topic Re: Amex BCP Payment Question... in Credit Cards

Amex BCP Payment Question...

TiminCO — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 14:01:08 GMT

Hi all-

Just have a couple of silly questions, but what the heck?! . I finally became part of the Amex family as I was approved for the BCP with a 0% for 12 months intro. As of right now I have a balance and my first statement is set to cut tomorrow. What I am wondering is, should I pay the balance off today before the statement reflects the balance or should I just let it cut with the balance showing, then pay it off straight away? Is there any benefit to doing it either way? Thanks for any input! This forum is so great!

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:28:02 GMT

It's up to you! Are you trying to maximize scores? If not, let it report. If you need to keep util under check, then pay before it cuts.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

TiminCO — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:47:46 GMT

Thanks for the reply!

Well my motivation is two-fold: I want to keep utilization down, and I tried for the 3x CLI on activation and got the message to call in. When I called the gentlemen on the phone said "denied because account has not been open for 60 days" so I want to try for the 3x CLI at 65 days so wasn't sure if a $0 balance would make a difference. I'm sure there are a dozen other factors to consider as well.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:08:53 GMT

@TiminCO wrote:
Thanks for the reply!

Well my motivation is two-fold: I want to keep utilization down, and I tried for the 3x CLI on activation and got the message to call in. When I called the gentlemen on the phone said "denied because account has not been open for 60 days" so I want to try for the 3x CLI at 65 days so wasn't sure if a $0 balance would make a difference. I'm sure there are a dozen other factors to consider as well.

I let my balance report and no issue getting the increase at 61 days. Like you said...there are many other factors as well!!

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:02:59 GMT

I generally let my balance report and pay it when it's due. I want to let the Banks see the balances and my payments. Just rinse and repeat. I have to say, I'm not looking to optimize my scores monthly so... Do what's comfortable for you.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

TiminCO — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:09:01 GMT

Good point.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:10:07 GMT

I've understood that Amex doesn't update new accounts right away. They sometimes wait two or three months to report..

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

redbeard — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:11:23 GMT

I have no proof of the following, but its good common sense.....

For the 3x CLI, keep overall utilization on the card below 30%, so if the balance is above that, you might want to pay it down below that before the statement cuts. Otherwise, shouldn't be a problem.

Once the statement cuts and you have a payment due, make a hefty payment. I don't think it matters that you pay it off, but you need to show paying the payment isn't a problem. Its probably better to do this earlier in the payment cycle rather then later as well.

I don't think carrying a balance matters, just that you show its very manageable for you to pay it.

Dan

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

TiminCO — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:56:12 GMT

I'm at about 39%. I imagine I was barely approved because I got a SL of $1000, but income is good so I can easily pay off the balance.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

TiminCO — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:58:07 GMT

Maybe I could pay $200 before statement cuts, that way utilization is around 19%, then pay remaining balance after?

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

UncleB — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 21:30:24 GMT

@TiminCO wrote:
Maybe I could pay $200 before statement cuts, that way utilization is around 19%, then pay remaining balance after?

There are various schools of thought on this, but I personally would avoid making multiple payments a month unless you just had to. (The one notable exception here is Capital One, who historically doesn't "mind" multiple payments a month).

Unless you have other reasons for doing so (to free up your credit line for a large purchase, etc.) I would keep it to one payment per month.

If you make multiple payments in a month nothing 'bad' will likely happen, it's just that in certain circumstances it can make them look more closely at your account (multiple monthly payments are associated with certain types of fraud). Again, this isn't meant to alarm, it's just that I'm personally of the opinion of "why give them a reason to examine me more closely?"

Just my 2¢.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

TiminCO — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 21:36:49 GMT

UncleB,

You are as fair as you are wise. That is something I did not consider.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:03:18 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@TiminCO wrote:
Maybe I could pay $200 before statement cuts, that way utilization is around 19%, then pay remaining balance after?
There are various schools of thought on this, but I personally would avoid making multiple payments a month unless you just had to. (The one notable exception here is Capital One, who historically doesn't "mind" multiple payments a month).

Unless you have other reasons for doing so (to free up your credit line for a large purchase, etc.) I would keep it to one payment per month.

If you make multiple payments in a month nothing 'bad' will likely happen, it's just that in certain circumstances it can make them look more closely at your account (multiple monthly payments are associated with certain types of fraud). Again, this isn't meant to alarm, it's just that I'm personally of the opinion of "why give them a reason to examine me more closely?"

Just my 2¢.

So wait, making multiple payments a month is a no no? I've been doing this for over 10yrs. I just don't understand sometimes

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

UncleB — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:34:59 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@TiminCO wrote:
Maybe I could pay $200 before statement cuts, that way utilization is around 19%, then pay remaining balance after?
There are various schools of thought on this, but I personally would avoid making multiple payments a month unless you just had to. (The one notable exception here is Capital One, who historically doesn't "mind" multiple payments a month).

Unless you have other reasons for doing so (to free up your credit line for a large purchase, etc.) I would keep it to one payment per month.

If you make multiple payments in a month nothing 'bad' will likely happen, it's just that in certain circumstances it can make them look more closely at your account (multiple monthly payments are associated with certain types of fraud). Again, this isn't meant to alarm, it's just that I'm personally of the opinion of "why give them a reason to examine me more closely?"

Just my 2¢.

So wait, making multiple payments a month is a no no? I've been doing this for over 10yrs. I just don't understand sometimes

Nope, not really a 'no-no', it's just that if they are already looking at you for something else, it might make you stand out a bit more, that's all.

That being said, when it benefits me I don't hesitate to make more than a single payment, but I don't make a habit of making multiple payments each and every month.

Note also that different lenders have various sensitivity to this, with Capital One being quite 'notorious' for not only not minding multiple payments, many people even get CLIs from the additional usage that making multiple payments in a month allows.

In another thread here, I shared a link to an Experian white paper on bust out fraud; again it's not something most people have to worry about (as your example demonstrates, it's usually not a problem) but anybody wanting to 'stay off the radar' would probably prefer to make a single monthly payment, since that's what "most people" do. (Note that multiple payments in a month is just one of many things that might (or might not) get attention.)

Here's a link to the white paper if you want to take a look... some of the behaviors many of us here consider 'normal' would likely be flagged by the Experian model.

http://www.experian.com/assets/decision-analytics/white-papers/bust-out-fraud-white-paper.pdf

As I mentioned above, I'm not trying to alarm... in most cases you can safely make as many payments as you want. With my own accounts I generally keep it to one payment per month to minimize my chances of receiving special "attention". As with many things credit, it's YMMV.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

RonM21 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 23:13:15 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@TiminCO wrote:
Maybe I could pay $200 before statement cuts, that way utilization is around 19%, then pay remaining balance after?
There are various schools of thought on this, but I personally would avoid making multiple payments a month unless you just had to. (The one notable exception here is Capital One, who historically doesn't "mind" multiple payments a month).

Unless you have other reasons for doing so (to free up your credit line for a large purchase, etc.) I would keep it to one payment per month.

If you make multiple payments in a month nothing 'bad' will likely happen, it's just that in certain circumstances it can make them look more closely at your account (multiple monthly payments are associated with certain types of fraud). Again, this isn't meant to alarm, it's just that I'm personally of the opinion of "why give them a reason to examine me more closely?"

Just my 2¢.

So wait, making multiple payments a month is a no no? I've been doing this for over 10yrs. I just don't understand sometimes
Nope, not really a 'no-no', it's just that if they are already looking at you for something else, it might make you stand out a bit more, that's all.

That being said, when it benefits me I don't hesitate to make more than a single payment, but I don't make a habit of making multiple payments each and every month.

Note also that different lenders have various sensitivity to this, with Capital One being quite 'notorious' for not only not minding multiple payments, many people even get CLIs from the additional usage that making multiple payments in a month allows.

In another thread here, I shared a link to an Experian white paper on bust out fraud; again it's not something most people have to worry about (as your example demonstrates, it's usually not a problem) but anybody wanting to 'stay off the radar' would probably prefer to make a single monthly payment, since that's what "most people" do. (Note that multiple payments in a month is just one of many things that might (or might not) get attention.)

Here's a link to the white paper if you want to take a look... some of the behaviors many of us here consider 'normal' would likely be flagged by the Experian model.

http://www.experian.com/assets/decision-analytics/white-papers/bust-out-fraud-white-paper.pdf

As I mentioned above, I'm not trying to alarm... in most cases you can safely make as many payments as you want. With my own accounts I generally keep it to one payment per month to minimize my chances of receiving special "attention". As with many things credit, it's YMMV.

And I think overall, whether you let a balance carry over or pay down before the statement cuts, as long as you show your ability to correctly handle and pay off the balances, you should be good. At least that is what my take is on it from what others have said.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 23:22:57 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
Nope, not really a 'no-no', it's just that if they are already looking at you for something else, it might make you stand out a bit more, that's all.

Right, and in the MS world, people have got unwanted atttention from payment from multiple sources. (This might come from the idea that in times of financial stress you might start using money from emergency saving accounts to pay your cc, so when an issuer sees a lot of new payment sources, it raises concern).

As UncleB says, probably any one of these things won't get you attention, so the added risk is only if they are looking at your account (such as when you ask for a CLI), several such factors might cause your account to be looked at anyway.

Re: Amex BCP Payment Question...

TiminCO — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 03:28:10 GMT

Great info guys, thanks!