American Express has sent out notifications to all customers who hold AMX credit Credit card customers who pay their American Express Card bills late will soon start noticing that they are not getting airline mileage credit for those purchases cards that are co-branded with Delta Airlines, JetBlue, Hilton Hotels, and Starwood Hotels that starting in January of 10 late payment of American Express bills will result in those customers not earning travel reward points for purchases paid late.
If customers want the disallowed reward credit posted to their accounts, they will have to pay a $29 reinstatement fee, on top of a late payment fee, ranging from $19 to $38, depending on the balance. A penalty interest rate (now at 27%) will be added to future balances.
It seems like airline and credit card fees and penalties keep piling on top of one another. Finding inexpensive airline tickets is no longer enough. You need to be careful to pay your bills on time.
Credit card companies tend to operate like the Airlines, in that once one company comes up with a new fee or penalty, others most often are quick to implement the same policy. Cheap travel, whether it be air, hotel, or car, is readily available, but you need to keep an eye out for changes in airline and credit card policies that will end up making such purchases ultimately much more expensive.