Amex Pay Over Time locks to Active from 1 February 2027, with no way to switch it off
From 1 February 2027, Pay Over Time on US American Express cards that have it is permanently set to Active and the setting can no longer be changed. Charge cards gain a Minimum Payment Due. Here is what to check before then, starting with AutoPay.
In this article
American Express is taking away the switch. Its own Pay Over Time page now says: "On February 1, 2027, Pay Over Time will be permanently set to 'Active' and the option to change the setting will be disabled." Amex has emailed cardholders about it, per Doctor of Credit (2 November) and Frequent Miler (3 November), and The Points Party flagged the new page wording on 29 October.
Pay Over Time is the feature that lets you carry a balance, with interest, on a US Amex card that otherwise has to be paid in full each month. Until now you could turn it off. From 1 February 2027 you cannot.
What changes on 1 February 2027
| If your setting today is | What Amex says happens |
|---|---|
| Active | Nothing changes. You keep choosing each month between paying in full, the Minimum Payment Due, or anything in between. |
| Inactive | The setting flips to Active and cannot be turned back. New eligible charges go into your Pay Over Time balance, up to your Pay Over Time Limit, and a Minimum Payment Due starts appearing on your statement. |
Paying in full still costs nothing. Amex's page is explicit: if you pay your Statement Balance (or Adjusted Balance, if you have an active plan) in full by the due date each month, you are not charged interest on your charges.
The one setting to check now: AutoPay
This is the trap. Amex's FAQ says that if your Pay Over Time setting is Inactive before 1 February and your AutoPay is set to Minimum Payment Due, AutoPay stays on Minimum Payment Due after the switch, and interest will be charged on the remaining Pay Over Time balance and on new eligible charges.
Amex itself suggests moving AutoPay to Statement Balance (or Adjusted Balance, if applicable) before the change. You can do that at americanexpress.com/autopay.
Two more points from the same page:
- An existing balance keeps accruing interest. If you already carry a Pay Over Time balance, interest continues, and new eligible charges added on or after 1 February start accruing interest from their transaction date.
- Clear the month of the change. Amex suggests paying your Statement Balance in full before the effective date so you do not pay interest on new charges in the billing period when the switch happens.
What this ends
Frequent Miler notes that Amex has at times paid Membership Rewards bonuses to cardholders who switched Pay Over Time on. With the setting forced on for everyone, that kind of offer has nothing left to target, so do not hold out for one.
Business cards
The personal-card wording above is what we have verified. The Points Party reports that Amex's business Pay Over Time page shows one set of terms through 31 January 2027 and a replacement set from 1 February 2027; we have not confirmed that business cards lose the off switch in the same way, so this post does not claim it.
Which CardPolo cards are affected
The Amex Platinum and Amex Gold in our catalog are US Amex cards with no preset spending limit, the group Pay Over Time applies to. Nothing about how they earn changes. What changes is that a balance you leave unpaid can now roll into interest without you ever having opted in.
If a forced credit line on your charge card makes you rethink which card leads your wallet, run your spend through Polo Match to see what your annual net value looks like on the alternatives.
Sources
Every claim on this page is backed by a primary or reputable source.
Cards affected
Card figures on CardPolo come from our catalog, each with an issuer source and a verified date where we have checked it. Spot something out of date? Tell us at [email protected].
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