AMEX Payment Question

[Anonymous]

Does AMEX like to see PIF after statement cuts or should I PIF before and show 0 balance?

[unknown_entity]

Either way is ok.  They have some funny reporting quirks though.  It's like they are 2 months behind on the info they report, so it is probably best for you to PIF before the statement cuts.

[Anonymous]

Thanks..

[Anonymous]

Not that this has anything to do with what AmEx likes or doesn't like, but if it matters to you what balance gets reported to the CRAs, pay before the statement cuts - because the statement's closing balance is what AmEx reports - and it reports it two months behind!

(Edited to add that you probably knew that! But just in case you didn't, it's good to know - because you can PIF all you like but never show a zero AmEx balance on your credit reports if you do it after the statement cuts!)

Message Edited by fevmlo on 07-11-2008 07:45 AM

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Does AMEX like to see PIF after statement cuts or should I PIF before and show 0 balance?

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Just a general note to everyone, especially any new members who might be trying to sort all this out:

With any creditor, it doesn't matter a hill of beans to them whether you PIF before or after the statement drops. That's a scoring issue. They probably don't even notice that you're paying early, or if they do notice, they're baffled as to why.

The date that they pay attention to is the due date. If you PIF before, oh well, no interest for them; if you PIF afterwards, they get some extra money that month.

They do keep track of your total charges through the month, so if you're trying for a CLI for instance, and you're running a lot of money through to impress them, they're very aware of your usage, even if your statements have $0 balances.