American Express Membership Rewards - AMEX 'Charge' Card vs. 'Credit' Card

What is the difference between having an AMEX "Charge" card (such as the green/gold/or platinum) versus having an AMEX "Credit" card (such as the Starwood or Delta SkyMiles) besides the fact that you have to pay off the "Charge" card every month in full, and the differences in the 'award' programs?
Is there a difference in how your 'credit' rating is perceived by credit agencies???
Thanks!!

Your credit rating depends on how well you pay your bills in the time allowed ... if it's a charge card, and you don't pay by the due date (a few times), Amex will file a bad report on you. If it's a credit card, and you rollover your debt but don't make the repayments as per schedule, Amex will file a bad report on you.

Since your normal Amex card has no established limit, it will not show up on your credit report as a credit card. If you have a blue card with a 20K limit, it will show up on your credit report with with that much credit available.

If you are looking to increase you available credit, you are better off with a credit card and not a charge card.

I have a MC world card (no limit) and a VISA signature card (no limit) and they are reported to the credit reporting agency differently... as "other account" and not credit card accounts...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CraigS:
Since your normal Amex card has no established limit</font>

Of course it has a limit, it's just that they won't tell you what it is!

Amex say that you can spend "as much as you have shown us you can afford". In practice this means that they set a spending limit based on your credit score and how much you normally spend.

This limit is reviewed from time to time (up and down), thus the "no pre-set limit" claim. If the card had "no limit", then they would tell you that it has "no limit" rather than "no pre-set limit".

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Ex Amex Card:
Of course it has a limit, it's just that they won't tell you what it is!

Amex say that you can spend "as much as you have shown us you can afford". In practice this means that they set a spending limit based on your credit score and how much you normally spend.

This limit is reviewed from time to time (up and down), thus the "no pre-set limit" claim. If the card had "no limit", then they would tell you that it has "no limit" rather than "no pre-set limit".

</font>

The question was in reference to credit reporting. Go pull a credit report on yourelf and see if Amex reports a credit limit for your card.. they don't... That was the point I was trying to make, I guess I didn't explain it well..

The Amex Charge product (Green to Centurion) appears as an open account on your credit report with the highest monthly balance reported. There is no set credit limit.

When I first opened my own AMEX account, the reps would call me often to complain about a high balance, which I told them was normal. It got paid off at the end of the month.
After a while they got the hint that $XXXX for X was ok.

It's a relationship based on trust (which I like).

The balance is due before the closing of the next statement, generally the end of the month.

It's a great card to have. I try to use amex when possible, it's a great way to avoid CC debt, because you have to pay it back right away.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Ex Amex Card:
Of course it has a limit, it's just that they won't tell you what it is!</font>

Thing is, of course, that it's a 'soft limit', as opposed to credit cards which have 'absolute limits'.