Apples and Oranges but I had a late payment due to a lost check with ATT Universal and they were super cool about it. My wife was using the teaser rate for a loan and was sending a check (don't ask.... she still sends checks for everything for some reason). I caught it online before I got anything the mail and called immediately. The guy on the phone was great.... I think he could hear the panic in my voice. Normal payment was around $800 and I gave them 2K directly off my checking account. They waived all the fees and let me (my wife) keep the terms of the 0% interest. I don't have any experience with Amex but if you have a solid history I think banks are pretty forgiving.