Please pay by

[dbaker]

What is the deal with the "Please pay by" comment that American Express has started putting on bills in the last year or two? On my charge cards, I'll be asked to "pay by" about two weeks after my statement closes, which is almost three weeks before my payment is due.

With most (all?) charge cards, the payment is only due before your next statement closes. I guess they're just trying to trick people into paying earlier so that they don't have to float the cash.

Usually, I'll go ahead and pay the bill as soon as I get it, which is a week or so before the "pay by" date. However, when traveling, I won't always be around to pay the bill and certainly have many times paid weeks beyond the "pay by" date (but before my statement date) and AmEx continues to accept it as on time.

[klyve1]

Amex used to accept payments up to the next statement date without penalty but have now started charging me for it as a late payment.