@FinStar wrote:Well, technically by their definition, it is a statement credit just not for a previous statement cycle. So, potentially any current transactions that have not billed would be offset by such a statement credit. Optionally, since it appears youraaccount ended up with a credit balance, just use it toward future charges or have AmEx cut you a check. Problem solved.
Yeah. I can see how from their perspective it is a statement credit. As an end user though, most people have an idea of a statement balance and a current balance that are very different from that. It's also super counter intuitive that having a $0 outstanding balance is not considered paid in full. It's not a huge deal once you understand the nuance of what they are doing, but it is something that is very unclear. In my case at least, this ambiguity would have resulted in my losing the interest free grace period had I not asked here. Luckily it wouldn't have really impacted me if I had lost the grace period in this case. Disco is 5% back on groceries for the next few months anyway, and I can get away without using the BCP at all during that time. For others that could be a bigger deal.
As far as the balance part of it, you're right. I'm just going to put $41.41 on the card next grocery trip and be done with that part of it. That fixes my current situation, but I hope they address the quirks in the system that create the ambiguity in the first place (I'll start checking the sky for pigs straight away 
).
Hmmmm....now I'm confused again. I went back through old statements to see how the credits were handled prevously, and found this. The top is my October statement, and at the bottom is my september history. I paid less than the statement balance, and let the statement credit cover the rest. It looks like it was fine. I have never paid any interest.
If the cancelation window hadn't passed, I was considering canceling my payment, and just paying the remaining balance vs statement balance to test.
@Kforce wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Ok, that is a crazy policy. I had to double verify that with Amex myself, and it is indeed the case. Glad you chimed back in.
lol so my statement balance next month will be -$41.41.
It's so weird. Why have the option to redeem for "statement credit" when it's actually just a current cycle reduction credit that has nothing to do with reducing the statement balance at all?
And still everyone loves Amex and hates Barclays.
Questions to which their are no answers. 
I have no experience with Barclays. This same issue presented for me last month. American Express finally relented and applied the statement credit to the statement. Card is in the SD. That was strike three in a short time frame.
I'm burned out on these weird American Express situations. Life is short. There are so many card issuers.
@Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm....now I'm confused again. I went back through old statements to see how the credits were handled prevously, and found this. The top is my October statement, and at the bottom is my september history. I paid less than the statement balance, and let the statement credit cover the rest. It looks like it was fine. I have never paid any interest.
If the cancelation window hadn't passed, I was considering canceling my payment, and just paying the remaining balance vs statement balance to test.
There is no difference in what you were told recently, and this September - October sequence.
In this September - October sequence, you paid, with cash, the Minimum Payment. Then you started paying more than the minimum, including utilizing the Rewards Dollars.
The Rewards Dollars, in this scenario, are simply mopping up the remainder, after the Minimum Payment is covered.