rate. By definition the PRG is a charge card, not a credit card.
AMEX executives are dumber than a box of rocks compared to what they used to be.
Be careful tossing out the "dumb" label. If they can generate revenue from carried charges from their consumers without incurring excessive risk then it can certainly make business sense. Businesses and products can and do change over time. It's dumb IMO to assume that they must remain static forever.
Now, using it, on the other hand, is a bad idea.
moral of the story is... "if you get Pay Over Time now, It is at a 3% lower rate than what it has been in the past" I've had the card (and the feature) long enough, and ran enough $$ through it to be pretty good at using an AMEX charger. I have never added a charge to POT. But I got my rate lowered. :]
AMEX might as well just label the card as a revolver and put down an interest rate instead of saying, "no interest because you pay your balances in full every month."
The charge cards are classics and AMEX should keep it the way it's been in order to use them for marketing purposes. People who still want the feeling of old fashioned AMEX should be able to get a charge card and be able to use it as it was originally intended... But these cards now appear as less prestigous and classic now that you're able to pay over time. Of course AMEX doesn't have to give a pay over time feature to any cardholder... They just make it look like a card for a person with a below average income by letting people pay over time rather than for those who have an income well above what the average American makes per year. AMEX showing more flexibility than ever makes them look less prestigous, and it's both embarassing for them, and also disappointing for some of us.
I don't know, I guess I'm just caught up in the old fashioned thing, and you do make a good points about collecting interest from cardholders. I like to see a premium company in every category of item, and AMEX has slipped quite a bit since the old days.
Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so let's not go down the road of who's right and wrong here.
(Reply was to takeshi74, sorry quote box is giving me a hard time tonight).