American Express Increases Late Fees

The federal government is currently swaying towards increasing the limits on the amount credit card issuers that charge on late fees and starting January, it seems that American Express is the first to respond by charging upwards of $38 if the deemed customers are late more than once in a six-month time period. Considering how hefty American Express’s late fee already holds up, if not, the highest fee in the industry already; a $1 increase may have a impact on some consumers.

Editor’s Note: With a wide selection of Amex Cards readily available; Consumers do have more options when it comes to picking the best card even with an increased late fee (of course, hopefully speaking, that you won’t have to endure a late fee, but mistakes do happen.) If you’re interested, be sure to check out our list of American Express Credit Cards and keep reading on!

Best Amex Credit Cards:

This section is for American Express Credit Cards that I solely deem the better cards even with an increased late fee.

The American Express Blue Cash Everyday® Card is offering a $200 sign up bonus after spending $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. In addition, you’ll earn 10% back on $2,000 in eligible Amazon purchases on the Card in the first 6 months, up to $200.  With Intro 0% APR for purchases as well as balance transfers on top of a no annual fee attached… This card is certainly a very affordable card to have with quite the beneficial rewards structure.

Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express Summary:

• Learn More
• Maximum Bonus: $200 statement credit
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months & spend $2,000 in eligible Amazon purchases on the Card in the first 6 months, to get 10% (up to $200)
• Annual Fee: $0
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice:  The AmEx Blue Cash Everyday Card has an excellent cash back program with 3% on supermarkets, 2% at gas stations and department stores, and 1% everywhere else.  This card is perfect for the majority of us who do most of their everyday spending on groceries, gas, and clothing.  With access to AmEx Offer, you can also receive $5 back if you spend $15 or more at Walmart or $25 back if you spend at least $75 at Amazon.

With the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, you can get a sign up bonus of $250 after you make a spend of $1,000 within the first three months of card membership. You will also earn an additional 10% back on up to $2,000 in eligible Amazon purchases on the card within the first six months of card membership, up to $200!

This card imposes a 0% intro APR on Purchases and Transfers for 12 months with a 12.24%-23.24% APR thereafter depending solely off your credit worthiness. The boosted rewards structure compared to the Blue Cash Everyday makes it worth the $95 Annual Fee, if you are able to reap the fullest spend on this card (6% at U.S supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases)

Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express Summary:

• Learn More
• Maximum Bonus: $250
• Spending Requirement: Must spend $1,000 within first 3 months and spend $2,000 on eligible travel purchases within the first 6 months
• Annual Fee: $95
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice: The signup bonus can pay for two years’ worth of card membership!

Sign up for the American Express EveryDay^® Credit Card and earn 15,000 Points (must be in incognito mode) when you spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. This card is certainly affordable with 0% intro APR on purchases and transfers for 12 months and an attractive no annual fee. After the 0% Intro, your APR will look like  13.24% – 23.24% based on credit worthiness.

Amex EveryDay Credit Card Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 15,000 Points
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $1,000 within 3 months of account opening
• Annual Fee: None
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice:  With 2X Points at supermarkets and 20% additional points when used 20 times, this is a great card for families who routinely shop for groceries and household products.

The Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express also has a 25,000 SPG points attached after you make a spend of $3,000 within a given three months of account opening. Primarily because of how valuable point currency is deemed with SPGs and a waived introductory annual fee for the first year, thereafter $95.

This card has some elegant prospects to it. Interest rates APR  on purchases will be a variable rate, currently 15.49% to 19.49%. The reason why this card makes it to our list is due to the fact that it’s quite the affordable Travel Card to have. After the first year, it’s to your to decide if the card’s $95 annual fee is for you.

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 25,000 bonus Starpoints
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year ($95 thereafter)
• Bonus Worth: We estimate Starpoints to be worth 2.4 cents, so we estimate this bonus is worth $600.
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice: If you choose to transfer Starpoints to miles, you may want to wait until you’ve accumulated at least 20,000. Additionally, for every 20,000 points you transfer to a
• frequent flier program, you’ll receive an additional 5,000 Starpoints. So if you were to transfer these 20,000 Starpoints to American, you’d actually end up with 25,000 AAdvantage miles.

The EveryDay^SMPreferred Credit Card from American Express  has a 15,000 MR points attached after you make a spend of $1,000 within a given three months of account opening. With 0% intro APR on purchases and transfers for 12 months, this card makes a great option encompassing the increased late fee (of course, if you ever mistakenly miss a payment). However, The $95 annual fee is quite hefty. Reaping the rewards alone could outweigh the annual fee for some of you, but it’s to your decision because the annual fee is certainly not waived for the first year.

AmEx EveryDay Preferred Credit Card Credit Card Summary:

• Apply Now
• Maximum Bonus: 15,000 bonus points
• Spending Requirement: You must spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Annual Fee: $95
• Bonus Worth: American Express Membership Rewards are worth 0.5 cents to 1 cent each, We estimate this bonus to be worth $150.
• Expiration Date: No expiration
• Additional Advice: In order to maximize the total value of this card, you’ll have to get more than 1 cent of value out of a Membership Rewards point. At 1 cent per point, the most value you can earn is 4.5% back on groceries and 3% back on gas, which is less than majority credit card bonuses. Because of this, we recommend getting around 1.5 cents of of value out of a Membership Rewards point by converting it to airline miles.

Conclusion:

American Express emphasized that there will be “business costs associated with not paying on time, and late fees are intended to recapture some of that cost.” In speculation, we see the increased late payment fee as a way to persuade most cardholders to practice a more responsible payment history. However, considering that American Express already has such a high late payment fee already… It shouldn’t make more sense to increase it any further. Customers should be fully aware of the cost since it will affect all cardholders as of January. Find our complete list of Credit Card Promotions today! Be sure to also check out our full list of American Express Credit Cards!