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Amex Plan It Experiences

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NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

I will second the DTI concern.

 

When I created the $10,000 Plan It balance, that $800 per month payment amount is indeed reported to the bureaus as the "minimum payment" relevant for the account. We looked at a prequalification for a mortgage, and that monthly amount did impact proposed loan amount, reducing the amount we could qualify for without that paid off. We didn't pursue a new mortgage for other reasons, but yes, do keep this in mind if you want to use AMEX Plan It for a substantial amount; the reported Minimum Payment will be higher.

 

After a couple of payments, I ended up BT the remainder of my AMEX amount over to BECU, taking advantage of a 0% fee, 0% APR BT promo they had for 12 months. AMEX recently updated me with "You completed your plan" and the monthly fees stopped once the Plan went to zero.

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 51 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Plan It Question


@NRB525 wrote:

I will second the DTI concern.

 

When I created the $10,000 Plan It balance, that $800 per month payment amount is indeed reported to the bureaus as the "minimum payment" relevant for the account. We looked at a prequalification for a mortgage, and that monthly amount did impact proposed loan amount, reducing the amount we could qualify for without that paid off.


That's good to know, thanks for ther DP.

Message 52 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

I haven't used the feature at all.  I remember posting about a small grocery purchase that allowed me up to 18 months to finance.  Well now they are allowing me 24 months to finance a small purchase.  Has anyone figured out the plan duration thing and why?

 

amexplanit.JPG

Message 53 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

When I put an $8k purchase on my BCE, I took a look at the Plan It options out of curiosity. Was offered 3/6/9 month options (15k limit, 750+ score), if I recall correctly. Being in the intro 0% interest promo, I obviously wasn't going to use the feature. I did the math--there was no fee added. So the Plan It option seems to be very aware of your APR situation.

The card is still in the 0% APR intro for another month or two. Just went to check: will there be a zero fee for a 9 month plan if starting at the end of an intro 0% APR?!
Can't tell you--$1,300 statement of A LOT of small purchases. Hey, it is an "every day" card! lol
I might grab an Amazon gift card next time I swing into Whole Foods to gather said data point of interest.


As for plan it duration for purchases, it appears larger purchases get the 3/6/9 options while smaller can have much longer. It probably has to do with maximizing returns while being safe. They can get a lot of small fees from a small purchase over 18 months. And that long term 'loan' is a safe bet, as they assume you can handle that $20/month payment. As the price goes up, so does the risk, so they're shortening the length of the 'loan' while putting a bigger fee on it.
Methinks they're offering this flexibility to people to gain some money that their competitors' cards would normally see. Rather than putting a large unexpected purchase on a 2% card and paying in full to avoid an 18% interest rate, many would likely prefer putting it on a 1% card, setting up a 9 month plan with a tiny monthly fee (with the option to pay off early) to have cash on hand/in their checking account.

Amex's goal with this is likely business. Even if it small revenue, the volume adds up. And not just that...but if your volume of business increases, that usually means your competitors' volume of business decreases (aka: taking their customers!).

Message 54 of 74
Brian_Earl_Spilner
Credit Mentor

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

Wow, I didn't even think about DTI. That's a huge negative depending on the size of the payments.

    
Message 55 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

That's kind of hilarious. They'll let you take 24 months to pay off $120, yet only allow 9 months to pay back much larger balances. lol

That I don'y truly understand, as you could just carry a balance the traditional way longer. 

 

Who would even plan it for under $200 anyways? Plan it seems more feasible for larger balances that you can't pay back immediately.

While I get that everyone's finances are different, and this amount might be large for them. Taking 6 months to pay it back might look bad overall. 

Regardless Amex is getting to charge a fee for it, so I guess they're not concerned 

 

Message 56 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

Thread revive! lol

Adding for the data:

Did grab an extra Amazon gift card at whole foods (and a pack of gum...didn't want to trigger any flags). Total was around $105.
Only plan it offer was 3-months, but still at 0% APR/fees.

Perhaps they won't offer a plan-it that runs much past the intro APR?
Message 57 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

Yes, can confirm they restrict Plan It duration to the rate / duration of any APR promos on your account.

Message 58 of 74
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: AMEX Plan It Question

I did a $14k charge on my Hilton card recently.

Plan It offers today are:

12 months $1,271 with monthly Plan Fee of $97.25

18 months $876 with monthly Plan Fee of $96.49

24 months $683 with monthly Plan fee of $95.84

 

I had checked earlier and I could swear it went out to 36 months then, 18- 24 - 36-month offers, but maybe I was misreading. No matter, it is in process of being paid now so the offers will be moot soon.

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 59 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Plan It Question


@NRB525 wrote:

I did a $14k charge on my Hilton card recently.

Plan It offers today are:

12 months $1,271 with monthly Plan Fee of $97.25

18 months $876 with monthly Plan Fee of $96.49

24 months $683 with monthly Plan fee of $95.84

 

I had checked earlier and I could swear it went out to 36 months then, 18- 24 - 36-month offers, but maybe I was misreading. No matter, it is in process of being paid now so the offers will be moot soon.


Out of curiosity, what’s the APR on that card? The Plan fee total comes out to around 15% APR if you were just making equal $683 payments for 24 months with no Plan. Just curious how much of a savings this would actually be. 

Message 60 of 74
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