AMEX Direct Debit policy

FrustratedDude

I set up direct debits to pay my credit card bills off in full each month but Amex takes money from my account 12 days before the payment is due, whereas for other banks I can set a DD up for a couple of days before the balance has to be paid. I've spoken to them and, whilst they can shift all the dates, they're not prepared to reduce the gap between DD being taken and the actual payment due date. Has anyone found a work-round for this as I'm tired of them reducing the credit period available to me? Thx  

MyRealNameToo

FrustratedDude said:

I set up direct debits to pay my credit card bills off in full each month but Amex takes money from my account 12 days before the payment is due, whereas for other banks I can set a DD up for a couple of days before the balance has to be paid. I've spoken to them and, whilst they can shift all the dates, they're not prepared to reduce the gap between DD being taken and the actual payment due date. Has anyone found a work-round for this as I'm tired of them reducing the credit period available to me? Thx  

Only other option is not to pay by DD but make a manual debit card payment on the day payment is due or a BACS transfer a few days before its due. 

QrizB

FrustratedDude said:

I set up direct debits to pay my credit card bills off in full each month but Amex takes money from my account 12 days before the payment is due,

Yes, that's just how Amex does things.

FrustratedDude said:

Has anyone found a work-round for this as I'm tired of them reducing the credit period available to me? Thx  

Set the DD to make the minimum payment, and set yourself a calendar reminder to pay the rest manually a day or two before the due date.

I briefly did this before deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle!

sausage_time

For me the cashback outweighs any inconvenience or lost interest because of the early direct debit.  

Saltrams

QrizB said:

FrustratedDude said:

I set up direct debits to pay my credit card bills off in full each month but Amex takes money from my account 12 days before the payment is due,

Yes, that's just how Amex does things.

FrustratedDude said:

Has anyone found a work-round for this as I'm tired of them reducing the credit period available to me? Thx  

Set the DD to make the minimum payment, and set yourself a calendar reminder to pay the rest manually a day or two before the due date.

I briefly did this before deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle!

I too have been frustrated by their 50% cut of “free” payment time. Of course I pay off in-full every month but one time I paid too close to the D/D date so I paid in-full twice amounting to £3k or so. Amex were absolute swine about repaying one of the overpayments wanting blood type, grandfather’s permission and sworn depositions from my dog in order to claw back the money. In the end I left it there as a credit that I used the next month.

Anyway, I just hoped to clarify how to best get round their rules & wonder if anyone can support @QrizB ‘s solution or whether @QrizB has actual experience of the plan? I have adjusted my D/D to min payment but have always paid in full before the D/D date. Amex doesn’t adjust in real time and requires >4 working days in advance  in order to alter the D/D.

Put simply, is it 100% safe (no interest added and no “missed payment” recorded) if I pay minimum automatically on D/D date and then pay remaining balance in time for actual payment due date please?

QrizB

For the few months that I did that, I always paid a couple of working days prior to the due date. This was because I'd noticed that it would often take a day or two for a payment to turn up on my AMEX app, and I didn't want to risk being credited late.

[Deleted User]

One or two working days before the bill is due is sufficient as they're effectively allowed one working day to process an electronic payment. In practicality, same day usually works but a small buffer allows for issues on either side of the payment transaction.