Poll

Did you know the "please pay by" date was not the due date?

Yes
40 (50.6%)
Yes, its obvious.
9 (11.4%)
No
16 (20.3%)
No, I had no idea at all.
14 (17.7%)

Total Members Voted: 79

Author Topic: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".  (Read 31836 times)

Offline ShmuliT

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AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« on: February 14, 2014, 12:25:14 PM »
Was chatting to Amex last night and discovered that the "please pay by" date on their charge cards is NOT the real due date.

The rep said it's "...is just a gentle reminder for the payment. As long as we receive the payment by the next statement generation date, your account remains good."
Ie. you have 30 days from when your statement closes to pay.

She also claimed, "We're in the process of making this "Please Pay By" date verbiage clearer".

Was this obvious and im still a newbie? I asked a few people and this seemed to be a chidush to them. I did a search here and saw it only mentioned in passing a total of 3 times!

Honestly I never noticed my credit card bills say "Payment Due Date" and the charge card say "Please Pay By". Go take a look!

Offline AJK

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2014, 12:26:05 PM »
Yes, this is known.

And it's only true for charge cards, not credit. You do that with credit, and you'll end up with a 557 credit score.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline SPLP

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2014, 12:34:51 PM »
Was chatting to Amex last night and discovered that the "please pay by" date on their charge cards is NOT the real due date.

The rep said it's "...is just a gentle reminder for the payment. As long as we receive the payment by the next statement generation date, your account remains good."
Ie. you have 30 days from when your statement closes to pay.

She also claimed, "We're in the process of making this "Please Pay By" date verbiage clearer".

Was this obvious and im still a newbie? I asked a few people and this seemed to be a chidush to them. I did a search here and saw it only mentioned in passing a total of 3 times!

Honestly I never noticed my credit card bills say "Payment Due Date" and the charge card say "Please Pay By". Go take a look!

Plat card --going on a long time-- can not  sked a payment  online past the 15 days -- need to do on phone if pay in 30 days -- a pain in the ......

Offline Super Speed

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2014, 12:37:03 PM »
You'll end up with a 557 credit score.
For some people it can be worth it! :D

Offline AJK

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2014, 12:41:03 PM »
Agreed. Mostly criminals and con artists.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Super Speed

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2014, 01:01:44 PM »
Agreed. Mostly criminals and con artists.
Wow! At least we got to agree on something today!


Offline HP58

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2014, 02:17:03 PM »
What's the difference between "No" and "No I had no idea at all"?

Offline yoss6400

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2014, 12:35:06 AM »
What's the difference between "No" and "No I had no idea at all"?

 :) :) :)
"Credit Cards delaying arguments for 30 Days"

Offline Ez

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2014, 03:31:20 AM »
Plat card --going on a long time-- can not  sked a payment  online past the 15 days -- need to do on phone if pay in 30 days -- a pain in the ......
Can definitely pay online to post same day, just can't schedule for a future date.

Offline yoshi

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2014, 04:46:37 AM »
I had the same confusion. I had to ask.

Offline MeirS

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2014, 09:12:42 AM »
Yes, this is known.

And it's only true for charge cards, not credit. You do that with credit, and you'll end up with a 557 credit score.
Is this from experience? ;-) ;-)

Offline Name Changed

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2014, 09:28:28 AM »

Was this obvious and im still a newbie? I asked a few people and this seemed to be a chidush to them. I did a search here and saw it only mentioned in passing a total of 3 times!

Funny that you bring this up, I was talking with someone about this yesterday.

I have heard of this, but I wasn't certain.

I guess good not that its confirmed. I always pay by the "Please Pay By" Date... Sometimes I could use an extra 2 weeks :)

Offline ShmuliT

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2014, 12:04:14 PM »
What's the difference between "No" and "No I had no idea at all"?
No= No, but meh.
No I had no idea at all = This is a major chidush im really happy to learn about.

Offline vague

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2014, 10:41:30 PM »
I’ve been with AMEX for a very long time. When I got my first card, I called and asked, point-blank: What’s the actual due date?

The true answer is this (only applicable to charge cards — I know nothing about their credit cards):

The ‘Please Pay By Date’ is a suggestion. It has (largely) no meaning. They include it because many (read: most) of their older cardmembers pay by check in the mail, and it can take a while for the mail to arrive. The check being mailed ‘on time’ means nothing to them: They must receive it on time. (Although even this can be flexible at times. YMMV.)

The ‘Close Date’ is the true due date: If you do not pay your ‘Payment Due’ balance in full by that due date (and you have not made other arrangements with them), you are technically in default. You do not want to default with AMEX.

So what does it mean to pay ‘by’ the Close Date? AMEX processes online payments by 8PM MST. So long as you submit an electronic payment via the website/iPhone app/whatever before that cutoff, your payment is on time for that statement.

Other fun facts (I have a *lot* of AMEX shenanigans experience — feel free to DM if you have specific questions about edge cases): When stuff like bank holidays or weekends is in the mix, and you’re moving money around, so long as you have submitted the payment *before* the calendar date and cutoff time, even if the money is not yet in the account, so long as it is in the account by the first business morning after the weekend/holiday, they won’t know the difference.

Also, if they attempt to debit your bank account when a bank holiday is in the mix, and the bank tells them there is insufficient funds, they will silently try it again before coming back to you and asking you where your money is (and charging you a return fee, on top of whatever your bank may/many not decide to slap you with). They assume because of bank holidays both you and/or your bank will screw up something, and they don’t hold it against you.

As with all things bank-related, YMMV, but with enough time and experimentation and phone calling, you can generally come to understand the exact nuances of what does and doesn’t work, and what you can get away with (from your perspective) and still be 100% okay from their perspective.

Offline miles lover

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2014, 05:27:33 AM »
I’ve been with AMEX for a very long time. When I got my first card, I called and asked, point-blank: What’s the actual due date?

The true answer is this (only applicable to charge cards — I know nothing about their credit cards):

The ‘Please Pay By Date’ is a suggestion. It has (largely) no meaning. They include it because many (read: most) of their older cardmembers pay by check in the mail, and it can take a while for the mail to arrive. The check being mailed ‘on time’ means nothing to them: They must receive it on time. (Although even this can be flexible at times. YMMV.)

The ‘Close Date’ is the true due date: If you do not pay your ‘Payment Due’ balance in full by that due date (and you have not made other arrangements with them), you are technically in default. You do not want to default with AMEX.

So what does it mean to pay ‘by’ the Close Date? AMEX processes online payments by 8PM MST. So long as you submit an electronic payment via the website/iPhone app/whatever before that cutoff, your payment is on time for that statement.

Other fun facts (I have a *lot* of AMEX shenanigans experience — feel free to DM if you have specific questions about edge cases): When stuff like bank holidays or weekends is in the mix, and you’re moving money around, so long as you have submitted the payment *before* the calendar date and cutoff time, even if the money is not yet in the account, so long as it is in the account by the first business morning after the weekend/holiday, they won’t know the difference.

Also, if they attempt to debit your bank account when a bank holiday is in the mix, and the bank tells them there is insufficient funds, they will silently try it again before coming back to you and asking you where your money is (and charging you a return fee, on top of whatever your bank may/many not decide to slap you with). They assume because of bank holidays both you and/or your bank will screw up something, and they don’t hold it against you.

As with all things bank-related, YMMV, but with enough time and experimentation and phone calling, you can generally come to understand the exact nuances of what does and doesn’t work, and what you can get away with (from your perspective) and still be 100% okay from their perspective.
My actual due date every month for my charge card is the 12th of every month. This month is February and since its shorter it was due on the 10th. I did not realize that and when I was paying my bill on the 11th I saw it was over due. Is there anything to do to get it out of their system ? I did try calling and asking they said there's no way. Is it bad for me ? In what way ?
Thanx

Offline miles lover

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2014, 05:28:11 AM »
My actual due date every month for my charge card is the 12th of every month. This month is February and since its shorter it was due on the 10th. I did not realize that and when I was paying my bill on the 11th I saw it was over due. Is there anything to do to get it out of their system ? I did try calling and asking they said there's no way. Is it bad for me ? In what way ?
Thanx

Online CountValentine

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2014, 07:00:07 AM »
Also, if they attempt to debit your bank account when a bank holiday is in the mix, and the bank tells them there is insufficient funds, they will silently try it again before coming back to you and asking you where your money is (and charging you a return fee, on top of whatever your bank may/many not decide to slap you with). They assume because of bank holidays both you and/or your bank will screw up something, and they don’t hold it against you.
It does not matter if it is a holiday. They will try it twice.
Only on DDF does 24/6 mean 24/5/half/half

Offline miles lover

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2014, 01:52:11 PM »
Bump

Offline vague

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #18 on: February 17, 2014, 02:58:11 PM »
It does not matter if it is a holiday. They will try it twice.
Interesting. I kind of assumed that by now, but when they told me explicitly about it, they told me it was only for holidays, so that’s all I really had to go on.

Offline Triple Canopy

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Re: AMEX "Please pay by" vs "Payment Due Date".
« Reply #19 on: May 29, 2016, 04:14:47 PM »
The ‘Please Pay By Date’ is a suggestion. It has (largely) no meaning. They include it because many (read: most) of their older cardmembers pay by check in the mail, and it can take a while for the mail to arrive. The check being mailed ‘on time’ means nothing to them: They must receive it on time. (Although even this can be flexible at times. YMMV.)

And they have no older cardmembers using their credit card products?  ::)

I'm sure Amex is very happy to have cards paid way before the real due date.