PF Under 30

Paying off debt and finding my financial lifestyle

Archive for category American Express

Closing my AMEX countdown…..

Jan 29

Posted by kiki in American Express | No Comments

I’m officially starting it today.  17 Days to go!

I’ve been waiting to close this puppy until I get my Costco Cash Rebate… which shows up in the mail in February. My February bill closes on the 11th and my January bill arrived on the 15th.

At last look my rebate was $60.23. Not a lot of money of course, but it will buy a few pounds of that delicious Dunkin Doughnuts coffee I like so much!

And incase you’re wondering, YES I am stubborn like that. This card used to have a line of $16,000, now it’s $12,000. On top of that, this is the same card my OOPS happened on almost a year ago. When I 0% balance transferred it to Advanta it was $52.33. And I was too stubborn to close it then too. At least this time I know it’s a 15 month balance transfer deal, but that still doesn’t mean I’m willing to donate $60 to them.

Amex owes me $52.33

Aug 15

Posted by kiki in American Express, Refunds and Rebates | No Comments

So now that I’ve paid in full for the last time my Costco American Express Business Card, moved all of my “auto deduct” expenses from that card to my debit, and changed all of the pre-populated info on my online accounts (Amazon.com, Paypal, Google Checkout), I’m really looking forward to no longer being an American Excess cardmember. Sure, the account doesn’t show up on my credit report (it’s a business account) but it’s got a high APR and never offers any balance transfer deals. They already tricked me once for moving my $11,000 balance from 2% APR to 15%. No brainer, it goes. Keep it simple stupid.

But I’m stubborn. It’s not that I want to keep the card, but I’ve “earned” $52.33 of “cashback” that shows up on February’s statement. Yeah, you heard it, my cashback “earnings” are a pittance of what that “Oops” cost me. Still, I feel like I would be atleast recouping some of that cost by waiting until I can get my $52. What do you think? Do you think I’m being stupid on this one or would you do it too?

For what it’s worth – the card is being cut up during my FPU class in the next week. I have moved all “auto charge” off of it, and have changed all the pre-populated “use this credit card on file” to be my debit. The card will NEVER get used again.

So – do you think I’m stupid for being this way, or should I get my $52?

I ditched Amex Today!

Jun 5

Posted by kiki in American Express, Credit and Debt | 2 Comments

That’s right – you can delete American Express as one of my creditors. I owe them zero! Nothing! Nada!

Today was the day I called and cancelled my Amex Gold. I told them I had the USAA Amex- they didn’t even try to keep me. Hmmh.

I get the feeling lots of people have been ditching their cards with annual fees lately. For me, it just makes my life simpler and more manageable. I also called and used up the remaining Membership Rewards points I had. Put them into Southwest Points. Less muss. Less fuss.

So now I’m down to 1 Citi Card, 1 Amex Card (Business), and my beloved USAA. Oh, did I mention that USAA raised my Credit Card limit to $27,000? This got rid of any qualms I had that canceling this Gold card would affect my credit score.

I also did some calculations and figured out balance transferring my Amex debt to USAA would save me about $60/month – so I went for it since USAA has zero balance transfer fees. I am dropping my APR from 14.9% to 8.9%. Almost half. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Right now the balance sits at $8900, but that’s only because I have about $800 worth of expenditures from my last business trip sitting on it. Pending my expense check – this will go down to $8000. ($7999 just so I can make myself feel better.)

Will update the progress bars as soon as everything settles. I love debt reduction! With this monkey off my back, the possibilities really will be endless!

Debt snowball keep it up!

Amex breaks $10,000 barrier!

Apr 16

Posted by kiki in American Express, Credit and Debt | No Comments

Cel – e – brate good times C’Mon! Wahoo! It’s a celebration!

I am now officially into AMEX for less than 10K. That’s moved me into the 4 digit mantra – which is a very BIG motivator!

The balance now stands at $9,588  and dropping! This is due mainly to the agressive decision to temporarily suspend my 2008 Roth Contributions until this debt is PAID. I think that was a very wise decision as evidenced by the following:

  • Interest paid monthly @ 15% – ~$134
  • If I moved it to my USAA Amex @ 9.9% it would be roughly 2/3 of that amount – under $90/month
  • If I moved it to my Citibank card @ 4.99% it would be about $45/month. But I’d have to pay $285 for the privilege.

Thinking USAA might be the best way to go – it makes sense financially, (no balance transfer fees) and it fits with my current plan to Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS). I’d rather owe USAA than anybody else, and I’m not changing anything about my current aggressive paydown strategy. Though I do want to payoff the remaining $960 first – so I don’t mess up my progress bars. :-)

Cel-e-brate good times C’Mon!

How I just made $442 off a business trip.

Mar 14

Posted by kiki in American Express, Deals and Steals | No Comments

No – nothing illegal of course! But here’s a story that will help you turn a negative into a positive and make lemonade out of lemons.So this coming week I will be spending in Seattle. My mom broke her ankle and has been very very bored stuck at home. Plus she needs help around the house. We decided to get a 1 way ticket because I still had an unused Seattle to Phoenix ticket from the last trip. So… long story short they wouldn’t let me use the ticket on the weekend I needed to. I gave up to resume the ticket hunt today.

  • In this morning’s meeting at work it was decided I would be going to Denver for some information gathering on a major project we’re working on in the next few months. (Southwest) DING! A business reimbursed Seattle to Denver – Denver to Phoenix trip solves this problem. Total cost saved ~ $250.
  • Logging onto Marriott to book my room, I realized I still had $150 worth of Marriott Gift Cards sitting around my house that I couldn’t use. My company re-imburses me for the total bill – whether I pay with cash, credit, or gift cards is irrelevant. Total cost saved (back to me) $150
  • Costco Business Amex – I knew there was a silver lining in this cloud! Now that the intro APR has expired, it won’t make much difference if I charge to the card. All travel gets a 2% rebate. Car, Hotel, and Airfare charged to the card – $981.00    2% Rebate back to me –  ~$19. 
  • The card also gives you an automatic 5% rebate on all Marriott Springhill Suites charges back to your card.  Minus the $150 – I am charging $469. At 5% rebate – that’s $23 back in my pocket. Best of all – since this is a business credit card the balance does not affect my credit score while I am waiting for reimbursement.

Total gained from this excursion - $442. And yes – it’s all being applied directly to the Costco Amex debt. 

Tags: , , ,