Thread: When to pay off a balance with a promotional APR

I'm trying to plan when I need to pay off a balance that I took out for a promotional APR. Say I have an AMEX which I opened at the end of July 2011 with a 6-month, 0% promotional APR. My statement period ends on the 17th of each month, so I received my first statement on August 17, 2011.

My question is: do I pay my balance in full at the end of my statement cycle (January 17, 2012) or by the due date of that statement cycle (February 11, 2012) to avoid interest charges?

I have other bills that need to be paid around the same time, so timing is key here and the difference between these two dates is nearly a months-worth of pay. If anyone has any experience with these promotional APR's, I would greatly appreciate your insights.

Fair enough. I thought someone on here might have had a bad experience with paying off a promo-balance late. In any case, I contacted AMEX twice this morning, and the first rep told me that the promotional rate expires on January 17, 2012. I inquired further and was told that new purchases after this date would be charged to my regular purchase APR. The rep was unclear about whether my current balance would be subject to finance charges during the 25 day grace period following the end of my 6th statement cycle and recommended that I pay the balance in full on or before the expiry date of the promo APR.

When I inquired with a second rep, she informed me that my account was opened on July 20, 2011. She also told me that my promotional rate expires on January 17, 2012 and that any purchases made after that date would be billed to my purchase APR. With the wording of the CARD Act of 2009, which mandates that promotional rates may not be less than 6 months after the rate takes effect (Title I, sec. 172), I am compelled to conclude that my promotional APR rate does not legally expire until January 20, 2012. The second rep told me that they count by "full statement cycles." When I challenged her on the fact that my first billing cycle was not a "full statement cycle," she agreed and told me to pay my balance in full by the payment due date of the last statement cycle to avoid paying finance charges. I don't plan on charging any further purchases to my AMEX between January 17 and January 20, so the previous argument does not really apply to my situation, but this sounds like grey area for the card issurer. In any case, the rep told me that I could take until February 11, 2012 to pay my balance in full to avoid paying finance charges (assuming that I don't make any more purchases).