Amex charge card question

[Suzette2]

Stupid question but can someone please define the difference in amex charge v PIF cards? Which cards are which?   What are the UW criteria for said cards?   

[TheRedHat]

A charge card is a pay-in-full card. You have to pay the statement balance each month. I'll let someone else answer about underwriting requirements, but they seem less strict than with credit cards since you technically have to pay them in full.

[SouthJamaica]

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@TheRedHat wrote:

A charge card is a pay-in-full card. You have to pay the statement balance each month. I'll let someone else answer about underwriting requirements, but they seem less strict than with credit cards since you technically have to pay them in full.

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They are easier to get than the credit cards. I think it's because they have large annual fees.

[h2oeng]

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I think it's because they have large annual fees.

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In the case of AMEX it's pretty easy to recoup the AF though.  My Gold card AF is basically $10 a year after the Uber & Grubhub credits.  My Plat benefits cover all but a couple hundred a year with 2 Plat AU's ($870 / year AF).  In reality I end up saving that in airport food costs by using the Delta Sky Lounge, lol.   And not to muddy the water, AMEX will allow you to carry a balance on charge cards but the interest is around 24%.      

[pizzadude]

All good comments above.  To muddy the waters a bit more, AMEX charge cards have a pay over time ( POT ) feature that, if approved, allows you to select certain charges to pay down over several months, so in some cases you can actually carry a balance on AMEX charge cards.

[Anonymous]

To answer the "which ones are which" basically Amex charge cards are the green, gold and platinum cards.   There are sometimes a few versions, such as the Platinum cards cobranded with financial institutions, such as  Schwab, morgan stanley.  All these cards earn Membership Reward points.  (There are other cards with Platinum in their name, like Amex Delta, but these are credit cards earning frequent flyer points in delta's program)

There are also business versions of all the charge cards

[wasCB14]

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@Anonymous wrote:

To answer the "which ones are which" basically Amex charge cards are the green, gold and platinum cards.   There are sometimes a few versions, such as the Platinum cards cobranded with financial institutions, such as  Schwab, morgan stanley.  All these cards earn Membership Reward points.  (There are other cards with Platinum in their name, like Amex Delta, but these are credit cards earning frequent flyer points in delta's program)

There are also business versions of all the charge cards

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There were vague reports a few years ago about possible Delta Amex charge cards...though the lack of news about them suggests they died in development.

[Anonymous]

American Express charge cards are the ones that you pay in full every month. Yes you can technically carry a balance on these cards from time to time, but it's with their approval, and the fees for this are very high. I would not recommend using that feature. It's a relatively new feature, and sounds confusing. In the past, American Express charge cards were pay in full only. So many of us are getting used to seeing this new feature. The first card you see in my signature is the American Express charge card. There are four different versions: Green, Gold, Platinum, and Black. Each one comes with different perks, and different annual fees. So you just go with the one that offers the perks you want. I have the Green because it has the perks that I love. The most elusive and exclusive one is the Black. The Black is for the ultra rich, and is offered by invitation only. For example, many celebrities have the Black.

[NRB525]

I recently set up a Plan It for the largest charge I've ever done on a card, on my Platinum card. The charge was made after getting approval through Check Spending Power. The monthly Plan It fee works out to just over 10% APR. That APR will effectively increase if I keep it for the full 18 months of the Plan, but I'll handle it before then. If I were to use Pay Over Time, yeah that rate is usurious, so don't go there. But the common statement "AMEX has high APR" is not always the case. 

[learningcredit54]

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@NRB525 wrote:

I recently set up a Plan It for the largest charge I've ever done on a card, on my Platinum card. The charge was made after getting approval through Check Spending Power. The monthly Plan It fee works out to just over 10% APR. That APR will effectively increase if I keep it for the full 18 months of the Plan, but I'll handle it before then. If I were to use Pay Over Time, yeah that rate is usurious, so don't go there. But the common statement "AMEX has high APR" is not always the case. 

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Im curious as to what gets reported when one kicks in the pay over time feature.

Any idea if said balance affect overall utilization?