Amex Autopay Glitch Causes Late Fees and Lost Points
American Express cardholders are reporting what appears to be an autopay glitch affecting payments scheduled for (or around) August 23, with some customers unexpectedly seeing overdue balances and late fees despite having autopay properly set up.
Several reddit users reports that autopay on Amex cards failed to process on August 23. The payments subsequently appeared as pending with an August 24 date, and late fees were assessed on the accounts. Amex representative have indicated via chat that they are aware of the issue.
More importantly, the problem can affect rewards as well. Cardholders report that Membership Rewards points from the affected statement periods were forfeited, since Amex’s system treated the accounts as having late payments.
Several cardholders who have contacted Amex through chat and were able to get their late fees reversed, although affected customers should also check their Membership Rewards activity to make sure points weren’t forfeited.
What You Should Check
If you had an Amex payment scheduled for August 23, log into your account and check your payment history, any late fees and your Membership Rewards activity. If something looks wrong, contact Amex and ask to have both the late fee and any forfeited points restored.
Guru’s Wrap-up
This is a frustrating glitch, especially since autopay is supposed to prevent exactly this situation. The good news is that reports indicate Amex is waiving the resulting late fees when customers contact support. But make sure to also check your points balance as well, since some cardholders have seen rewards forfeited as a result of the failed payment.
I have reached out to American Express for an official statement or if they are planning to implement an automatic fix.
This is also a good reminder to set your autopay a few days before your due date, so you can avoid late fees and other issues when something goes wrong.
