If you are new to AMEX you may experience a restriction around paying early or paying multiple times before your first cycle.
@EAJuggalo wrote:
@IntegerIntrovert wrote:If you are new to AMEX you may experience a restriction around paying early or paying multiple times before your first cycle.
This, usually you are limited to one payment before the first statement cuts. I would wait until after the statement cuts and then pay it off. Your card may be limited the first few months while AMEX gets an idea of your spending habits.
While the above is true, as long as your profile supports your level of spend, you don't have anything to worry about by letting your balance ride to the end of the statement. Also, you can check you Pay Over Time limit for a rough idea of what Amex is comfortable with as far as a spending limit starting out. As Amex gets to know you, they'll adjust to your spending habits as long as your profile remains solid.
Congrats on getting the Gold card.
What other charges do you anticipate to add to the card in the next 2 to 3 weeks? If the statement balance is going to be $3,000, I'd leave it and pay after the statement cuts. The first month, you are limited in the number of payments you can make.
Also, to be sure you don't mess it up, take very great, extreme, cautious care in how you set up your bank info to make any payments to AMEX. There are regular horror stories here about someone setting up a new checking account for the payments, they mess up the digits or the bank can't recognize the request for payment or the checking account has insufficient funds and AMEX gets a rejection for the payment. Bad things then happen to the card account, and other cards at AMEX. While you are excited to make that payment, take your time to triple check your data entry. Once you know a bank setup is working, then future payments will be easier to press the button to proceed. ( others are going to chime in that "This Is Why I Only Push Payments From My Checking Account" ... in one, two, three... )
As to making frequent payments on an AMEX Charge card, I don't do that. AMEX tracks your charge patterns, and by letting charges build up to the statement amount, then regular time to get them the payment, once per month, you are building a pattern that says "I really need to be able to charge $X,XXX every month, and I can be trusted to pay in full every month." If you constantly pay down the charge card every time you get $200 on the card, then the Max Necessary Charge limit will be lower. When it comes time for a significant charge, it may not be as easily accepted by the card algorithm because large amounts haven't been built as history. TL,DR, Pay once per month.
Wow! This is great. thank you so much for the tips! I am planning to have other purchases in the next two weeks, so I'm going wait to do a single payment instead of multiples (build my spending pattern) super excited about this card 
