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Amex Paying in Full..Myth?

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BearOSO
Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?


@bs6054 wrote:

@BearOSO wrote:

I feel the same way. I've carried tremendous balances but I always had the cash and paid in huge installements in 2-3 months. 

 

The same emotion goes towards "building a relationship"with a bank, at the end of the day you're just a number that is suppose to be doing certain things like pay bills on time; kinda like when kids say "I've been outta trouble" or "I haven't gone to jail"....no **bleep** sherlock you're SUPPOSE to be outta jail and trouble. I've been with chase since I was 18. They treat me like everyone else except for maybe always footing the bill when I need a new debit/credit card. End rant. 


Re building a relationship, I struggled not to rant at a post yesterday, someone getting a CLI from US Bank:

 

The letter I received today stated, "Congratulations, We are please to inform you that in recognition of the exceptional way you handle your account, we have increased your revolve line to $15,000.  Thank you for choosing the US Bank Cash+  Visa Signature Card.".   I thought it was nice that they went out of their way to send me this letter.   Just thought I would share it with you all.

 


Sounds like the poster thinks that someone at the bank reviewed the activity, thought "Wow, he/she has really handled the account in an exceptional way.  Let me go write a letter.  Extra effort for me, but she/he deserves it".   As compared to a computer-generated CLI letter....


lolSmiley LOL

Message 11 of 29
amcclure
New Member

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?

I opened a Blue Cash in 2005 and would pif the card in the beginning but I did carry a rather substantial balance from 2006 until about 2010, sometimes making minimum payments and sometimes making more than minimum payments. All of my cards are now PIF, but I never suffered any adverse effects from this pattern that I am aware of and I was instantly apprived for a CLI from 10700 to 21300 in 2012 as well as a MB Platinum.

Message 12 of 29
lionsfan20
Regular Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?

thanks for all the replies from people who havent had any negative effects of carring a balance..I just see so many people worried about carrying a balance with amex and dont get why. ALso , I read someone post that they pif for a few months and then got the 3cli..thats great to assume but as we both know their is no way of knowing why you got the approval so you really cant say that. The only reason to pif is if you either

 

1.cant afford interest or dont want to pay interest

2. really worried about your score dropping a few points(which is really silly as well)

 

but for people not to carry a balance because they think amex will close them or cld them is just nonsense..like the poster said on the first page..they can only make money with interest just like any other bank so their is no incentive to make people pif.

 

I also want to say that for people who say pif is good for relationship with bank..I always see people who just charge like 100 dollars or less and then pif lol...I think it would only benefit with you with over 500 dollars a month..using the card just to show amex your using it and then pif really doesnt do any good.

 

Message 13 of 29
bs6054
Valued Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?

I agree that people overworry.  And worse, for many here, the advice to PIF, often means "PIF BEFORE the statement cuts" to maximize FICO/minimize utilization.  Way too obsessive for most people's need.

Message 14 of 29
lionsfan20
Regular Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?

but doesnt that show banks that your not using the cards lol?..its like backwards logic

Message 15 of 29
Cdnewmanpac
Established Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?

so you wanted an example, here is an example: my wife has excellent credit, hasn't ever had a negative and has limits well in excess of income. she has an amex blue that offered her a deal a few years ago that any charges in the next 6 most would have lifetime 3.9% interest. she promptly but about 20k in wedding expenses on the card and has been paying it down steadily. we made an intentional decision to pay interest and because the rate was so low, there was no reason to rush to pay off. she still owes about 2200. never missed a payment, never paid minimum. she apped for Costco in November, declined for "excessive balance on current account" and something about the rate of payment being too slow. ex from the letter 771. I started again with amex last march after a 20 year break. I have 5 negatives on my cr. I have never carried a balance on my amex cards, have made large charges and pif. I apped for Costco in December and was instantly approved. no score provided, but best estimate 690-700.
not claiming this proves anything, but you asked for an example.
amex has an internal risk model that has been discussed for years in business school. the general concensus is that the fact it was built for charge cards causes a residual bias towards charge card friendly behavior. nobody has ever suggested it is an absolute, but a persistent bias.
so do what you want, but I'm going to continue to use other cards for carrying balances and there is some rationale for this behavior.
In wallet: Ink Plus 10k, AMEX TE 25k. In bag: CSP 16k, USAA WMC 15k, Hyatt 13k, United MPE 12k, AMEX HHonors 3k. In SD: Cap 1 QS 5k, Discover IT 7k. FICO 08 says my EQ is now 844, was 510 in 2010.
Message 16 of 29
bs6054
Valued Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?


@Cdnewmanpac wrote:
so you wanted an example, here is an example: my wife has excellent credit, hasn't ever had a negative and has limits well in excess of income. she has an amex blue that offered her a deal a few years ago that any charges in the next 6 most would have lifetime 3.9% interest. she promptly but about 20k in wedding expenses on the card and has been paying it down steadily. we made an intentional decision to pay interest and because the rate was so low, there was no reason to rush to pay off. she still owes about 2200. never missed a payment, never paid minimum. she apped for Costco in November, declined for "excessive balance on current account" and something about the rate of payment being too slow. ex from the letter 771. I started again with amex last march after a 20 year break. I have 5 negatives on my cr. I have never carried a balance on my amex cards, have made large charges and pif. I apped for Costco in December and was instantly approved. no score provided, but best estimate 690-700.
not claiming this proves anything, but you asked for an example.
amex has an internal risk model that has been discussed for years in business school. the general concensus is that the fact it was built for charge cards causes a residual bias towards charge card friendly behavior. nobody has ever suggested it is an absolute, but a persistent bias.
so do what you want, but I'm going to continue to use other cards for carrying balances and there is some rationale for this behavior.

Right, but I think the OP was reacting to statements suggesting, for example,  that if your wife carried a balance for say 6 months, she would be FR'd.  Yours is a counterexample!

Message 17 of 29
lionsfan20
Regular Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?

ya cd that was a good example I guess but I was more going towards the idea of getting credit limit decreased or account closed or FR..I guess that could be a negative side effect but I think that was a given already..obviously if you owe a bank alot of money there not going to just hand you another credit card to run that up as well.

Message 18 of 29
Cdnewmanpac
Established Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?


@lionsfan20 wrote:

ya cd that was a good example I guess but I was more going towards the idea of getting credit limit decreased or account closed or FR..I guess that could be a negative side effect but I think that was a given already..obviously if you owe a bank alot of money there not going to just hand you another credit card to run that up as well.


I think you are missing the point. She had a ~2500 balance on a 24k limit card, has over 100k in available credit from other lenders, had a 771 score and has never had a late, but amex flat out declined her for another card. That isn't about being nervous giving credit to someone who has "run up" a card. There are many other people who have similarly reported being denied CLIs. If all you are asking about is card closures/FRs, then yeah, its overblown. But to therefore conclude that amex "doesn't care" about carrying a balance is wrong. Amex has, historically, favored a pay in full strategy. My experience (and my wife's) supports that.

In comparison, every time my wife carries a balance on a citi card for a few months, they increase her credit limit. Just after we moved to Denver, she had a balance of almost 30k for two months. During that time, Citi bombarded her with offers for other cards. Citi ACTIVELY REWARDS carrying balances. Amex clearly does not. The point being, different lenders have different profiles. Are you going to get your card closed because you carry a balance for a few months? Of course not. But I still recommend that people who plan to carry balances would do well to do it on non-amex cards.

In wallet: Ink Plus 10k, AMEX TE 25k. In bag: CSP 16k, USAA WMC 15k, Hyatt 13k, United MPE 12k, AMEX HHonors 3k. In SD: Cap 1 QS 5k, Discover IT 7k. FICO 08 says my EQ is now 844, was 510 in 2010.
Message 19 of 29
adavis425
Established Contributor

Re: Amex Paying in Full..Myth?


@lionsfan20 wrote:

I keep seeing new comers ask the question and then being told they must treat it like a charge card and pif. Ive had the card for about 5-6 months and have always carried a 1-2k balance and pay about 200 dollars a month and have had no problem. I want someone who has had a negative issue with amex because of carrying a balance that can come and post their story. I honestly think people are just way to paranoid about pif and that amex truly could give two **bleep**s..hence why someone chose their revolver over their charge card to begin with. SO someone with a story that has nothing to do with ANYTHING ELSE ON THEIR CR please post their story.

 

And I know this is kind of like a rant but its frustrating to see so many people post about pif when I honestly think it makes no difference in your relationship with amex.


+1

I agree with lionsfan. I've carried a balance on my BCP with no issue. There does seem to be a lot paranoia on this board where AMEX is concerned. I have never had any AA from them for carrying a balance because it is, after all, a credit card. So, I too would be interested in stories of AA for simply carrying a balance on an AMEX credit card.

AmEx Platinum | AmEx BCP | AmEx Delta Gold | CSP | Chase Freedom | NFCU cashRewards Visa Sig | NFCU Plat MC | WM MC | Discover it | JCP


Message 20 of 29
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