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Yes, the APRs are high if you're not in a promo or special of some type. It does keep the rest of the new charges from revovling though - you keep the grace period.
Just wanted to add that according to the reps, extra payments beyond adjusted balance are applied this way:
1) Extra payment applied to oldest plan first regardless of balance or duration
2) If more then one plan was made on same day and both are oldest, then the longest duration plan (e.g. the 12 mo plan rather then 6 mo plan)
3) If two oldest plans on same day both also have same duration (both made May 1 with duration of 12 mos), then it credits to highest balance first
Amex's logic with Plan It makes no sense to me.
My fico is in the 800s, I have low utilization across all my cards, total under 4%. I have always paid my Amex cards in full.
I have utilized plan it twice, paying off both early. However when I just tried to use plan it, it only gave me the option for 3 months regardless of balance amount.
I don't get it, what is the use of this feature without consistency? People really can't count on it, ironically I did use their tool to see what my options were and it gave me 3 options, but when I tried it on the actual purchase it is back to only the 3 month option.
Did you enroll in a promo apr they offered you online or via email (easy to do with a click and then forget about after a while if your normally always a PIFer) or just get the card and its under a promo apr still? The term of all plans is limited by any APR promo you are enrolled in.
I had at one point clicked on a 6.99% apr on one of my amex cards. It ends in Sept and no matter what I click it shows 3 months only for me now. Other cards show 24 months.
Just a guess.
I'm a long term AMEX cardholder from 02/80 and I have the Plan It feature on my Platinum Optima card ($62,400 CL). I normally PIF on the Optima and the Gold cards, but I have to watch how much money Itake out of my investments this year lest I get hit with higher Medicare premiums next year. So I took a Plan It in April for about $3,300, I was only presented with a 3, 6, and 9 month option. Yesterday I checked what a $10,500 Plan It would be presented, this time a 12, 18 and 24 month option was allowed. FICO scores haven't changed in the last few months so no idea why the Plan It program gave a longer term for a larger sum. Only AMEX would know what their algorithm's are based on but it seems a bit counter-intuitive.
BTW, the standard APR on my Optima Card last month was 13.99%, the Plan It fee equates to a 6.2% rate, so it is a pretty good deal if you need to carry a balance, much cheaper than carrying a balance with the higher rate.
@Watchmann wroteo I took a Plan It in April for about $3,300, I was only presented with a 3, 6, and 9 month option. Yesterday I checked what a $10,500 Plan It would be presented, this time a 12, 18 and 24 month option was allowed.
I only get the 12,18, 24-month plans, regardless of amount. I even tested a $100+ purchase to see which terms I would get, but still the same 12/18/24 months. I always PIF before I even tried Pay It Plan It. Not really sure how they determine it, I'm just giving data points.
DP: Made a $210 transaction, only get 24 month option for $11.18 with a $2.43 fee for a total of 268.32. Account is less than a month old.
I've received an offer of $0 plan fees for any Plan It plans I create to 9/30/19.
So, effectively, 0% interest for the term of the plan.
It sounds as if the larger the amount planned, the higher the probability of a 24 month choice offered. (Or am I misreading the datapoints presented.)
@frugal47374 wrote:I've received an offer of $0 plan fees for any Plan It plans I create to 9/30/19.
So, effectively, 0% interest for the term of the plan.
It sounds as if the larger the amount planned, the higher the probability of a 24 month choice offered. (Or am I misreading the datapoints presented.)
That hasn't been my experience. In a no-fee promo I got 18 months for a $1000 purchase. 10 months ago, when my credit wasn't much different, I was getting offers for 3 or 6 months...with fees...for $3500 and $5000 transactions.
@frugal47374 wrote:. It sounds as if the larger the amount planned, the higher the probability of a 24 month choice offered. (Or am I misreading the datapoints presented.)
No. I just stated that no matter how small the amount (even the minimum $100), I always get the longer plans. As in 24 months for $100 purchase. It's crazy.