Amex Pay Over Time Offers
What may be the easiest bonus points offer you will ever see is back again. It has been a minute since we have seen new Amex Pay Over Time offers come around. They used to go out to targeted individuals quite frequently in the past, as often as every few months. Then, over the past year or so, they just kind of stopped. Not anymore! There is a 20,000 Membership Rewards point offer going around once again. Let's take a look at what the Amex Pay Over Time program is, how to find / activate these offers and how to improve your chances of being targeted.
What Is Amex Pay Over Time?
If you have no idea what Amex Pay Over time is, then know you are probably not alone. It is a program American Express offers that runs a little bit under the radar. The Pay Over time program essentially allows you to break down large purchases into multiple payments, with the caveat of interest being charged on any balances. Much like how traditional credit cards work. The difference is that these are for cards that don't have a preset spending limit, or what were called charge cards in the past. Think the Amex Gold and Amex Business Platinum cards of the world. Not the Delta or Hilton cards of the world, or traditional credit cards so to speak.
Here is how Amex describes the benefits:
- No fee to enroll.
- Added flexibility to pay eligible charges over time with interest.
- Simply choose each month to pay in full, the minimum amount due, or anything in between. It’s your choice.
- All eligible charges of $100 or more can be paid over time.
To get members to turn this program “on” they offer up bonus points from time to time. These are targeted offers and come at random. There is no way to make your account get targeted for them, but there is a way to increase your chances. More on that below.
Details On The Offer
Here are the details for the Amex Pay Over Time offers and where you can locate them. I also have shared a link for you to log in to see if you are targeted (if you don't find them in your offers section) courtesy of Danny the Deal Guru.
- Check your Amex Offers section for any cards that would be eligible (not traditional credit cards).
- If you don't see anything there then you can try this link too.
- You just need to select to activate the Pay Over Time offer and then 20,000 Membership Rewards points will be added to your account.
- There is no need to USE the Pay Over Time program to get the points.
- You shouldn't either, because it will incur interest charges. Remember to pay your balance in full each and every month!
These offers have also come via USPS and email in the past. I haven't heard of that being the case this time around though.
Notable Terms Of The Offer
Here are some notable terms for the Pay Over Time offers from American Express:
- Different activation offers may be available through different channels such as phone.
- The activation bonus included with this offer may not be available if you activate Pay Over Time through a different channel or previously accepted a Pay Over Time activation offer.
- To be eligible to earn Membership Rewards® points, you must be enrolled in the Membership Rewards® program at the time you activate Pay Over Time.
- Only one offer per Card account is permitted; maximum 20,000 points per account.
- Points will be credited to your program account within 8-12 weeks after you activate Pay Over Time, as long as your Card account is not canceled or past due at the time of fulfillment of this offer.
- The receipt of Membership Rewards® points through this offer may be considered taxable income to you and may be reported to the IRS on Form 1099.
How To Give Yourself A Better Chance At Being Targeted For An Offer
While being targeted for one of these Amex Pay Over Time offers is luck of the draw, you can improve your chances. The main thing you will want to do is make sure that Pay Over Time is turned off on your cards. Sometimes this is toggled on and you don't even realize it. Here are the steps to turn off Pay Over Time on your American Express cards.
Step 1: Payment & Credit Options
The first thing you will want to do is log into your American Express account. After that you will want to select one of your Pay Over Time eligible cards. Once the proper card is selected you will want to select Account Services and then select Payment & Credit Options from the list.
Step 2: Manage Pay Over Time
When you get to the Payment & Credit Options page you will want to select Manage Pay Over Time from the list below.
Step 3: Turn Pay Over Time Off
When you finally get to the Pay Over Time screen you will want to make sure Off is selected. Then you will hit submit. At least, if Off wasn't the choice already.
Amex Pay Over Time Offers: ToP Thoughts
Hopefully many of you received one (or more) of these Amex Pay Over Time offers for your accounts. If not, then hopefully my tip on how to make sure the program is turned off on your account will help you in the future.
Let me know if you received any of these easy bonus points offers over in the ToP Facebook Group.
