AMEX Gold POT Limit

[jwcc1205]

Hello,

I recently opened an Amex Gold card about a month ago. I have been using this card over the past month for everyday puchases, but I noticed that my Pay Over Time limit is very low, not that I would carry a balance. I got an email today saying that I am approaching my POT limit and won't be able to carry over a balance if I excede it. The limit is only $2,000 which isn't enough for each months spending. I was curious if I am able to spend past that without repercussions or if I should pay off the balance now. I don't have a preset spending limit, but I don't want to have one placed on my account. Also, when do you think my POT limit will increase to a level that I won't need to worry about.

Thank you!

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Your charges over $100 are automatically put towards POT which is why you're getting the message. You can spend beyond that. You just won't be able to put anything beyond the limit into POT. You can go into the settings and change them so that you have to manually move charges into POT. The limit can be increased over time automatically. With yours being so low it's definitely a good idea to tread carefully. Any suspicion of financial instability could trigger a hard limit.

[NRB525]

Agreed. Pay Over Time is best kept as optional, given the high APR   So turning it off is best. 

[jcooks]

I wouldn't be too concerned.  I have my POT limit at 1750 from when I first opened the account.  Turned that feature off the day I opened the card.  It was my first Amex card and my first card on my rebuild process.  Since my feature is turned off, it hasn't changed.  I'm just waiting and hoping for the free MR points offer to turn it back on.  I haven't had an issue running my Gold up to $5k in a month.  I always have PIF since opening it.

[sjt]

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@NRB525 wrote:

Agreed. Pay Over Time is best kept as optional, given the high APR   So turning it off is best. 

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But even though charges are automatically put against POT, you are still given a grace period and avoid interest if you pay the entire balance by the due date.

[practical1]

Agree with other posters.  This is one of those sneaky little "features" that AMEX likes to offer, from time to time.  Looks really good and might be handy....until you read the "fine print" and figure out how expensive it can be to take advantage of.

My best suggestion is not to use it.

As to your specific question about increasing the amout:  When this was first made available to me, my FICO-8 score was just kissing 700 and they provided 2K.  As the score crept upwards and I didn't touch the POT, the limit kept increasing.  Once I was up over about 738 or so, the POT limit suddently shot up to its current level, for me of $25K.  Don't know if this anecdotal data is illuminating in any way, but submitted for consideration....

Best of luck!

[NRB525]

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@sjt wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

Agreed. Pay Over Time is best kept as optional, given the high APR   So turning it off is best. 

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But even though charges are automatically put against POT, you are still given a grace period and avoid interest if you pay the entire balance by the due date.

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Very true. However by turning it off, one avoids alarming the AMEX algorithm and triggering automatic messages when one wants to charge beyond that POT limit. 

[jcooks]

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@sjt wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

Agreed. Pay Over Time is best kept as optional, given the high APR   So turning it off is best. 

---

But even though charges are automatically put against POT, you are still given a grace period and avoid interest if you pay the entire balance by the due date.

---

Very true. However by turning it off, one avoids alarming the AMEX algorithm and triggering automatic messages when one wants to charge beyond that POT limit. 

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Don't forget that they send promotions of up to 30k MR points to just to turn that feature on.  That's the sole purpose of me having that feature off.  I've only seen a few recently, but since I PIF, I don't need it.