American Express has produced one of the best lines of cards, catering to all the financial needs of all its customers. From debit cards to different types of credit cards, American Express offers the best cards with the greatest rewards. Unlike other banks and financial institutions, American Express is an independent payment processor, like Visa and MasterCard.
Therefore, American Express can produce its own line of cards, including charge cards that can work as credit cards. Some charge cards include the Platinum Card from American Express, the Amex Gold Card, and Amex Green Card.
Nowadays, the charge cards originally rolled out as charge cards work as hybrid cards for approval purposes. Therefore, they can work as credit cards even though they are charge cards. The difference between charge cards and credit cards is that charge cards require the cardholder to pay the credit balance in full monthly. However, hybrid cards, like the American Express Platinum Card, allow cardholders to carry their balance under certain conditions.
Thus, the article will highlight more on the Amex Platinum Card as a hybrid card and why it differs from other cards.
Key Takeaways
· American Express has a line of charge cards, including the Amex Platinum Card, Amex Gold Card, and Amex Green Card
· American Express Platinum cardholders can utilize the card as a hybrid card, allowing cardholders to pay their card balance over time
· The hybrid cards allow cardholders to pay their card balance under special circumstances as directed by American Express
What You Should Know About the Amex Platinum Hybrid Features
A charge card does not charge interest on the credit offered, but the entire balance is paid in full monthly. If the cardholder does not pay their entire balance, they will pay interest, including late fees and penalty charges. Thus, cardholders of the Amex Platinum Card will receive a 29.99% APR when they fail to pay their credit balance on time.
American Express will also report the cardholder to the major credit bureaus, which negatively impacts their credit score, leading to their account suspension.
The American Express Platinum Card has unique payment plans allowing cardholders to pay their balance over time. Due to this hybrid feature, the payment plans allow the Platinum Card to work as a charge card and a traditional credit card. However, the payment plans only apply to eligible purchases, and the rest of the purchases are paid in full.
The two payment plans allow cardholders to pay back their balance at an interest or a fee, depending on the plan. That way, the cardholder will spend as much as they can and avoid penalty interests on their card account.
The Pay Over Time Feature
Pay Over Time is a payment plan for American Express Platinum Card cardholders, allowing them to carry over their balance. As the name suggests, the cardholder will pay their balance on eligible purchases over time. However, cardholders will pay an interest charged on the balance for eligible purchases, which are paid over a certain period.
There is also a limit on the total amount paid under the plan, while the rest of the purchases must be paid in full monthly.
The Plan It Feature
The Plan It payment plan works like the Pay Over Time feature, but the cardholder will be charged a monthly fee. Therefore, cardholders will pay extra to pay their credit balance for eligible purchases over a longer period. Other purchases must be paid back in full by the cardholder to prevent penalties.
Credit Limit
Another main difference between a charge card and a traditional credit card is that charge cards do not have a preset credit limit. Therefore, cardholders of the American Express Platinum Card will spend as much as they can, depending on their spending power. However, American Express will implement a preset spending limit depending on the categories on which cardholders spend regularly.
Thus, your spending limit is determined by several factors, including your credit history and total annual income. Also, it is important to use the Check Spending Power tool found on your Amex account to determine whether you can make a larger-than-normal purchase.
Conclusion
American Express has a line of charge cards that offer cardholders hybrid features allowing the cards to work like credit cards. Unlike traditional credit cards, charge cards require cardholders to pay the full balance monthly. The hybrid feature from American Express offers cardholders a chance to pay over their card balance on eligible purchases over time.
However, cardholders must meet special terms and conditions while using the hybrid feature to avoid penalty interests. Thus, applicants must have at least good credit score to apply for and maintain the card, which includes a high $695 annual fee.
FAQs
Does Amex Platinum charge?
The Platinum Card from American Express is originally a charge card where cardholders do not pay interest while paying back their balance. Also, cardholders must pay their entire card balance in full to avoid late fees and penalties or reporting to credit bureaus. However, cardholders can use the two payment plans, Plan It and Pay Over Time, to pay their balance over time.
Plan It offers the feature at a monthly fee, while the Pay Over Time payment plan offers cardholders the feature at an interest. Thus, the Amex Platinum Card will initially not charge interest for the card balance payment unless cardholders use the payment plans.
What happens if you do not pay Amex Platinum in full?
Cardholders of the Amex Platinum Card must pay their balance in full monthly, as required for a charge card. If cardholders fail to pay their balance, they will attract a penalty and pay 29.99% interest as a penalty. Also, late fees will apply, and American Express will report the cardholder’s account to the major credit bureaus, affecting their credit score.
Repeated failure to make on-time payments may lead to suspending the cardholder’s account due to violating the policies. However, cardholders may use the Plan It or Pay Over Time payment plans to ease the burden of their balance, applicable to eligible purchases.
Which Amex cards are charge cards?
American Express rolled out a few cards originally as charge cards where cardholders pay the entire card balance in full. The three charge cards from American Express are the Amex Platinum Card, Amex Gold Card, and Amex Green Card. Also, the three charge cards are hybrids, having different hybrid features allowing them to act like traditional credit cards.
]Additionally, the charge cards are rewards cards, allowing cardholders to earn Membership Rewards points as they use the cards. However, the three cards are recognized as charge cards since they were originally rolled out as such.
