Bonus points to enroll in Extended Payment Option [USA]
 

I just got a snailmail offer to get 10,000 points to enroll in extended payment option for business platinum. Anyone get this too ? I know this is targeted but anyone know what the APR is ? It does not say.

Not plat but i have business gold and was offered 1500 for extended payment option. However its interesting that i was offered 5000 for my personal gold few months back.

I signed up for this back in 2006 and received I believe 5000MR points. The APR is rather high, around 18-19% percent I believe. I've never used it so I'm not certain.

same here, I got 5000 MR points for signing up back on 2006 with my business platinum. I believe it's Prime plus 10% for balances that are carried.

Does the balance automaticly start charging interest on the full amount if payment is not made by "due date" ??? I am sometimes a week late which seems to be fine by amex, I was wondering If enrolling in this I have to start paying interest starting due-date for entire amount, not just selected extended payment charges.

promo code or link?

Bonus Point Offers to Accept Option to Extend Payments
 

I got an offer via email to accept the option to extend payments on my platinum card. I don't plan to use it if I accept, but are there any downsides to accepting the offer?

Good question...
 

The only issue I can come up with that *may* be affected is the grace period that AmEx gives on payments. If you have the Extended Payment option, you might be charged interest the immediate day after your bill is due whereas if you do NOT use the Extend Payment option, you might be getting add'l days to pay the bill.

I know the topic of grace periods regarding AmEx charge cards have been discussed numerous times (and quite frankly, I still don't understand how it works), but I don't remember the issue of Extended Payment being brought into the conversation.

A while ago there seemed to be anecdotal evidence that those that were getting targeted with financial reviews had the pay-over-time feature turned on on their charge card.

I also got the email offer today and even though the 5000 points are tempting, I think I'm going to pass.

I have received this frequently by snail mail over the years.

I have also received these offers over the years via snail mail, I have signed up for the extended pay option just for the bonus and often times I had to call in to request the bonus afterwards. Just save the email or any other correspondence including the bonus ID.

Is this targeted?

I received a snail mail notice last week but with no mention of a bonus

I have had a Centurion account in the past, and now I just have Platinum. I am probably in the top tier of AMEX cardholders (although they never treat me like that, in my opinion--or rather haven't since the late 90s). I spend about 30k/month steadily on the card.

Last spring I called to see if the extended payment option was available. They told me that they were stopping it because of the economy (not in so direct of terms) and that they have had a lot of cardholders who have turned their charge cards (pay in full) to credit cards. It was originally available to me only on travel related purchases over like $300 bucks I think.

That said, having had a relationship with AMEX for years and seeing it all I would be VERY VERY weary of any overtures of theirs to give you extended payment options. First off, AMEX isn't exactly offering low interest rates with any of their credit cards, much less when they are floating your bills for you on a charge card. Secondly, I would imagine this will change your fine print quite a bit. AMEX loves to seize opportunities like this to justify a financial review (look up my old posts, I rather deal with the Gustapo than AMEX when they are doing a financial review), etc.

Having seen it all I wouldn't be surprised if you turn on extended payments, eventually get your 5k MR points (which really aren't a big deal, this shouldn't be your sole reason for doing this), only to have your account frozen because of your "change in behavior" or any other vague term.

BE VERY VERY VERY VERY WEARY of something like this. Since 1981, I have never missed a payment, never have had a returned payment, have had various AMEX cards over the years, was a charter Platinum Card holder, charter Centurion, etc. and behavior like this is totally to be expected by AMEX.

In summary, everything with AMEX these days is a Catch-22:

You are a good enough of a cardholder that they give you extended payment options. One day later, you're a risk because you have extended payment and therefore need to have your account closed, subjected to a financial review, or a "temporary" credit limit imposed. This is typical AMEX.

I do not know if this continues to be the case, but when I used the feature years ago, all eligible charges were automatically moved to a separate portion of the statement. As a result, the minimum payment due listed on the statement / website was skewed. Just be careful to review the statement carefully so that you are not merely paying the minimum due on charges that were eligible for the sign & travel / extended payment option.

Anyone have the Bonus Code or the email available for review?

You may need to login to your account to see this page which illustrates how your statement changes if you enroll in a pay over time plan:

https://home.americanexpress.com/hom...t/openloc.html

I'm not sure what AMEX's motivation is on these offers , either the suspect you might be putting large purchases on V/MC to get some paydown relief vs. cash flow , and they'd like to capture that spend

and/or this allows them to categorize your monthly spend in a way that allows them to package into short-term security , and want your FICO score to up the risk score on the package

As a matter of interest, in 1992 American Express evidently securitized charge card receiveables...

http://hbr.org/product/lehman-brothe...293121-PDF-ENG

Could they determine that by doing soft-pulls on credit reports?

Enroll in PayOverTime for Premier Gold and get 5K MR
 

After logging in to my AMEX account, one window shows that "enroll in pay over time for large purchase and get 5K MR points". It seems it's for the Premier Gold card.

"To be eligible to get bonus points, you must be enrolled in the Membership Rewards® program at the time of enrollment in these features. Only one bonus offer per Membership Rewards account is permitted, and bonus points will be
credited to your account within 6-8 weeks after enrollment. Maximum 5,000 points per account. Bonus ID 4555. Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms or call 1-800-AXPEARN
(297-3276) for more information. Participating partners and available rewards are subject to change without notice. To get bonus points related to this offer you must enroll by December 31, 2010."

But I don't know how to get a direct link for it.

5K for you!!! Wow! I got offered a measly 1.5k bonus pts to enroll. I always pay off 7-15 days early and often overpay what's due...

Extended Pay Opt
 

Is it worth enrolling in the extended pay option for the bonus points? I don't need extended pay as I always pay off ahead of time. How will my AMEX profile look for future offers if they see I signed up for "extended pay."

What bonus points? Do you have a link of promo #?

There is no link because it's targeted to certain people. However, there is another forum member who received the same promo to enroll in "pay over time" on their Gold card, except they got offered 5K MR pts and I only was offered 1.5k MR pts.

http://i52.tinypic.com/33onwi1.png

I signed up for the extended pay option about two years ago. Got 5000 points and still never used it once. Yes, its worth it.

Wish I was under the provision of AMEX marketing to receive 5K MR :-\.

Is this only offered on that Gold Card, or is there a similar opportunity with the Platinum? Like most others with the Plat card, I pay off on time, but life does bring with it those unexpected issues. . . any one know about Plat?

American Express offers various pay-over-time features on all USA-issued charge cards, regardless of color (Green, Gold, Platinum, Centurion). However, this doesn't mean that there is a bonus offer available to all cardholders. Likewise, if your card is issued in Canada the details and offers may be totally different.

Where did these 1500 MR pts. come from?
 

1500 MR appeared in my acct. on 12/1 and I don't know where they came from. It says "Earned: Premier Rewards Gold Card xxxxxxxx". But I haven't charged more than $350 over the last two months. Maybe a "bonus" of some sort? I've had the card since April. Any clue?

TIA

Gas, grocery, airline bonus points that have just cleared from previous spend?

Nope, points have been posting each month. It could be a CS "freebie" because of a complaint/inquiry I sent in about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Mysterious, but nice.

Did you hover your mouse over the entry? I checked my MR account and I get my points in 2 different segments of "Premier Rewards Gold Card-xxxxx." One appears to be regular spend (incl. air/gas/grocery); the other is for things like bonuspoints mall, double points on wireless bill and other promotions of that sort...

Brilliant idea! It's for enrolling in the EXPO program, where you spend $25+ at a small business and they give you a $25 credit. I didn't know that we ALSO got 1500 MRs. :)

I'm wondering now if I'll receive a random amount of bonus points as well. I did spend at a small biz and received the $25 credit. *waits patiently*

After further research I'm thinking that the EXPO (Extended Payment Option) program bonus is from the program that allows you to pay over time on your AMEX PR Gold Card. Sorry about the confusion.

Pay Over Time Features
American Express gives eligible Cardmembers the option to pay certain purchases over time on their Charge Card. The Extended Payment Option allows Cardmembers to pay for eligible purchases of $100 or more over time.

Glad to know that you got those 1500 MR points, Phil. I just got the email offering 1500 for signing up for the Extended Payment Option (which I have no intention of actually ever using), so I am glad to know that I will receive the points just for signing up.

AMEX sure is generous these days:
$25 credits for small business purchases
$30 credit for spend at 6 merchants
5% rebates at Exxon, Mobil and Conoco Phillips
these 1500 points

If they keep this up, they might convince me to keep the MR card in spite of the annual fee. ;)

How does this program affect the card? They sent me a targetted email for 5000 points for signing up, but I'm hesitant to do so as I don't want there to be any negative consequences to my account.

I couldn't find any negative consequences. Of course, I only use my AMEX MR card for gas and groceries and never have hit $100 on any one spend, and I always pay my bill on time. You might want to search this forum for some older threads on the extended payment option. Evidently this program has been around for years.

There was some anecdotal "evidence" that during the 2008-2009 meltdown, a number of people that were subjected to AMEX's infamous financial reviews had the extended payment option turned on. I've received the 5000 point offer in the mail and via email numerous times, but I'm hesitant to sign up.