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High levels of confusion! AmEx billing / reporting

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creatorprime
Valued Member

High levels of confusion! AmEx billing / reporting

Good Morning,

First: I would like to apologize if this has already been stated which I am sure it has I was unable to find the information.

-------------------------

This is my first Charge Card so I want to make sure I understand how it works correctly.

Thank you in Advance

-------------------------

So I've called Amex now and tried to understand what they are saying but for "reason's" I can't seem to understand how it works.

So my closing statement cycle is the 28th of this month and I have 25 days from the 28 to pay off my AmEx balance. All purchases made after the 28th go on the next bill cycle. 

They (customer service) told me they report a month back (delayed) to the credit bureaus.

So on the 28th, there going to report the 1k in balance I have?

Also b/c there no pre-set spending limit how does that report? how does it show utilization?

Should I pay off my balance on the or before the 28th of each month // or do I have from the 28 to the 23 to pay off the previous month's balance? <----if this is the case aren't they going to report to the bureaus some kind of utilization?

 

Message 1 of 4
3 REPLIES 3
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: High levels of confusion! AmEx billing / reporting

 
Message 2 of 4
K-in-Boston
Credit Mentor

Re: High levels of confusion! AmEx billing / reporting


@creatorprime wrote:

Good Morning,

First: I would like to apologize if this has already been stated which I am sure it has I was unable to find the information.

-------------------------

This is my first Charge Card so I want to make sure I understand how it works correctly.

Thank you in Advance

-------------------------

So I've called Amex now and tried to understand what they are saying but for "reason's" I can't seem to understand how it works.

So my closing statement cycle is the 28th of this month and I have 25 days from the 28 to pay off my AmEx balance. All purchases made after the 28th go on the next bill cycle. 

 

This is correct.

 

They (customer service) told me they report a month back (delayed) to the credit bureaus.

So on the 28th, there going to report the 1k in balance I have?

 

American Express reports the full statement balance on your charge card at the time of statement closing; this usually takes only a day or a few days to reflect, although there have been some reports of delayed reporting very recently (weeks, not months).

 

Also b/c there no pre-set spending limit how does that report? how does it show utilization?

 

It reports as a Charge Card rather than a revolving credit card.  The balance is ignored for revolving utilization on modern credit scoring models.  For very old models your utilization will be calculates as if your highest ever reported balance were your credit limit.  For example, if you charge $2000 every single month, your card will always be maxed out on very old scoring models, but if you always charge $2000 every single month except for that one time 3 years ago when you charged $20,000 in a month, your utilization would be calculated at 10% since they would be using the $20,000 number as your "limit."  Visa Signature cards that were No Preset Spending Limit used to have the same quirk; fortunately it would be very rare to encounter someone still using one of those models for most credit purposes.

 

Should I pay off my balance on the or before the 28th of each month // or do I have from the 28 to the 23 to pay off the previous month's balance? <----if this is the case aren't they going to report to the bureaus some kind of utilization?

 

To prevent late fees, interest, and possible suspension of your account, you should always pay the full Statement Balance by the due date on your statement, which should be 25 days later.  If you do not want the card to report a balance to the credit reporting agencies, you will need to pay your Total Balance in full prior to your statement closing and allow time for Amex to process your payment.

 


See answers above in purple.

Message 3 of 4
creatorprime
Valued Member

Re: High levels of confusion! AmEx billing / reporting

Thanks for that information 👍

Message 4 of 4
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