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Pay American Express right away or wait?

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twelfthjoe2
Established Member

Pay American Express right away or wait?

As I posted before I just got an American Express Platinum card and have charged a few plane tickets to it and a few hotels already and always put odd and end things on it. My question is. Is it ok to pay them online before charges post like maybe once a week or should I wait for them to post to pay it?

 

Im trying to build a good rep with them and would to pay things off right away.

.

Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
adavis425
Established Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

You know, it's probably a toss-up. Some will say pay weekly or before the statement cut and some will say to wait until it posts and PIF. I have always (for 11 years) PIF on the due date. I don't think that AMEX really cares so long as they are paid and paid on time. I have read here that one payment shows AMEX more stability and ability to manage funds, but I don't know about that as everyone's situation is different

AmEx Platinum | AmEx BCP | AmEx Delta Gold | CSP | Chase Freedom | NFCU cashRewards Visa Sig | NFCU Plat MC | WM MC | Discover it | JCP


Message 2 of 12
RockinRay
Valued Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?


@adavis425 wrote:

You know, it's probably a toss-up. Some will say pay weekly or before the statement cut and some will say to wait until it posts and PIF. I have always (for 11 years) PIF on the due date. I don't think that AMEX really cares so long as they are paid and paid on time. I have read here that one payment shows AMEX more stability and ability to manage funds, but I don't know about that as everyone's situation is different


+ 1 - I used to pay everything weekly. Now I am changing this habit and PIF on the day before the due date.

Ray

** Every Card has a Job, and Every Card does its Job **
Message 3 of 12
MrShush
Valued Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

+3 Wait until it posts and pay.

Message 4 of 12
scientifics
Frequent Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

I don't think it really matters either way. Credit/charge card companies expect you to be using the card and pay on or before the due date. I don't think it matters in Amex's eyes how you pay, as long as you have it PIF by the due date.

Message 5 of 12
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

I would say if this is first and only amex it would depend what kind of limit you have on other cards.

If you are looking to charge $10k Monthly but your highest CL on any other credit card is $2k you might want to make multiple payments a month but after 3-6 months of full spending the average of what you plan to do you will almost certainly fall off the extreme sensitive watch list of Amex/.

 

I really wouldn't worry about it but if it makes you feel better pay after charges post and slowly over next several months pay less frequently... and Im still not sure why I always see so many people that PIF a charge amex before statement? I understand the small chance of it reporting wrong on TU for charge vs revolver but otherwise I think the larger balance would help more then not and actually showing other creditors especially if my first statement of your highest cl's are not even close to what you need and want to charge.. i would think that would help with other banks to get higher limits.

Message 6 of 12
jsickz32
Valued Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

I wait for due date to pay amex charge but make multiple payments on my revolver.
Amex BCE (2500) / Amex SPG (4000) / Amex GoldPR / Merrill+ Visa siggy (5000) / BofA Amex (6000) / Bofa cash rewards (5000) / BofA Privileges Cash Rewards (5000) / Citi Forward (4400) / Citi DP (2000) / Chase Freedom (4000) / Chase CSP (5000) / Chase Hyatt (5000) / Discover IT (1700) / FNBO AMEX (3600) / NFCU cashRewards Visa signature (15000) / NFCU Flagship Visa signature (12500) / NFCU Navcheck (5000) / Nordstrom (500) / MetroCU Visa Elite (5000) / Walmart (4500) / Kays Jewerels (6600) / Kohls (300) / Macys Platinum (2500) / DCU platinum Visa (17500) / Citizens bank cash back (1100) / Bill Me Later (1631) / PayPal Smart connect (2200) / BestBuy store card (2000)
Message 7 of 12
Razeus
Frequent Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

I just let the cash stack in my checking account and PIF 1 day before the statement cut and/or due date.  

My Wallet:
AMEX Platinum | Discover It $20.3k | Chase Sapphire Reserved $16k | Chase United $12k | AMEX SimplyCash Plus Business $11.6k | AMEX Schwab $9k | AMEX BCEP $8.2k | Citi Costco Anywhere Visa $8k | Chase Amazon Visa $8k | Chase Sapphire Preferred $7k | Chase Freedom $5k | Citi Simplicity $5k | Paypal Extras Platinum $5k | Wells Fargo $5k | Citi Best Buy $4.2k | Citi Visa Signature $3k | Care Credit $3k
Message 8 of 12
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

CA: it's actually FICO '98 rather than TU which has the issue of counting charge cards in the revolving utilization metric.

That said, I am firmly in the once a month camp if your internal limit supports your spend rate. The vast majority of people use their charge/credit cards this way, standing out is usually not good when it comes to one's finances. Lenders like predictability, though as RR proves, FICO doesn't care.



        
Message 9 of 12
bobebob
Frequent Contributor

Re: Pay American Express right away or wait?

I try to pay off my True Rewards Amex off just before the statement posts to keep my util down.

 

i don't always catch it, but it can make a 20 pt difference in my FICO score. 

bobebob || Nov: My FICO SW EQ(Upgraded Version) = 822 ||Sept: Walmart TU Fico=838Goal = FICO's>800 || In my wallet: CostcoAmEx(20k), DCU Visa Platinum (10k), BoA Visa Signature (17.1k), Walmart Discover (7.5k), AmEx Corporate (5k). All PIF every month.
Message 10 of 12
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