Should You Travel Now, Pay Later: Resisting the Siren Call of Free Amex Miles

by Robert McGarvey

The American Express offer jumped out at me and how could I miss it because it was at the very top of the list of 100 offers available to me: Get 20,000 Amex Miles just by signing up for Pay Over Time, an Amex response to the rapid rise of BNPL (Buy Now Pay later) options for consumers who are buying everything from Goldbelly lobster rolls to Peloton exercise machines via BNPL.

20,000 miles is nothing to sniff at and, by the accounting of ThePointsGuy, that cache is worth $400 (at two cents a mile). My accounting is more conservative but I would still say it is worth $200. Just for signing up.

Different cardholders are offered different mileage amounts to sign up. Some are offered zilch. Others may be offered more than 20,000. Some may be tempted with 30,000.

Sign up and what happens is that eligible purchases are shuffled into Pay Over Time – where interest charges and fees apply – and that happens at 8pm ET if your Pay Over Time setting is set to active. If not set to active the charges of course do not tumble into that bucket.

What is especially intriguing about the Amex 20,000 mile offer is that there appears to be no obligation to actually use the Pay Over Time feature. Ever. It seems one can sign up, wait for the miles to deposit, then rush over and deactivate Pay Over Time.

With a Platinum Card, eligible purchases are $100 and over. I understand that lower thresholds apply to Green Card purchases but have not confirmed that.

Experts report that interest rates in Pay Over Time may reach up to 23.24% and fees may also be applied, up to 1.33%.

I have not signed up for that offer.

Understand, I have very occasionally used versions of BNPL in recent years – notably to buy an iPad Air a few years ago and, last week, when I was about to purchase an iPhone 12 (for the 5G speeds – I live in a T-Mo neighborhood with lots of good 5G) Apple offered me two year financing at 0 percent interest with no application because I had an existing account.

But I also have turned down -indeed mocked – BNPL offers from other vendors such as Goldbelly which offered to finance a Jacques Torres box of chocolates (probably the best in America) over three payments which seemed a laughable idea for something that would be eaten in three days.

BNPL really is not aimed at me. Its core target are consumers with thin credit histories – not bad, just not much.

So why is Amex offering me a BNPL service?

Beats me.

Why won’t I sign up for the Amex BNPL?

Yes, I know that if I take all the precautionary steps – and remember to read Amex emails about Pay Over Time – I won’t ever have to pay a penny in interest. But I also know the probability is high I won’t read the emails because, well, I read very few emails that land in my inbox because way too many do.

I also have more Amex Miles than I presently have a use for. Another 20,000 would just gather some kind of metaphorical dust.

And, lastly. nowadays I am slowly easing the Amex Plat card back into its original role which is as a travel and entertainment card and, constitutionally, I just am opposed to paying interest on travel and restaurant bills. Those are charges that – in my mind – should be paid off as they arrive.

You think differently? That is your right. And know that many travel vendors see their sector as a BNPL hot zone.

But to me leisure travel, restaurant meals, etc. are non essentials and ought to be paid for with surplus money.

Have I always thought that way? Nope and I got the credit bruises to focus my mind on a more targeted deployment of credit tools. Basically I like credit for a home mortgage, for a car loan, and probably not much else. That’s a conservative approach, I know it’s not for everyone, but it works for me.

And I’ll even skip the 20,000 Amex Mile gift – just call me Odysseus.