Amex has announced in March a new Financial Relief Program to help card holders who can’t afford to make payments due to Covid-19. The program offers up to 60 months payment plans with reduced monthly payments, reduced interest rates, and waived fees. I believe this plan can help many individuals who are stuck with large credit card bills. But, before joining please make sure to read the details to understand what you’re getting into. Let’s explore what we know about the program.
The Program Overview
Amex introduced two versions of the Financial Relief Program:
- The short term Financial Relief Program will provide relief benefits for up to 12 months.
- The long term Financial Relief Program will provide relief for up to 36-60 months.
Eligibility of which program you can join will be determined by Amex based on your Amex relationship, account balance, account status, and more.
The benefits of joining any of the programs will be a reduced minimum payment, a reduced variable APR (some applicants got as low as 3% APR!) and waived late and annual fees.
The program is available for both personal and business cardholders.
Will Joining the Program Affect Your Credit Score?
Amex confirmed that joining the program will not affect your credit score in any way and your account will continue being reported to the credit bureaus in good standing.
The only thing you should be aware of, is that Amex will put a note on your credit report stating that this account is part of a payment plan, so this might affect you with getting approved for future loans even if your credit score stays good.
Will Your Amex Credit Cards Be Closed Or Restricted After Joining The Program?
After joining the long term plan Amex will shut all your Amex credit cards. As per Amex, if you join the short term program, though, then your accounts will stay open but will have restricted charging privileges.
As per TPG, Amex will take away your reward points after joining the program. Therefore, if you have any rewards with Amex make sure to redeem them first, before joining the program.
How To Join The Program?
You can join the program by chat or by calling 1866-703-4169
Conclusion
This plan seems to be a very good opportunity for someone who is stuck with high Amex credit card bills and was affected by Covid-19. You can now save on interest, get your monthly payments reduced, plus save your credit from being affected. Self understood, though, this plan will affect your Amex relationship, plus you will have your charging privileges reduced. In the case of the long term plan, your accounts will be suspended as well. I would only recommend joining the program for cardholders who really need it.
You can read more about hardship and forbearance programs here
Stay safe.
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