Comments: Really Shitty American Express

1) Please be specific about exactly which AmEx you have, as this may not apply to us Platinum Delta SkyMiles Cardholders.

2) A tip for all: Credit card interest is compounded daily (at a fraction that adds up to your monthly rate). So, if you know that you need to (and can) pay $x/mo to make a dent in your balance, then pay $.5X/2 wks instead. You'll save 14 days interest on every bit of principal you pay down. Make .25x/wk payments if you can.

Posted by MEM at April 5, 2005 06:36 PM

I agree. American Express has made changes that cost me hundreds of dollars and I pay my balance in full every month. In 4 months, I was charged over $400 in finance charges.

If your payment in full is late by one day (even if your bill is sitting in AMEX's hands and not yet processed) you will be charged interest from the date of purchase for all items purchased in the prior month and the next month.

If you apply the original American Express Agreement to the new charges the following are the approximate annual interest rates that I was charged over the last 4 months:

April 116% (Posted 5 Days Late)
May 172% (Posted 6 Days Late)
June 83% (Balance not paid in full this month)
July 482% (Posted Paid in full - 3 days early)

To make matters even worse, my on-line bank said that AMEX received all of these payments in time.

Please note that these are interest finance charges only - no late fees.

I feel that AMEX should not hide finance changes like these. They should also start putting the finance charges of the front page of the monthly bill next to the minimum amount due so customers will know what they are being charged.

Posted by Erik at August 17, 2005 05:00 PM

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