topic Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards??? in Credit Cards

What's good about AMEX charge cards???

kobe2012 — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:26:07 GMT

I have a zync with psl that I opened last month... still hasn't reported... I'm just wondering what's the advantage of having it on my credit reports?? any thoughts??

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

RonDawg — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:35:55 GMT

@kobe2012 wrote:
I have a zync with psl that I opened last month... still hasn't reported... I'm just wondering what's the advantage of having it on my credit reports?? any thoughts??

Depends on the amount of accounts you actually have and if you actually carry a balance on those accounts. Even if you have a PSL they do not report a credit limit on their Charge cards so in the end what ever your highest balance you have every had will become your credit limit on your credit report. Mine is always "0" because I pay before my statement cuts but in the end I didn't get the charge card to boost my score I got it because of the Membership rewards and the fact that I can transfer points to airlines. Also AMEX really stands behind their members on top of awesome customer service. The charge cards force you to spend within your ability to payback each month. Really I pay to play but in the end good things don't come for free. Just my pref.

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

kobe2012 — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:43:18 GMT

@RonDawg wrote:
@kobe2012 wrote:
I have a zync with psl that I opened last month... still hasn't reported... I'm just wondering what's the advantage of having it on my credit reports?? any thoughts??
Depends on the amount of accounts you actually have and if you actually carry a balance on those accounts. Even if you have a PSL they do not report a credit limit on their Charge cards so in the end what ever your highest balance you have every had will become your credit limit on your credit report. Mine is always "0" because I pay before my statement cuts but in the end I didn't get the charge card to boost my score I got it because of the Membership rewards and the fact that I can transfer points to airlines. Also AMEX really stands behind their members on top of awesome customer service. The charge cards force you to spend within your ability to payback each month. Really I pay to play but in the end good things don't come for free. Just my pref.

So, if a balance is reported, would this lower my score????

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

jsucool76 — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:57:58 GMT

@kobe2012 wrote:
@RonDawg wrote:
@kobe2012 wrote:
I have a zync with psl that I opened last month... still hasn't reported... I'm just wondering what's the advantage of having it on my credit reports?? any thoughts??
Depends on the amount of accounts you actually have and if you actually carry a balance on those accounts. Even if you have a PSL they do not report a credit limit on their Charge cards so in the end what ever your highest balance you have every had will become your credit limit on your credit report. Mine is always "0" because I pay before my statement cuts but in the end I didn't get the charge card to boost my score I got it because of the Membership rewards and the fact that I can transfer points to airlines. Also AMEX really stands behind their members on top of awesome customer service. The charge cards force you to spend within your ability to payback each month. Really I pay to play but in the end good things don't come for free. Just my pref.
So, if a balance is reported, would this lower my score????

No. charge card balances aren't counted in your utilization (whether you have the $200/$500 or the NPSL one) so you can run it up as high as you want and it won't really hurt you (so long as you pay it).

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

Revelate — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:59:18 GMT

@kobe2012 wrote:
@RonDawg wrote:
@kobe2012 wrote:
I have a zync with psl that I opened last month... still hasn't reported... I'm just wondering what's the advantage of having it on my credit reports?? any thoughts??
Depends on the amount of accounts you actually have and if you actually carry a balance on those accounts. Even if you have a PSL they do not report a credit limit on their Charge cards so in the end what ever your highest balance you have every had will become your credit limit on your credit report. Mine is always "0" because I pay before my statement cuts but in the end I didn't get the charge card to boost my score I got it because of the Membership rewards and the fact that I can transfer points to airlines. Also AMEX really stands behind their members on top of awesome customer service. The charge cards force you to spend within your ability to payback each month. Really I pay to play but in the end good things don't come for free. Just my pref.
So, if a balance is reported, would this lower my score????

Under recent versions of the FICO model ('04, '08) no, under the older FICO '98 it would.

Statistically speaking not that many lenders use '98 compared to the newer models, and nobody is going to move back to the older version so fewer are using it as time passes. Personally I think it's irrelevant and absolutely use my charge card to manage my reported utilization under every FICO model I actually care about.

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

lithium78 — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 03:33:43 GMT

I don't really see much point to AMEX charge cards. Their rewards aren't really anything better than you can get elsewhere without an AF. Mostly, I think people like AMEX because there is an image associated with their cards.

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

Duncanrr — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 03:39:56 GMT

@lithium78 wrote:
I don't really see much point to AMEX charge cards. Their rewards aren't really anything better than you can get elsewhere without an AF. Mostly, I think people like AMEX because there is an image associated with their cards.

I'll give you a perfect example of why they can be extremely useful. I have a loan to repair damage to my home that is taking a little while to process. I'll be getting the funds in a couple weeks but needed to buy various materials. I called up AMEX and told them what I was doing and they said sure go ahead. I put over $7,000 in new cabinets on the charge card without a problem and still can use the card (also put a $500 new microwave oven). I get points for this and then pay off charge card in full when loan funds become available in a couple of weeks.

It allowed me to begin repairs earlier than I would had been able to without having to place the charges on my cards and running up utilization and it allowed me to keep my emergency funds in tack and gained bonus points on card.

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

Mailak — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 03:52:12 GMT

@jsucool76 wrote:
@kobe2012 wrote:
@RonDawg wrote:
@kobe2012 wrote:
I have a zync with psl that I opened last month... still hasn't reported... I'm just wondering what's the advantage of having it on my credit reports?? any thoughts??
Depends on the amount of accounts you actually have and if you actually carry a balance on those accounts. Even if you have a PSL they do not report a credit limit on their Charge cards so in the end what ever your highest balance you have every had will become your credit limit on your credit report. Mine is always "0" because I pay before my statement cuts but in the end I didn't get the charge card to boost my score I got it because of the Membership rewards and the fact that I can transfer points to airlines. Also AMEX really stands behind their members on top of awesome customer service. The charge cards force you to spend within your ability to payback each month. Really I pay to play but in the end good things don't come for free. Just my pref.
So, if a balance is reported, would this lower my score????
No. charge card balances aren't counted in your utilization (whether you have the $200/$500 or the NPSL one) so you can run it up as high as you want and it won't really hurt you (so long as you pay it).

It won't count against utilization, but it still counts as one more card with a balance, and that can lower scores. I forgot that I had a tip on a pending transaction, which didn't show and thus I "prepaid" only what was being displayed on screen. When that transaction went through, the statement closed with just $5 balance. Down went the score. Credit Bureaus updated at lightning speed too.

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

lithium78 — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 15:38:21 GMT

@Duncanrr wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
I don't really see much point to AMEX charge cards. Their rewards aren't really anything better than you can get elsewhere without an AF. Mostly, I think people like AMEX because there is an image associated with their cards.
I'll give you a perfect example of why they can be extremely useful. I have a loan to repair damage to my home that is taking a little while to process. I'll be getting the funds in a couple weeks but needed to buy various materials. I called up AMEX and told them what I was doing and they said sure go ahead. I put over $7,000 in new cabinets on the charge card without a problem and still can use the card (also put a $500 new microwave oven). I get points for this and then pay off charge card in full when loan funds become available in a couple of weeks.

It allowed me to begin repairs earlier than I would had been able to without having to place the charges on my cards and running up utilization and it allowed me to keep my emergency funds in tack and gained bonus points on card.

I can see what you are saying, but that's such an isolated use for the card. Typically, a person wouldn't have a need for something like that, but if they had good credit and PIF they could put it temporarily on a regular credit card anyway. I'm just not impressed at all by AMEX's rewards program and I'm even less impressed by the AFs they charge when most cards for people with excellent credit no longer charge AFs anymore. AMEX just seems to be really behind the times and they can be intrusive with their FRs as well, so I just don't think they are worth the hassle.

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:12:09 GMT

@lithium78 wrote:
@Duncanrr wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
I don't really see much point to AMEX charge cards. Their rewards aren't really anything better than you can get elsewhere without an AF. Mostly, I think people like AMEX because there is an image associated with their cards.
I'll give you a perfect example of why they can be extremely useful. I have a loan to repair damage to my home that is taking a little while to process. I'll be getting the funds in a couple weeks but needed to buy various materials. I called up AMEX and told them what I was doing and they said sure go ahead. I put over $7,000 in new cabinets on the charge card without a problem and still can use the card (also put a $500 new microwave oven). I get points for this and then pay off charge card in full when loan funds become available in a couple of weeks.

It allowed me to begin repairs earlier than I would had been able to without having to place the charges on my cards and running up utilization and it allowed me to keep my emergency funds in tack and gained bonus points on card.
I can see what you are saying, but that's such an isolated use for the card. Typically, a person wouldn't have a need for something like that, but if they had good credit and PIF they could put it temporarily on a regular credit card anyway. I'm just not impressed at all by AMEX's rewards program and I'm even less impressed by the AFs they charge when most cards for people with excellent credit no longer charge AFs anymore. AMEX just seems to be really behind the times and they can be intrusive with their FRs as well, so I just don't think they are worth the hassle.

There are many no AF NPSL cards out there with comparable rewards.

Re: What's good about AMEX charge cards???

Pworld — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:20:21 GMT

I like them because i can run all my bills and daily expenses through them, and still keep my utilization very very low with no worries. Being able to transfer points to miles or hotel programs is great. Since Discover and Chase UR absolutely suck at this to me. I see nothing great in travel with those cards so far.