topic Re: Paying Amex Charge in Credit Cards

Paying Amex Charge (UPDATE 3/21/20)

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 03:05:29 GMT

Just curious what everyone's thoughts are in regards to paying Amex Charge cards.

I used to PIF once a month, but I've been saddled with low limits for so long that I've become used to paying down as I go. After my recent success in getting a couple of new cards, it would appear that amex is ok with that. In addition, with pay it/plan it on their revolvers, it would seem that they would prefer it gets paid down as you go along. Would there be any benefit to PIF once a month vs paying it down throughout? I know on old FICO versions, charge cards would be reported with the highest balance reported ever as the limit. I don't need a mortgage, so I'm not concerned with that. I'm more wondering if it would look better to run up a high balance and PIF as it shows you can handle larger limits.

Side question: my disclosures show I have a POT limit of $1750, but I don't have that option anywhere. Am I supposed to register for it?

Thanks, and may the Gucci be with you.

3/21/20: Just got my statement for my Gold. As of a few days ago, I had about $600 in Pay Over Time Direct. Within the last month, I paid down my card $600 of $1200 because I didn't know how much I would be using it during this pandemic. Turns out, despite what Amex was showing me, the $600 was applied to my POT balance, not towards the other charges.

While I can pay it off, I found it extremely annoying. What is the point of POT Direct if they automatically apply early payments towards it. I suspect, had I moved the charges manually, they wouldn't have been touched. I still have to ask them about it.

Guess this answers my question about whether I should pay throughout the month, or just once a month. While I didn't need the POT feature, I don't have the option to use it because of the early payment.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

KLEXH25 — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 17:37:01 GMT

As for PIF vs pay as you go along, I don’t think it matters. I’ve done both and don’t notice any difference, unless I pay early so no balance is reported. As for POT, I noticed that I was automatically registered for it but I ultimately decided to remove that feature since I don’t want to pay interest. It’s only for transactions that are $100 or more. You’ll notice on statements they’ll mark which transactions qualify for POT.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 17:38:54 GMT

@KLEXH25 so it'll show when statement cuts, not when the charges post, like with plan it?

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 18:26:32 GMT

Are not all large purchases automatically placed in POT, and you an either PIF or pay the min due?

I recall this is what led to some confusion recently with some people.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

M_Smart007 — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 18:48:56 GMT

@Brian_Earl_Spilner.. You can change the POT setting. You may need toi call and activate it?

It should come Automatically enabled.

I do not use mine, as The interest is just too much.

I do use Plan-It promotions on The Schwab Amex once and a while.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

KLEXH25 — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 18:59:11 GMT

@Brian_Earl_Spilner I don’t remember now since I removed the feature. I believe it did show when the charges posted, but I definitely remember noticing it on my first statement. Some charges had a ♦️ next to them to denote eligible POT charges, which was anything $100+ but I know I hadn’t signed up for it. I don’t know if enrollment is still automatic, but it seems it was for me. I just looked back at my old transactions, and they aren’t marked online, but they definitely are on the PDF statement.

*I would post screenshots but mobile won’t allow me to.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 19:00:14 GMT

AmEx the lender doesn't care if you pay daily as you go along or all at once so long as you pay them.

The algorithms will factor in your average payment amount and so forth when considering CLIs for instance on revolvers. On charge cards it would be included in the verbiage accounting for how much you can expect to swipe your card and have the charge approved.

So if paying weekly/bi weekly as you get paid helps a person keep their spending in check as a budgeting tool, that's fine.

If you're looking to squeeze out out some banking interest maximizing the float then pay the lump sum in full by the due date.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 19:06:33 GMT

@KLEXH25 wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner I don’t remember now since I removed the feature. I believe it did show when the charges posted, but I definitely remember noticing it on my first statement. Some charges had a ♦️ next to them to denote eligible POT charges, which was anything $100+ but I know I hadn’t signed up for it. I don’t know if enrollment is still automatic, but it seems it was for me. I just looked back at my old transactions, and they aren’t marked online, but they definitely are on the PDF statement.

*I would post screenshots but mobile won’t allow me to.

I just clicked around the site until I found I'm already enrolled in pot direct. I can't access the pot center though so I can't change anything. Just gives me an error.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 19:32:25 GMT

Amex likes spend. When I first got my Gold I put as much as $5000 on it in a month. When they added POT it was for $35,000.

My platinum gets much less spend because I have better cards for most purchases. And my POT on that is only $10,000.

Regular use for restaurants and groceries should help get that spending limit higher - but in your place I'd be more concerned with getting higher limits on the cards that give better rewards on non bonus categories.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 19:38:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Amex likes spend. When I first got my Gold I put as much as $5000 on it in a month. When they added POT it was for $35,000.

My platinum gets much less spend because I have better cards for most purchases. And my POT on that is only $10,000.

Regular use for restaurants and groceries should help get that spending limit higher - but in your place I'd be more concerned with getting higher limits on the cards that give better rewards on non bonus categories.

That's kind of the point of asking. I'm not concerned with paying the charges every month. I'm just curious if paying off larger balances at a time would show that I can handle larger limits on my revolvers.

An example of what I'm talking about would be with say, chase, cap1, and disco. None of them are very consistent with increases, but there have been a lot of datapoints where after placing a large charge, or doing a large balance transfer, they will do auto increases if paid off immediately.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 20:12:39 GMT

@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Amex likes spend. When I first got my Gold I put as much as $5000 on it in a month. When they added POT it was for $35,000.

My platinum gets much less spend because I have better cards for most purchases. And my POT on that is only $10,000.

Regular use for restaurants and groceries should help get that spending limit higher - but in your place I'd be more concerned with getting higher limits on the cards that give better rewards on non bonus categories.
That's kind of the point of asking. I'm not concerned with paying the charges every month. I'm just curious if paying off larger balances at a time would show that I can handle larger limits on my revolvers.

Ah, well in that case I don't know anything, but my guess would be you'd be better off doing that on your actual revolvers.

I've currently got all my grocery spend on my $500 Savor One in an attempt to grow that, just so I can have a large enough limit to get 3% on theatre tickets.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 20:25:22 GMT

If I were to guess, and it's only a guess, if your point is to show you can handle larger balances, wouldn't it make sense that paying once a month shows that rather than 3 times a month? The reasoning is, paying multiple times implies you don't have the cash at once at the time when payment is due OR you don't trust yourself to have it at the time when payment is due.

I PIF always, once a month. I do it as soon as the statement cuts. If any issuer would analyze my payment habits, it would show I always have the money to pay my balance, well before the due date.

Not sure if this helps.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

FinStar — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 21:21:42 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
AmEx the lender doesn't care if you pay daily as you go along or all at once so long as you pay them.

The algorithms will factor in your average payment amount and so forth when considering CLIs for instance on revolvers. On charge cards it would be included in the verbiage accounting for how much you can expect to swipe your card and have the charge approved.

So if paying weekly/bi weekly as you get paid helps a person keep their spending in check as a budgeting tool, that's fine.

If you're looking to squeeze out out some banking interest maximizing the float then pay the lump sum in full by the due date.

Pretty much this ^^^

All things being Gucci and regarding charge cards (setting POT aside), as long as the full payment is received by the due date, you should be fine. Algorithmically, I'm sure there's plenty of internal factors considered for evaluating future charges and your internal limit. So, whether you plop some Gucci, a $10,000 charge and a few other ancillary transactions, whatever you are comfortable with (weekly payments or the standard PIF), or depending on your budget.

Of course, revolvers are a bit of a different animal, but definitely make sure your income is up to date and use them regularly.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

FinStar — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 20:47:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If I were to guess, and it's only a guess, if your point is to show you can handle larger balances, wouldn't it make sense that paying once a month shows that rather than 3 times a month? The reasoning is, paying multiple times implies you don't have the cash at once at the time when payment is due OR you don't trust yourself to have it at the time when payment is due.

I PIF always, once a month. I do it as soon as the statement cuts. If any issuer would analyze my payment habits, it would show I always have the money to pay my balance, well before the due date.

Not sure if this helps.

Aggregate transaction amounts + total payments during the same cycle would not make any difference based on such illustration. If I make 10 transactions totaling $15,000 in the cycle and PIF 10 times (for each transaction incurred), same thing. The algorithm isn't thinking "oh I wonder if the cardmember is doing it this way because they don't have the full funds to cover a PIF"... The payment IS the expectation, regardless whether you do so (several payments or a lump sum) once your statement cycles or you decide to PIF by the due date.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 21:01:24 GMT

I had wondered about that scenario a few times. At the end of he day they get paid, but was always curious how they felt about someone who paid the balance in five seperate payments versus one large payment.

One could assume that the person cannot afford the whole thing at once. But if they are indeed paying it off, what's the difference?

It all comes down to how/when they get paid. If it's weekly and you have a budget set up, then you pay everything accordingly. As it might be possible to spend it elsewhere between now and when you get paid again? Thus reducing teh amount you can pay later.

Lets remember that not everyone stores a bunch of cash in one Bank, and can easily PIF at a moments notice. But they're still generating swipes and paying it back.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 21:21:55 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
AmEx the lender doesn't care if you pay daily as you go along or all at once so long as you pay them.

The algorithms will factor in your average payment amount and so forth when considering CLIs for instance on revolvers. On charge cards it would be included in the verbiage accounting for how much you can expect to swipe your card and have the charge approved.

So if paying weekly/bi weekly as you get paid helps a person keep their spending in check as a budgeting tool, that's fine.

If you're looking to squeeze out out some banking interest maximizing the float then pay the lump sum in full by the due date.

Pretty much this ^^^

All things being Gucci andrregarding charge cards (setting POT aside), as long as the full payment is received in by the due date, you should be fine. Algorithmically, I'm sure there's plenty of internal factors considered for evaluating future charges and your internal limit. So, whether you plop some Gucci, a $10,000 charge and a few other ancillary transactions, whether you are comfortable with weekly payments or the standard PIF, whatever works best for your budget.

Of course, revolvers are a bit of a different animal, but definitely make sure your income is up to date and use them regularly.

Again, I'm not concerned with the charge portion or any internal limits in regards to charge. It's more about establishing a pattern. You hear about people that PIF on their revolvers all the time, and then all of a sudden need to carry a balance for a bit, which is then followed by AA like balance chasing. The fact that they never carried a balance for 5 years worked against them by having major red flags thrown up when they all of a sudden needed to. In this case, I wonder if it would be better to charge up the card and pay the larger balance off then it would be to make smaller payments as the charges post. We've all heard of people receiving calls from amex recommending a payment, or having a charge declined because they wanted a payment. Then there are people that never get a phone call. I'm just wondering if there's a correlation there. And with the addition of pay it/plan it and POT, has that changed? Also was wondering if carrying a large balance for the month would have any bearing on larger revolving limits.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

simplynoir — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 21:23:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I had wondered about that scenario a few times. At the end of he day they get paid, but was always curious how they felt about someone who paid the balance in five seperate payments versus one large payment.

That would be stupid on AMEX's part to punish someone for this. As @Brian_Earl_Spilner alluded to for his situation the reason he had to make several payments a month on the Delta Gold card was to free up the credit line with it being so small so he could keep charging on it. One could say cycling a limit has its drawbacks but that's not the discussion here

If all AMEX allowed was the initial credit for you to use every statement period and anymore on top of that is a no-no in the form of multiple payments then why would someone bother in the first place .The easy fix is for the bank to auto CLI them if they have a problem with a customer doing this but when is anything credit related ever easy

Re: Paying Amex Charge

FinStar — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 21:30:47 GMT

@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
AmEx the lender doesn't care if you pay daily as you go along or all at once so long as you pay them.

The algorithms will factor in your average payment amount and so forth when considering CLIs for instance on revolvers. On charge cards it would be included in the verbiage accounting for how much you can expect to swipe your card and have the charge approved.

So if paying weekly/bi weekly as you get paid helps a person keep their spending in check as a budgeting tool, that's fine.

If you're looking to squeeze out out some banking interest maximizing the float then pay the lump sum in full by the due date.

Pretty much this ^^^

All things being Gucci andrregarding charge cards (setting POT aside), as long as the full payment is received in by the due date, you should be fine. Algorithmically, I'm sure there's plenty of internal factors considered for evaluating future charges and your internal limit. So, whether you plop some Gucci, a $10,000 charge and a few other ancillary transactions, whether you are comfortable with weekly payments or the standard PIF, whatever works best for your budget.

Of course, revolvers are a bit of a different animal, but definitely make sure your income is up to date and use them regularly.
Again, I'm not concerned with the charge portion or any internal limits in regards to charge. It's more about establishing a pattern. You hear about people that PIF on their revolvers all the time, and then all of a sudden need to carry a balance for a bit, which is then followed by AA like balance chasing. The fact that they never carried a balance for 5 years worked against them by having major red flags thrown up when they all of a sudden needed to. In this case, I wonder if it would be better to charge up the card and pay the larger balance off then it would be to make smaller payments as the charges post. We've all heard of people receiving calls from amex recommending a payment, or having a charge declined because they wanted a payment. Then there are people that never get a phone call. I'm just wondering if there's a correlation there. And with the addition of pay it/plan it and POT, has that changed? Also was wondering if carrying a large balance for the month would have any bearing on larger revolving limits.

True, but then again, you are presented with the tip of the iceberg and very limited information about a 'targeted' profile or AA situation to make a full determination of what truly caused such AA or the 'phone call'. By and large, with as many [AmEx] chargeaand revolver accounts over the years under my belt, I've never had a situation where AA was an issue. If you maintain your accounts in such a way that doesn't draw much attention then you shouldn't run into any issues.

You'll be fine.

Re: Paying Amex Charge

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 21:44:44 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
AmEx the lender doesn't care if you pay daily as you go along or all at once so long as you pay them.

The algorithms will factor in your average payment amount and so forth when considering CLIs for instance on revolvers. On charge cards it would be included in the verbiage accounting for how much you can expect to swipe your card and have the charge approved.

So if paying weekly/bi weekly as you get paid helps a person keep their spending in check as a budgeting tool, that's fine.

If you're looking to squeeze out out some banking interest maximizing the float then pay the lump sum in full by the due date.

Pretty much this ^^^

All things being Gucci andrregarding charge cards (setting POT aside), as long as the full payment is received in by the due date, you should be fine. Algorithmically, I'm sure there's plenty of internal factors considered for evaluating future charges and your internal limit. So, whether you plop some Gucci, a $10,000 charge and a few other ancillary transactions, whether you are comfortable with weekly payments or the standard PIF, whatever works best for your budget.

Of course, revolvers are a bit of a different animal, but definitely make sure your income is up to date and use them regularly.
Again, I'm not concerned with the charge portion or any internal limits in regards to charge. It's more about establishing a pattern. You hear about people that PIF on their revolvers all the time, and then all of a sudden need to carry a balance for a bit, which is then followed by AA like balance chasing. The fact that they never carried a balance for 5 years worked against them by having major red flags thrown up when they all of a sudden needed to. In this case, I wonder if it would be better to charge up the card and pay the larger balance off then it would be to make smaller payments as the charges post. We've all heard of people receiving calls from amex recommending a payment, or having a charge declined because they wanted a payment. Then there are people that never get a phone call. I'm just wondering if there's a correlation there. And with the addition of pay it/plan it and POT, has that changed? Also was wondering if carrying a large balance for the month would have any bearing on larger revolving limits.
True, but then again, you are presented with the tip of the iceberg and very limited information about a 'targeted' profile or AA situation to make a full determination of what truly caused such AA or the 'phone call'. By and large, with as many [AmEx] chargeaand revolver accounts over the years under my belt, I've never had a situation where AA was an issue. If you maintain your accounts in such a way that doesn't draw much attention then you shouldn't run into any issues.

You'll be fine.

Oh, I'm not worried about AA. I used to charge up 8-10k back in the day before I would get a phone call. Though, after burning them for 11k, I'm sure they would rather have a payment sooner than later. 😂

Re: Paying Amex Charge

I_Love_Cards — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 23:52:43 GMT

My experience:

I have a risky profile (past transgressions, current aggressive credit seeking). Amex has been willing to let me in the door (many times), but has been hit or miss with limits/CLI etc.

Amex SP’s me every 2-3 days.

When I got my charge cards, I paid them frequently. I was only worried that whatever report they looked at that Tuesday would show something they didn’t like and they would cut my internal limit and my card would get declined at the grocery store. So in order to keep as much of my internal limit available as possible-I paid early and often.

After 4 months of that-they finally opened the gates and started granting CLI and higher starting limits on other cards.

I have no idea if I would also have gotten the same CLI & higher SL had I run up the charges & paid once, or if I hadn’t added a charge card to the mix at all. Who knows?

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that Amex got spooked by some BT activity in October/November (balances were reporting on both accounts for a bit - which they saw cause they SP every 2-3 days) and they slashed the POT limit on my gold card from $20k to $2k. I’ve never used POT at all on any card.

I had a balance on one of my Amex cards-I’d been throwing money at it-a couple hundred here, a few hundred a couple weeks later, a grand here, another few hundred there eventually shaving off $3500 over a few weeks (last payment was mid January).

I got a letter yesterday that they were delighted to let me know that I’ve been enrolled in POT on my Platinum (which didn’t have previously POT) for $35k limit. Rightieo then, Amex.

I have no way of knowing if they would have done the same had I paid once, or not paid more than the minimum or if it would have happened if I didn’t even have that other card. Who knows.

But my pattern, based on my history and profile-indicates that Amex likes to see a lot of payments from me (and not a lot of lingering balances). So I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and assume that since Amex finds me (understandably) to be a risky borrower, they are happier seeing frequent repayment happening as when that happens, they reward me with more borrowing power (probably not the best term).