Amex BCP & PRG balance reporting date.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the wisdom of the wonderful people on this site. I have started to pay all of my bills before the balance is reported to credit bureaus but I just got Amex BCP and PRG and thé statement balance due came yesterday (2 weeks or so after receiving the card). I had no idea and I also didn't know that Amex likes only 1 Payment a month in the first Month. I wanted to make a payment but it kept saying no amount due. Any ideas from experience when they report balance to credit bureaus? Do I have a few days or is it too late already? In which case I'll have to wait a month?

thanks again

[austinguy907]

Yeah, 1 payment 1st month is a pain if you're chasing your balances each month.  It changes as time goes on up to 3 payments in a month or something along those lines.

I wouldn't worry about it since AMEX takes 2-3 months to report for the first time.  

[DeeBee78]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks to the wisdom of the wonderful people on this site. I have started to pay all of my bills before the balance is reported to credit bureaus but I just got Amex BCP and PRG and thé statement balance due came yesterday (2 weeks or so after receiving the card). I had no idea and I also didn't know that Amex likes only 1 Payment a month in the first Month. I wanted to make a payment but it kept saying no amount due. Any ideas from experience when they report balance to credit bureaus? Do I have a few days or is it too late already? In which case I'll have to wait a month?

thanks again

---

FYI, since the PRG is a charge card, the balance reported does not count against you for utilization or DTI factors. You're OK to just pay this when it's due. 

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks to the wisdom of the wonderful people on this site. I have started to pay all of my bills before the balance is reported to credit bureaus but I just got Amex BCP and PRG and thé statement balance due came yesterday (2 weeks or so after receiving the card). I had no idea and I also didn't know that Amex likes only 1 Payment a month in the first Month. I wanted to make a payment but it kept saying no amount due. Any ideas from experience when they report balance to credit bureaus? Do I have a few days or is it too late already? In which case I'll have to wait a month?

thanks again

---

You can always push a payment from your bank as well. And yeah, expect 2-3 months for Amex to start reporting...

[HeavenOhio]

I just got my first AMEX card about three weeks ago.

They said that I was allowed to make one payment before the first statement cut, which I did without issue.

I don't remember the details exactly, but after the first statement is cut, I think I'm allowed to make as many payments as I'd like as long as the total doesn't exceed the statement balance. Because the 30-day restriction will end well before my first actual due date, I'll be able to pay down my additional charges however I'd like before the second statement cuts. The moral of the story is to set up your payment bank right away; I did it on the day the card was approved.

I usually like to pay every week or two, but my limit is high enough that these restrictions aren't going to get in my way. I could see how they could come into play on a lower-limit card, though.

This cycle rinses and repeats if you set up a new bank account down the road, although I didn't ask if the restrictions woud be reapplied to the first account.