Amex charge card 1st statement

[Anonymous]

Trying to help a family member.  We were under the impression the gold card statement balance is due in full after a statement cuts by the statement date.   

Her first statement cut, with only two charges out of nineteen being eligible for "plan it," yet her minimum due is only 40 on a 1,020 balance.  Can someone clarify why the whole balance isn't due?

$325 of balance is eligible for "plan it," which she isn't going to use

The remaining charges under $100 totaled $695.

thanks for anyone explaining how it all works 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Trying to help a family member.  We were under the impression the gold card statement balance is due in full after a statement cuts by the statement date.   

Her first statement cut, with only two charges out of nineteen being eligible for "plan it," yet her minimum due is only 40 on a 1,020 balance.  Can someone clarify why the whole balance isn't due?

$325 of balance is eligible for "plan it," which she isn't going to use

The remaining charges under $100 totaled $695.

thanks for anyone explaining how it all works 

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Personally, I keep it simple and avoid all unnecessary complications. 

The balance on my Amex charge card is always due 25 days after the statement cuts.  If I choose not to let a balance report, I pay the statement balance a day or two become the statement close date and stop using the card.  If I let the balance report, it must be paid in full by 25 days after the statement closes.

It should be noted that while Amex uses floating statement close dates, the due date is always 25 days after the statement is prepared.

(charge card holder since1989).

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Trying to help a family member.  We were under the impression the gold card statement balance is due in full after a statement cuts by the statement date.   

Her first statement cut, with only two charges out of nineteen being eligible for "plan it," yet her minimum due is only 40 on a 1,020 balance.  Can someone clarify why the whole balance isn't due?

$325 of balance is eligible for "plan it," which she isn't going to use

The remaining charges under $100 totaled $695.

thanks for anyone explaining how it all works 

---

Personally, I keep it simple and avoid all unnecessary complications. 

The balance on my Amex charge card is always due 25 days after the statement cuts.  If I choose not to let a balance report, I pay the statement balance a day or two become the statement close date and stop using the card.  If I let the balance report, it must be paid in full by 25 days after the statement closes.

It should be noted that while Amex uses floating statement close dates, the due date is always 25 days after the statement is prepared.

(charge card holder since1989).

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Thank you !

so does she ignore the minimum due 40 dollar amount and just pay the balance?

[M_Smart007]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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so does she ignore the minimum due 40 dollar amount and just pay the balance?

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On a AmEx charge card, I would do exactly that .. pay the balance in full.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Trying to help a family member.  We were under the impression the gold card statement balance is due in full after a statement cuts by the statement date.   

Her first statement cut, with only two charges out of nineteen being eligible for "plan it," yet her minimum due is only 40 on a 1,020 balance.  Can someone clarify why the whole balance isn't due?

$325 of balance is eligible for "plan it," which she isn't going to use

The remaining charges under $100 totaled $695.

thanks for anyone explaining how it all works 

---

Personally, I keep it simple and avoid all unnecessary complications. 

The balance on my Amex charge card is always due 25 days after the statement cuts.  If I choose not to let a balance report, I pay the statement balance a day or two become the statement close date and stop using the card.  If I let the balance report, it must be paid in full by 25 days after the statement closes.

It should be noted that while Amex uses floating statement close dates, the due date is always 25 days after the statement is prepared.

(charge card holder since1989).

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Thank you !

so does she ignore the minimum due 40 dollar amount and just pay the balance?

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That's what I would suggest.

[SoCalGardener]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Trying to help a family member.  We were under the impression the gold card statement balance is due in full after a statement cuts by the statement date.   

Her first statement cut, with only two charges out of nineteen being eligible for "plan it," yet her minimum due is only 40 on a 1,020 balance.  Can someone clarify why the whole balance isn't due?

$325 of balance is eligible for "plan it," which she isn't going to use

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Amex has SO MANY CARDS these days, it's tough to know for sure which card you actually have without a little digging.

Back in the mid-1980s when I had a Gold card, its entire balance was due by the due date. Period. No 'plan it' no 'pay over time' or anything. Now? I don't know. Maybe there's a version of Gold that is pay over time and that's what your relative actually signed up for. Believe me, on my Gold statements back in the day, there absolutely was *NO* "minimum payment" shown, just the whole balance which was due by the due date. Have her log in to her account and/or call Amex, or--better yet--find the packet the card arrived in. The paperwork in it should explain everything. (Or a previous mailing did.)

[DONZI]

As you know, the pay over time option is only for specific charges during the cycle.. and potentially does not apply to the total balance due.

I've never had a paper statement with a proper mix of outstanding charges to examine how those two sections merge, but I'd imagine:

Of $1020 total balance, if $325 were to be eligible for POT with a $40 minimum payment and $695 was PIF only, the balance(s) due would ultimately be $695 + $40.

Do you see $735 anywhere?

If possible it's certainly best to consider the total balance always PIF and ignore the POT option.

[Trooper2003]

Just pay in full if you can , ignore the pay over time.😃