topic Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem... in Credit Cards

In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 16:42:15 GMT

Hello:

First information on my Amex:

Pay over time balance: 17,000

PIF Balance: 9000

I'm having I guess what people call here a short term hardship issue with my finances, that has forced me to pay a PIF amount of 9000 with Amex in several installments.

I inquired about their hardship 1 year program, but since they keep reporting PIF lates, it was in my best interest to create my own installment plan that might take me about 3-4 months to complete payment of the 9000 PIF amount, due to the fact that I can't exit out of the hardship program once I'm in it.

Since my account is currently suspended and can't make any purchases against the card (I'm already past due by 40 days) I should only be seeing finance charges and minimum amounts for the extended pay over time amount as the only new transactions on my account, along with the "installment" payments I'm making for the 9000 PIF I'm paying down.

My questions are:

1) Can anyone recommend a better way to pay down the 9000 to lessen the impact of lates on my CR? Are there any other Amex programs available here in my situation aside from the 1 year hardshop one that the frontline CSR stated that will impact my CR less?

2) I'm assuming that as I make installment payments part of that will be for the pay over time amount, is this correct?

3) This is my first time ever paying late to Amex since I've had the card in 96. As the lates start rolling in and showing up on my CR, is their a good chance I can possibly write/call Amex with a GW letter to have them taken off? At what point after I pay down the 9000 PIF should I start attempting this removal request?

Thanks,

Amado

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

PrimeRate — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 18:11:07 GMT

Do you have any backup cards that may have balance transfer offers? That would've been my first thought before allowing the account to go late. Tell us a little more about your profile so we can better assist. Thanks.

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

ojefferyo — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 19:04:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello:

First information on my Amex:

Pay over time balance: 17,000
PIF Balance: 9000

I'm having I guess what people call here a short term hardship issue with my finances, that has forced me to pay a PIF amount of 9000 with Amex in several installments.
I inquired about their hardship 1 year program, but since they keep reporting PIF lates, it was in my best interest to create my own installment plan that might take me about 3-4 months to complete payment of the 9000 PIF amount, due to the fact that I can't exit out of the hardship program once I'm in it.

Since my account is currently suspended and can't make any purchases against the card (I'm already past due by 40 days) I should only be seeing finance charges and minimum amounts for the extended pay over time amount as the only new transactions on my account, along with the "installment" payments I'm making for the 9000 PIF I'm paying down.

My questions are:

1) Can anyone recommend a better way to pay down the 9000 to lessen the impact of lates on my CR? Are there any other Amex programs available here in my situation aside from the 1 year hardshop one that the frontline CSR stated that will impact my CR less?

2) I'm assuming that as I make installment payments part of that will be for the pay over time amount, is this correct?

3) This is my first time ever paying late to Amex since I've had the card in 96. As the lates start rolling in and showing up on my CR, is their a good chance I can possibly write/call Amex with a GW letter to have them taken off? At what point after I pay down the 9000 PIF should I start attempting this removal request?

Thanks,
Amado

Unfortunately they will not remove the lates as it is being reported correctly. You can try to call/write and see if they are willing to do a one time thing but chances are pretty slim.

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

myjourney — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 23:39:07 GMT

Ask them if you can join the oasis program

YMMV but in most cases it will open 2 doors for you

1) being able to get another card once debt is paid off usually as soon as a month or two

2) they've been known to erase any bad marks given during this time ....as always this is the big YMMV

Edit to add

AmEx Oasis Program: 888-232-3261

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

ddemari — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 00:09:24 GMT

@myjourney wrote:
Ask them if you can join the oasis program
YMMV but in most cases it will open 2 doors for you
1) being able to get another card once debt is paid off usually as soon as a month or two
2) they've been known to erase any bad marks given during this time ....as always this is the big YMMV

Edit to add
AmEx Oasis Program: 888-232-3261

Op- I am sorry for your situation. i would definitely do what myjourney is suggesting.

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

ojefferyo — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 00:10:57 GMT

I though the oasis program you had to be "invited"

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

myjourney — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 00:14:20 GMT

@ojefferyo wrote:
I though the oasis program you had to be "invited"

Some have been lucky to call and their request be honored because they have the power of the knowledge of knowing of the program

But yes in most cases its by invite

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 05:39:51 GMT

I'm sorry you are having a difficult time. Is doing a BT an option for you if you can't get into the Oasis program? Best of luck!!!

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

UncleB — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 06:00:31 GMT

To the OP... years ago I got experience with being late with a PIF balance on Amex, so I have some real-world experience.

First of all, do not mention 'Oasis' yet... that's for folks that are much, much worse off than you are. You're currently only 40 days past due, and that can be rehabilitated. Oasis is for folks that have closed accounts/charge offs, and want to 'do the right thing' and pay their old account. You're account isn't closed, so it's too early.

Second, you will be charged finance charges - even on the 'PIF' portion - that you owe, and it won't be cheap. If you want the exact rate, it is in the fine print of the paperwork that came with your card, or possibly in the fine print on a bill.

Third, if you can get the PIF portion paid back within 90 days most likely they'll reinstate your account (they did mine, but it was years ago). I don't know if 90 days is a 'cutoff' or not; you might want to ask them when you call (you're in communication with them, right?) It would be a shame to miss this by a few days because you were unaware.

Finally, stay in contact with them! In my experience, they never even reported me as late to the credit bureaus as long as I was paying down what I owed, but this might have changed - it's been 'a few' years. Even if you have been reported as late, having a 30-day late is the least of your worries right now... just be concerned with keeping the account alive and it not being closed and sent to collections. It's easy to bounce-back from a 30-day late; it's much harder once the account is closed-by-issuer and you're in collections.

My recommendations assume you'll be able to pay the PIF amount in 3-4 months like your OP stated. If this isn't right (or doesn't work out) don't panic, just keep in touch with them. I found them to be exceptionally easy to work with, and I was quite pleased when I finally got my bill paid in full when the CSR told me I could begin using my card again... I was truly not expecting that.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 15:22:15 GMT

Hello thanks for replying, I'm definitely in communication with them, and have a payment plan agreed with them on a monthly basis, with them calling me back once a month so I can then tell them what I can pay in the coming month and then scheduling those payments. I figure if I keep paying down on a constant basis, this is positive. I'm thinking the 3-4 month time period would be my target to rid myself of the PIF balance.

Thanks,

Amado

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

UncleB — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 21:32:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello thanks for replying, I'm definitely in communication with them, and have a payment plan agreed with them on a monthly basis, with them calling me back once a month so I can then tell them what I can pay in the coming month and then scheduling those payments. I figure if I keep paying down on a constant basis, this is positive. I'm thinking the 3-4 month time period would be my target to rid myself of the PIF balance.

Thanks,

Amado

It sounds like you're on the right track! Don't get discouraged... when you do get this all paid off, you might find that you're not as bad off as you thought you were going to be, like I did.

Once your payment plan is complete, please let us know the dispostion of your account, especially if Amex "un-suspends" your card, and how they reported to the credit bureaus.

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 13:21:03 GMT

So as a continution of this story I will tell you what has transpired since the last time I wrote:

1) The eventually cancelled my account

2) I ended up with 1 30 day, 1 60 day late before I paid off my PIF portion of my credit line which was around 9K.

3) I still have about 15K on the pay over time portion of the account, that I know can pay off on a month basis comfortably.

4) They have told me when I eventually pay off the above 15K, I will be automatically approved for an Optima card with a credit line of 5100 to start off.

5) I also have the option of reapplying for a normal Amex credit card and the acceptance process would be the same as if I never applied before so they would base it off my financial situation at the time of application.

Question:

Since it will probably take me 2 years anyway to payoff this amount, wondering if it's even worth pursing the GW letter route to see if they can remove those lates from my account, or maybe it's too early to even pursue this. Should I simply wait to pay off the pay over time portion? I figure if I get to the right person they might even offer to take off the entire account from from my credit profile as has been reported by others here in the past. Not sure, too early to tell.

Amado

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 20:19:17 GMT

I'm just bumping the my final question in the thread from last year...

So now it's almost a year, I paid off my PIF amount about 1 year ago, and have been paying on time my pay-over-time amount for a good year already. Is it worth sending off a goodwill letter to see if they will possibly reconsider removing my lates or unsuspending my account at this point. Or is the best scenario, still to pay my pay-over-time completely and go from there...

Thanks,

Amado

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 21:01:14 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm just bumping the my final question in the thread from last year...

So now it's almost a year, I paid off my PIF amount about 1 year ago, and have been paying on time my pay-over-time amount for a good year already. Is it worth sending off a goodwill letter to see if they will possibly reconsider removing my lates or unsuspending my account at this point. Or is the best scenario, still to pay my pay-over-time completely and go from there...

Thanks,
Amado

I can't speak on them unsuspending your account. I will let others advise you on that; however, I would send GW letters. What's the worse they can say? "No!" Best of luck!

Thanks for coming back and updating your thread. I'm also glad that you are able to continue to pay down/off your debt with Amex. If you don't mind me asking, how has this situation effected your other creditors?

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

RonM21 — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 23:03:51 GMT

@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm just bumping the my final question in the thread from last year...

So now it's almost a year, I paid off my PIF amount about 1 year ago, and have been paying on time my pay-over-time amount for a good year already. Is it worth sending off a goodwill letter to see if they will possibly reconsider removing my lates or unsuspending my account at this point. Or is the best scenario, still to pay my pay-over-time completely and go from there...

Thanks,
Amado

I can't speak on them unsuspending your account. I will let others advise you on that; however, I would send GW letters. What's the worse they can say? "No!" Best of luck!

Thanks for coming back and updating your thread. I'm also glad that you are able to continue to pay down/off your debt with Amex. If you don't mind me asking, how has this situation effected your other creditors?

Agree. You have nothing to lose in trying the GW letters.

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 00:34:57 GMT

You could always do like I do. Pay in full every month because you don't owe anything. Just got my AMex Centurion replica in the mail. I refuse to deal with charge cards because of these issues. Hope you can find a solution. Would have been nice if you could have gotten a personal loan or something short term to solve the issue.

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

darwin_wins — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 01:51:11 GMT

What is this AmEx Centurion replica that you talk about?

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 01:58:10 GMT

I posted a pic but then I quickly took it down thinking I might get in trouble for it. I got a metal card with embossed letters and numbers and got to choose everything, including the security code. It also has an EMV chip on it. Looks stunning. If you were an existing AMex customer they allow you to send in your card and they will take your EMV chip off the original and superglue it on the replica and then you have a working replica. I myself will never own an AMex because I like to have a choice of paying in full or not. But this baby would make strippers fight over you if you laid it on your table. The authentic cards are $7,500 initial membership fees. $2,500 a year after that. You have to be an existing AMex customer who spends $250,000 on your card before you get an invite. For all the people who like to flash prestigious cards, this is mine without the spend and PIF every month. You can see the cheap fake ones on EBay made of plastic that can't be customized.

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

darwin_wins — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 02:56:39 GMT

Where did you get it? That sounds interesting. Can you post a pic make it private and send a link. I am curious

Re: In an AMEX late PIF problem...

UncleB — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 03:11:47 GMT

@darwin_wins wrote:
Where did you get it? That sounds interesting. Can you post a pic make it private and send a link. I am curious

If you want to continue this discussion, I suggest starting a thread in the Smorgasboard. We need to get this thread back on-topic.

Thanks for understanding.