topic Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR in Credit Cards

Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:39:09 GMT

So, yesterday marked the end of my first billing period for my AMEX SPG Luxury Card. I recently traveled home to Chicago, and used my card for my stay at Chicago Marriott Suites O'Hare (I loved my stay there), as well as other charges. After all of the charges cleared, I went ahead and paid the balance on Tuesday and brought it down to zero. Great right?

WRONG!

They hit me with the annual fee on the statement closing date, but it did not appear until this morning:

amexfee.png

So, instead of my balance reading $0, I now have a balance equivalent to 7.23% utilization of this card. I feel some type of way about this. Not about the fee, as I knew there would be one; just the timing of it. Dammit. The card isn't reporting yet, but when it does, this balance will, too. And I know my scores are going to dip; they were going to already because of the new tradeline, but man...

Well, shoot.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

FinStar — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:45:33 GMT

FICO has no memory and any minute fluctuation with your scores will recover.

It's not unusual for the AF to post on the cycle date for most cards depending on when the account was opened and the 1st statement generates with the applicable AF.

If you knew about the upcoming AF being assessed you could've prepaid it in advance. So, no AmEx wasn't sneaky IMO. The AF is a systematic posting and it wasn't like they waited for you to PIF and then slam you with the fee 😄

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

JustBPatient — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:48:50 GMT

Thats standard operating procedure for AMEX. Not to worry though, whatever points you may or may not lose, you will get them right back next month. Don't sweat it!

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:50:49 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
FICO has no memory and any minute fluctuation with your scores will recover.

It's not unusual for the AF to post on the cycle date for most cards depending on when the account was opened and the 1st statement generates with the applicable AF.

If you knew about the upcoming AF being assessed you could've prepaid it in advance. So, no AmEx wasn't sneaky IMO. The AF is a systematic posting and it wasn't like they waited for you to PIF and then slam you with the fee 😄

I know. Just let me have my moment to complain, will you?

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:52:09 GMT

First, a new Amex card usually doesn't report to CRAs until after the 2nd statement. Secondly, even if it does report the 1st statement, you're well below 28.9% threshold for individual UTI and it has no memory so whatever points loss, if any, will be regained when you pay down the balance next cycle.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

FinStar — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:54:28 GMT

Exactly ^^^^

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:54:39 GMT

@JustBPatient wrote:
Thats standard operating procedure for AMEX. Not to worry though, whatever points you may or may not lose, you will get them right back next month. Don't sweat it!

I figured. And thankfully, I am (or will be) in a zone where the dip shouldn't hit me too hard. Perhaps I am being overly cautious because I have specific plans on the horizon in the next year. 'Preciate your input!

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

K-in-Boston — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:56:23 GMT

I've never had an Amex card report on the first statement date, either. Also, you may be pleasantly surprised when the $300 credit posts today or tomorrow. Combined with that $60 Amex Offer you clearly took advantage of, that'll knock quite a bit off of that stay.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:57:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
First, a new Amex card usually doesn't report to CRAs until after the 2nd statement. Secondly, even if it does report the 1st statement, you're well below 28.9% threshold for individual UTI and it has no memory so whatever points loss, if any, will be regained when you pay down the balance next cycle.

Really? Now that I didn't know. Well, shoot; if they don't report it this month, that balance will, indeed, be long paid by then.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:01:28 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
I've never had an Amex card report on the first statement date, either. Also, you may be pleasantly surprised when the $300 credit posts today or tomorrow. Combined with that $60 Amex Offer you clearly took advantage of, that'll knock quite a bit off of that stay.

Indeed, I did! And you know what's funny? I forgot I added it! I legit had to think about why Marriott was giving me money!

And I also totally forgot about the $300 credit. Man, I lucked out getting this card.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Streetervillelady — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:03:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So, yesterday marked the end of my first billing period for my AMEX SPG Luxury Card. I recently traveled home to Chicago, and used my card for my stay at Chicago Marriott Suites O'Hare (I loved my stay there), as well as other charges. After all of the charges cleared, I went ahead and paid the balance on Tuesday and brought it down to zero. Great right?

WRONG!

They hit me with the annual fee on the statement closing date, but it did not appear until this morning:

amexfee.png

So, instead of my balance reading $0, I now have a balance equivalent to 7.23% utilization of this card. I feel some type of way about this. Not about the fee, as I knew there would be one; just the timing of it. Dammit. The card isn't reporting yet, but when it does, this balance will, too. And I know my scores are going to dip; they were going to already because of the new tradeline, but man...

Well, shoot.

I'm sorry you were blindsided. YMMV, but it took AMEX 2 months to report my 2 accounts to the CRA's. Also, AMEX seems to cycle mid-morning, unlike some that update overnight. So expect to see account updates around 10 to 11am standard time. Glad to hear you enjoyed your time here. Chicago is the greatest city in the world! IMO!

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:06:42 GMT

@Streetervillelady wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
So, yesterday marked the end of my first billing period for my AMEX SPG Luxury Card. I recently traveled home to Chicago, and used my card for my stay at Chicago Marriott Suites O'Hare (I loved my stay there), as well as other charges. After all of the charges cleared, I went ahead and paid the balance on Tuesday and brought it down to zero. Great right?

WRONG!

They hit me with the annual fee on the statement closing date, but it did not appear until this morning:

amexfee.png

So, instead of my balance reading $0, I now have a balance equivalent to 7.23% utilization of this card. I feel some type of way about this. Not about the fee, as I knew there would be one; just the timing of it. Dammit. The card isn't reporting yet, but when it does, this balance will, too. And I know my scores are going to dip; they were going to already because of the new tradeline, but man...

Well, shoot.
I'm sorry you were blindsided. YMMV, but it took AMEX 2 months to report my 2 accounts to the CRA's. Also, AMEX seems to cycle mid-morning, unlike some that update overnight. So expect to see account updates around 10 to 11am standard time. Glad to hear you enjoyed your time here. Chicago is the greatest city in the world! IMO!

Indeed! It's my hometown, actually. I love coming back home!

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

UpperNwGuy — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:10:13 GMT

Two thoughts:

1. Posting the annual fee as part of the statement closing process is done by many issuers. Amex didn't do anything wrong.

2. Why are you so upset with having a balance show on your statement? Balances are good. They document the fact that you're using the card. No interest will be charged if you pay the balance before the following due date.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:27:00 GMT

@UpperNwGuy wrote:
Two thoughts:
1. Posting the annual fee as part of the statement closing process is done by many issuers. Amex didn't do anything wrong.
2. Why are you so upset with having a balance show on your statement? Balances are good. They document the fact that you're using the card. No interest will be charged if you pay the balance before the following due date.

I'm not upset. You should read the subsequent comments.

Also, I know that balances are good. I just don't like to have balances reporting above a certain threshold.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:41:17 GMT

I suggest putting everything on autopilot, report all charges naturally, set autopay for full statement balance on due date, keep your money in interest earning accounts through grace period, you can always implement UTI micromanaging the cycle before application if you feel few points will make or break, no reason to waste your time, energy and money micromanaging at all times.

For reference, I gained 0 points on EX, 5 on TU and 3-4 on EQ going from all cards reporting naturally (7% UTI) to AZEO (1% UTI).

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:45:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I suggest putting everything on autopilot, report all charges naturally, set autopay for full statement balance on due date, keep your money in interest earning accounts through grace period, you can always implement UTI micromanaging the cycle before application if you feel few points will make or break, no reason to waste your time, energy and money micromanaging at all times.

For reference, I gained 0 points on EX, 5 on TU and 3-4 on EQ going from all cards reporting naturally (7% UTI) to AZEO (1% UTI).

Great suggestion. I appreciate the input.

And since I won't be app'ing for a while (unless my fingers get twitchy on a random night at 1AM again ), perhaps I can back off myself for a bit.

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Felony_Phil — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 21:38:38 GMT

There's always next month...

Womp Womp

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 21:52:09 GMT

Okay guys , so I just opened my first Amex card the new gold card .. when will I get hit with the 250 AF? Just to b ready?

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 22:12:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Okay guys , so I just opened my first Amex card the new gold card .. when will I get hit with the 250 AF? Just to b ready?

Most likely around the same time I did; near or at the end of your billing cycle.

Congrats on the card, too! When I get out of the garden, hopefully, the rose gold one will still be available, because I really want that one!

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 22:39:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Okay guys , so I just opened my first Amex card the new gold card .. when will I get hit with the 250 AF? Just to b ready?
Most likely around the same time I did; near or at the end of your billing cycle.

Congrats on the card, too! When I get out of the garden, hopefully, the rose gold one will still be available, because I really want that one!

Thanks! I got the rose gold because my fiance really wanted it lol

topic Re: Sneaky AMEX! *GRRR* in Credit Cards

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topic Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR in Credit Cards

Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR

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Re: Sneaky AMEX! GRRR