Amex’s ”Pay Over Time” feature is something that I recommend not using, but which could still be worth signing up for. Let me explain.
Continue reading: What Is Amex Pay Over Time, And Should You Enroll?
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I have it on my Hilton card. I didn’t sign up for it it just occurred. But a couple of times AMEX has offered a zero fee pay over time. So, when it was free, and I had a big charge, I took advantage and paid it over four months. There was no interest or fee.
It’s nice to have the option to pay a fee on one big charge instead of carrying a balance and having your average daily balance subject to interest rate charges. But it’s not something I’ve had to do.
Perfect timing. I received the 20k offer as well, and have been looking it up and down to find a catch.
Nice to have this confirmation, thanks.
It depends on the interest rate though to pay over time. You are only looking at it from a points and miles prospective which is a very linear view. If I can earn a greater return on my investments with the same money, I may consider to use the pay over time feature, especially for a card like the Platinum card where there is no credit limit so I do not need to worry about having more credit for more purchases.
Why would you pay interest on a high interest rewards card even if you could “earn a greater return on my investments” (clown talk for financial guru wannabes).
If that was the case you’d just purchase with a low interest credit card?
I would think having a strong credit score interest rate should be pretty low.
There is no good reason to use pay over time(POT), unless you don’t need it. The interest rates are very high and Amex will put all of your purchases automatically on POT if you start using your line. Yes that means interest on day one and no float. This feature is as close as you can get to a payday loan store.
I just purchased a $2699 Qatar air ticket to TBS. Amex offered the plan it pay over time feature for 12 months with absolutely zero fees. I'll take that deal any day!
No, pay over time does not charge you from day one. That is literally illegal. I did sign up for the exact reason listed in the article. Bonus points for something I'll never use.
If you don't have pay over time, you're paying your card in full monthly so this is literally a no change thing for me.
If, as was asserted, the interest made on (Bernie Madoff scheme) were higher than the pay over time interest rate, then it could make sense to do so.
HOWEVER, no such thing. A few points is as good as you're gonna get. Nowhere in the range of 10%. And let's keep in mind a CD requires a specific time frame for your money to be locked away. Not convenient for paying a monthly bill.
There is no such thing as no credit limit for Amex Platinum. It seems many people never get this part, but no preset limit doesn't equal unlimited.
I don't think you are in a position to call others linear view. You sound just like someone who just finished Finance 102 and think that you can conquer the world. (but have no clue what an unsecured loan is)
Playing with Robinhood might earn you money but doesn't mean you know much about finances.
There are a lot of very smart people playing the credit card game. Believe me, if it's as simple as "I can earn a greater return on my investments with the same money, I may consider to use the pay over time feature", these people will abuse the 0% APR cards to the last drop.
The trick is "average" vs "median". Probably the median is much much lower. But a few billionaires and mega millionaires would skew the average....