Recovering From Financial Hardship with American Express

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I are just coming out of a financial hardship and are trying to recover.  Our situation ran up our equity line and credit cards, my American Express being the biggest issue.  American Express has raised my interest rate a couple times pushing my monthly payment through the roof.  I have never missed a payment or even been late in almost 14 years with American Express.  My balance is $14xxx and my payment is almost $400 a month, most of which goes to interest.  Before the hardship my Fico was 750+ and has subsequently dropped nearly 100 points. 

I have heard that using American Express' payment arrangements is not a good idea, but I was innitially intrigued by the 0% APR option.  I thought maybe I could get the balance down enough to transfer it to another 0% APR balance transfer card and get out from under the debt and American Express as they have been pretty horrific in the last year.  I'm not looking to erase my debt without paying, I spent the money and I should pay it back.  I'm simply looking for options to make headway on the balance.  Any suggestions or input are greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[LakeLife]

If it was me, I would cut any and all costs until I could pay much more than the minimum payment each month.  That would include eating out, cable bills, morning coffee, and anything non-essential.  Apart from that, you could try to get a personal loan for a better interest rate and pay down the balance on the AMEX.  If nothing else, you're CS would likely shot up due to the lower CC UTIL.  I would be prepared for a not so great IR though with your mid-600 scores.  Good luck. 

[sjt]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I are just coming out of a financial hardship and are trying to recover.  Our situation ran up our equity line and credit cards, my American Express being the biggest issue.  American Express has raised my interest rate a couple times pushing my monthly payment through the roof.  I have never missed a payment or even been late in almost 14 years with American Express.  My balance is $14xxx and my payment is almost $400 a month, most of which goes to interest.  Before the hardship my Fico was 750+ and has subsequently dropped nearly 100 points. 

I have heard that using American Express' payment arrangements is not a good idea, but I was innitially intrigued by the 0% APR option.  I thought maybe I could get the balance down enough to transfer it to another 0% APR balance transfer card and get out from under the debt and American Express as they have been pretty horrific in the last year.  I'm not looking to erase my debt without paying, I spent the money and I should pay it back.  I'm simply looking for options to make headway on the balance.  Any suggestions or input are greatly appreciated!

Cheers

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I would research and evaluate all your options. This includes Amex hardship plans and managing your budget to be able to make larger payments.