For a while I've noticed a "Plan it" on my AMEX statements on their website and in the iOS app. I think it's basically doable for all charges over $100, and according to the mails I kept getting from them for a while it's supposed to be interest free. Out of curiosity I picked a rather large amount I paid with my card earlier this week ($1,099.38 for car repairs... UGH!) and started to create a payment plan.
Here's what the "interest free" payment plan looked like in the end:
Total Amount owed: $1,099.38
3 Monthly Payments of $369.59
Total Cost: $1,108.77
Which amounts to a total extra cost of $9.39, or 0.854% of the amount owed, for a period three months. In other words: an APR of 3.4%.
Admittedly, that is still much lower than the close to 20% APR they charge if you don't "plan it" and carry a balance on your card, but it still boils down to costing you more than you owe. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this just a fancy new way of describing a short-term loan with admittedly fairly low interest rates? Or am I missing something here?