When to pay AMEX

[Anonymous]

Hey there,

I have a question about my AMEX account. I have the Delta card that I just received exactly 1 week ago. The statement closes on December 16th with statement being generated that night and sent to me. The balance will be due at the beginning of January.

Should I PIF by December 16th when the statement closes? or would it be okay to PIF by the due date on the statement, which will be at the beginning of January? 

What do most people do?

What would look better from AMEX's standpoint?

If a statement is generated with a balance is that necessarily bad, even If I pay in full that statement?

Thanks in advance!

Message Edited by Chase25 on 12-14-2007 10:03 AM

[MidnightVoice]

Amex cares how much you pay by the due date.

The CRA cares what the balance reported is.

These are two different things

[Anonymous]

Thanks Midnightvoice.

I also have the Green Card. Should I pay before statement closing date each month or by due date?

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

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Chase25 wrote:

Hey there,

I have a question about my AMEX account. I have the Delta card that I just received exactly 1 week ago. The statement closes on December 16th with statement being generated that night and sent to me. The balance will be due at the beginning of January.

Should I PIF by December 16th when the statement closes? or would it be okay to PIF by the due date on the statement, which will be at the beginning of January? 

What do most people do?

What would look better from AMEX's standpoint?

If a statement is generated with a balance is that necessarily bad, even If I pay in full that statement?

Thanks in advance!

Message Edited by Chase25 on 12-14-2007 10:03 AM

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Just FYI (since I learned this the hard way):  Amex will not let you make a payment at all via phone or web until the first statement is generated.  If you are planning on paying before the first statement cuts you will have to initiate the transaction through your own bank's or another bill pay system.

[jackg]

Chase25,

Your questions have me wondering what you are trying to achieve. Do you want to improve FICO scores? Do you want to impress AMEX?

Regarding your PIF by 12/16 question, I would PIF before the statement cuts in order to avoid a possible drop in FICO points due to high utilization. YMMV.

What looks better fom AMEX's point is if you run up the balance and pay them lots of interest by making the min. payment. Seriously though, you should do what's in your best interest, to he** with AMEX. If your looking to establish loyalty with them, forget it, there's no such thing. The best thing you can do w/AMEX is to keep improving your credit history to avoid a F/R from them. They really are not a company that looks at your side of things. Good Luck

[haulingthescoreup]

Ummm, actually, I think it's more the case that they like to see lots of usage on the card, and have it PIF'd every month if it's a charge card and within 4 months max if it's their version of revolving. As I understand, they do keep track of the highest balance, even if it's paid down before statement date. (My Citi and USAA cards do this as well; it's a common method.)

As others said, it's a little more awkward before your first statement cuts, but other than that, you can do the PIF'd before statement game. The one thing that adds complication and excitement is that the amount that is reported is your previous month's balance, so if you do have a month when your util spikes, it takes an extra month to turn it around for scoring purposes.

So once you have their peculiar calendar fixed in your head, you can make both AmEx and FICO happy. In terms of making yourself happy, that's more your department!

[fused]

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MidnightVoice wrote:

The CRA cares what the balance reported is.

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CRAs never care about anything, they have no feelings or emotions!

[MidnightVoice]

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fused wrote:

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MidnightVoice wrote:

The CRA cares what the balance reported is.

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CRAs never care about anything, they have no feelings or emotions!

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Sorry, I was speaking teleologically