Credit Cards

[ficojoe]

I just got my AmEX BCE in the mail today. So far I used it at the gas station, jack in the box, and online. How should I be treating this card? Can I use it for everything and pay it multiple times per month? What is the best usage pattern to get a CLI? I heard that too many payments in a month is not welcomed by AmEx? What behavior do I want to avoid to keep AmEx happy with me?

[webhopper]

Pay in full ... don't carry a balance... use for everyday spending. Don't use it to buy a car... other than that you're golden!

[ficojoe]

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webhopper wrote:
Pay in full ... don't carry a balance... use for everyday spending. Don't use it to buy a car... other than that you're golden!

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How often should I pay in full? Is it true paying too often scares AmEx? On my other cards I try to always keep a $0 balance, which means sometimes I pay them off 10 times in a month.

[webhopper]

I pay my amex every other week. Sometimes I pay the same day from two different checking accounts since my balances are sometimes high. I would say pay between 2-4 times per month at most. There would likely be no adverse action for more.frequent payments other than.some might have to be "pushed" from your bank.

[trumpet-205]

AMEX's internal risk score prefers large payment vs multiple small payments. So answer to your question is try to consolidate your payment.

[JustinNguyen]

they saying paying as much as you can.But don't pay more than you used lol

[RonDawg]

To be honest when I got my card I would make a purchase and a payment on the same day.  Soon the "Check Spending" area on my account would allow me to authorize up to twice my credit limit, I find their charge cards work in the same way.  AmEx likes it when you make lots of payments at least from my experience anyways.  Oh and just so you know the purchases you make on your card this billing period will not earn cash back till the next billing period.  AmEx has some weird way they credit their points and cash back and it takes multiple billing cycles to get your earned cash back or points.

BTW congrats on getting a great card!

[distantarray]

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ficojoe wrote:

I just got my AmEX BCE in the mail today. So far I used it at the gas station, jack in the box, and online. How should I be treating this card? Can I use it for everything and pay it multiple times per month? What is the best usage pattern to get a CLI? I heard that too many payments in a month is not welcomed by AmEx? What behavior do I want to avoid to keep AmEx happy with me?

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Best way to get a CLI? charge up a lot, pay in full, sign up for auto pay, muliple payments don't hurt, Amex likes LARGE charges and LARGE payments =)

pretty much if you look like you need it, you'll get it.

Also how you should be treating your new Amex? with roses and flowers, and whisper sweet nothings in their ears.... and also get a NFC chip cause the card will look like crap in a wallet after a while, and laminate the card jk jk

[FrugalRican]

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trumpet-205 wrote:

AMEX's internal risk score prefers large payment vs multiple small payments. So answer to your question is try to consolidate your payment.

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This is EXACTLY why I only pay once a month and about 2-3 days before the statement cuts.

[Walt_K]

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FrugalRican wrote:

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trumpet-205 wrote:

AMEX's internal risk score prefers large payment vs multiple small payments. So answer to your question is try to consolidate your payment.

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This is EXACTLY why I only pay once a month and about 2-3 days before the statement cuts.

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How do we know this?  Is there any evidence of this besides conjecture on this board?  Maybe it has been discussed before, but I can only ever recall people stating this without providing support. 

I usually pay once per month because that is what is most convenient.  However, at various times I make multiple payments in a month.  Never went so far as to make 10 per month, but I don't know that it would matter if you did.  There are plenty of people that report paying weekly without any sort of problem.