American Express direct debit date

SlovakianGuy

Hello guys!

I'd like to take out my first Amex and just wonder whether you can choose the date on which they take your direct debit each month.
If not, then what is the best date to apply if I want my DD to go out between the 17th and 22nd of each month? Those of you who already have Amex, when did you apply (if you don't remember, the account opening date is on your credit report) and when do they take your DD?

Thanks!

nick74

Hi,
Yes Amex let you choose any date you like.

blue.peter

nick74 said:

Hi,
Yes Amex let you choose any date you like.

That's not quite my experience.

I found that they allowed me to change the statement date, but they didn't offer every possible date. I wanted mine around the 20th, but they  only allowed me to choose the 19th or (if memory serves) the 22nd. The date of the DD collection is fixed on the basis of the statement date. And DD collections are made about 10 days before the payment due date. This is, of course, not consistent with what a lot of other card issuers (most, I think) do.

Example (from my own records):

Statement date: 19 January 2018

Direct Debit date: 3 February 2018

Payment due date: 14 February 2018.

(I have to use one from a couple of years ago because I eventually decided that I preferred to push the payment instead of having AmEx pull it by DD.)

I recommend that, once you've received your card, you talk to AmEx and establish when they've got your statement date set to, and what the effect of this on the DD and payment due dates is. My experience was that the lady to whom I spoke was pleasant and helpful.

nick74

blue.peter said:

I found that they allowed me to change the statement date, but they didn't offer every possible date. I wanted mine around the 20th, but they  only allowed me to choose the 19th or (if memory serves) the 22nd.

Actually since you mention this I recall there is a peculiar quirk in that Amex won't let you choose a statement date that falls on a weekend in the month that you request the change. That would fit in your case as 20th and 21st of January 2018 were a Saturday and a Sunday. However, phone up now and try changing it to the 20th February (which is a Thursday) and they may well let you..strange but true.

sivs

I might be wrong here, however when I asked AMEX to setup a DD and pay in full they would collect days before it was due like a week before, this has stopped be setting up a direct debit with them. This was a year or so ago so it might be false info.

nick74

sivs said:

I might be wrong here, however when I asked AMEX to setup a DD and pay in full they would collect days before it was due like a week before, this has stopped be setting up a direct debit with them. This was a year or so ago so it might be false info.

Still true now unfortunately, hence why I pay Amex by faster payment rather than DD.

sivs

nick74 said:

sivs said:

I might be wrong here, however when I asked AMEX to setup a DD and pay in full they would collect days before it was due like a week before, this has stopped be setting up a direct debit with them. This was a year or so ago so it might be false info.

Still true now unfortunately, hence why I pay Amex by faster payment rather than DD.

Ok, that will stop me setting up a DD with them.. Not sure why they feel the need to collect before statement date. Any ideas?

blue.peter

sivs said:

I might be wrong here, however when I asked AMEX to setup a DD and pay in full they would collect days before it was due like a week before, this has stopped be setting up a direct debit with them. This was a year or so ago so it might be false info.

You're not wrong - I covered this in my earlier post.

blue.peter

nick74 said:

Actually since you mention this I recall there is a peculiar quirk in that Amex won't let you choose a statement date that falls on a weekend in the month that you request the change. That would fit in your case as 20th and 21st of January 2018 were a Saturday and a Sunday. However, phone up now and try changing it to the 20th February (which is a Thursday) and they may well let you..strange but true.

However, 20 October 2017 - which is the relevant date in this context - was a Friday...

(January 2018 was just a random statement that I looked at, not my first after changing the statement date. I let them collect on their choice of date for a few months before cancelling the DD.)

SlovakianGuy

Thanks all.

So the date of the application / account opening doesn't really matter.

I just changed my billing day with Barclays. All done via online messages.

Do Amex have something similar or the only way is to call them?  I find phone-only customer services a bit outdated nowadays. Not that it is hugely important, I just want to know

blue.peter

SlovakianGuy said:

I just changed my billing day with Barclays. All done via online messages.

Do Amex have something similar or the only way is to call them?  I find phone-only customer services a bit outdated nowadays. Not that it is hugely important, I just want to know

AmEx has an online chat system that you can use if you prefer.