American Express offer a number of charge cards (you can view a full list of these cards by clicking here and then selecting charge cards in the left menu), these differ from credit cards in that your balance must be paid in full every month and there is no hard credit card limit either. This means it’s not possible for American Express to collect interest fees on these accounts. American Express also over something called ‘Pay Over Time’ or ‘Extended Payment Option’, this basically turns your charge card into a credit card and allows you to carry a balance on some charges (charges must be over $100 to qualify).
In this post we’ll talk about things you should know about this feature that is offered and if/when you should sign up.
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Wait For A Bonus
Periodically American Express will offer targeted cardholders bonus points/miles for enrolling their cards in pay over time. Normally the bonus doesn’t have any requirements other than enrolling. We wouldn’t recommend actually using the pay over time feature, as you’ll be charged high interest rates by American Express. Your bonus should post within 6-8 weeks after enrollment, in practice they usually post within a few days. According to a source at American Express this promotion is run every six months.
If for whatever reason you want to enroll in pay over time without a bonus, you can do so by clicking here. Again, we would recommend waiting for a bonus as you won’t be eligible if you’re already enrolled. Click here to see if any bonuses are currently available.
What’s The Best Bonus Available?
Normally the best bonus is 20,000 points, but we sometimes see other variations.
What If You Don’t Get Targeted?
It might be possible to get the bonus without being targeted, this post has more details on how this is possible. We will also create a new post on the website whenever a new targeted promotion becomes available (click here to see if there is anything more recent).
Can You Unenroll?
Turn Off American Express Pay-Over-Time Online With One Click
Is There A Hard Pull?
A lot of people are worried that American Express will do a hard pull on your credit report when you enroll in pay over time as American Express are basically extending you a new line of credit. Fortunately no hard pull is done by American Express.
Other Q&A
Q: Is there a minimum amount of time you must keep the account open after the points have posted?
A: No, account can be closed as soon as the points post.
Q: When do cards become eligible?
A: I believe they need to have been open for three billing cycles to be eligible.
