Comments on: Charge Cards: American Express Offers an Attractive Alternative to Credit Cards

By: J

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:14:48 +0000

There is never a reason to pay an annual fee for credit (charge card – or – credit card) unless there are no other cards on the planet that don’t charge an annual fee. I think there are. So, basically, you’re only fooling yourself if you do. There is no justification except to fulfill your gratification over your sense of prestige. If you think you are THAT important, then by all means, pay the fee.

By: G Wells

G Wells — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:54:25 +0000

Do they still give an extra 10,000 points at renewal? I remember they used to do that and you could trade for a gift card which was about the same as the annual fee. So that balanced out. I was an authorized user a while back and now i’m thinking about getting my own.

By: pilar

pilar — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:31:01 +0000

i want to know what happens if you dont pay it all at end of the month ?

By: B.

B. — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 10:23:38 +0000

I use AMEX too. I think it’s the best card out there! And their customer service has always been helpful and friendly. They truly do put the customer first, which is why a lot of businesses don’t take the card.

By: Lyn

Lyn — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:38:29 +0000

Interesting reading. I have a charge card with Amex, always paid on time and in full. Had a cheque i sent to pay my bill but it seemed very late in being presented. So I rang them, they said no hadn’t received it so told them i was canceling the cheque and doing internet payment.
Next month received my account with a cheque reversal fee applied, rang them straight away, was assured it would be re credited to me.
Next month a late fee had been applied, more phone calls. Again assure all would be well.
Next month card declined rang them given a reason due to late fee etc,told that all would be well.Go grocery shopping card declined, rang Amex the next day and told that i now have to have 6 months of good payments (my previous years don’t get counted), before they will take of the limit that they have applied and not told me about!!
Customer service – i think they need to take a good look at how they treat their customers, say they sent me a letter, never arrived but no trouble getting the bills!

By: Errol

Errol — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:20:57 +0000

Thing is, if you pay off your credit card monthly, there’s no interest on those charges either. That said, if you’re disciplined enough to spend as much as you can pay AMEX at the end of the month, you’re disciplined enough to pay MCard, Visa, etc…

NOTE:
credit cards = Mastercard, VISA, Discover = charge limit
charge cards = American Express . . . . . = “no” charge limit

With rewards (points) cards of their own, redeemable to cash certificates hotels or air travel, credit cards seem to have the advantage. Namely, no annual fees.

Unless holding an AMEX (with “no” charge limit) is better for your credit score than holding a credit card, there’s really no reason to pay the extra annual fee for an AMEX (green or gold) IMO.

EXAMPLE:
rewards AMEX allows max charges of $9000
(when calling in about a large purchase)

The credit limit on your rewards Visa/Mastercard/Discover is $9000
(no need to call in for purchase this large)

Advantage Credit Card because there’s no annual fee and your
disciplined enough to only make this purchase knowing you will pay it
in full to avoid interest on the remaining balance. If you don’t,
interest on the remaining balance will be higher on a credit card than
a charge card — this is a situation the disciplined user whether
charge or credit does not get themselves in.

In closing, my question is simply this, if you must have one or the other – is possession of a charge card better for your credit score than possession of a (high credit limit) credit card?

By: Roger545

Roger545 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:08:47 +0000

I have a maex platinium charge card and i would like to know why is the card not able to give cash advances right away from the first month

By: Money Under 30

Money Under 30 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:17:22 +0000

Good question, Lauren…fortunately I’ve never paid this card late, so I don’t know first hand, but as I understand it:

Every statement comes with a “Please pay by date” that is two weeks after your statement closing date. This is the date they want you to pay by, but I believe you have until the next statement closing date (a full month) to pay the balance in full before anything happens.

If you don’t, there is a late fee that is more substantial than most credit cards–I think it’s 5% of the balance due. Worse, AMEX may suspend your account so that you cannot make new charges until the balance is paid.

By: Lauren @ LifeStyler

Lauren @ LifeStyler — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:50:01 +0000

David, what happens if you don’t pay the amount in full one month? It seems like there would have to be some sort of penalty in the chance that there was a missed or late payment.

By: Money Under 30

Money Under 30 — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:05:13 +0000

Good point, Chris. The lack of a credit limit on these cards impacts credit scoring.

Regardless of what card you use, I think it’s a good idea to have one or two credit cards open that you intentionally do not use for the exact reason you describe — keeping your debt utilization ratio low.

Some other cards–even those that have credit limits–report your high balance as your credit limit rather than the actual limit. I heard rumors of Capital One doing this a while ago. Not sure if it’s still true.

Just another reason to monitor your own credit report from time to time.