Amex Pay Over Time is a setting on your card, and it starts switched on. To unenroll from Amex Pay Over Time, you switch that setting off, and from then on new charges are due in full each month instead of joining a balance that can carry interest. On personal cards the choice has an end date: Amex's page says the setting becomes permanently active on February 1, 2027, and the option to change it goes away. Here's how to turn it off on a personal or business card, when it takes effect, and whether it's worth doing if you already pay your bill in full.
How to Turn Pay Over Time Off
Amex words the setting differently for personal and business cards, so follow the version for yours. Both pages say the setting starts on: at account opening on personal cards and on card approval on business cards.
- Personal cards: Amex's personal-card page says you manage the setting under Account Services in your online account. Its terms add that you can change or view it at any time online or by calling the number on the back of your Card. That page calls the two settings active and inactive, so you want inactive.
- Business cards: Amex's business-card page says to select "Manage Pay Over Time" under Account Services, then Payment & Credit Options. You can also change it in the mobile app or by calling the number on the back of your Card. That page calls the settings On and Off, so you want Off.
If your business card doesn't have Pay Over Time at all, the business-card page says it's offered by invitation only and that Amex will notify you if it can be added.
When the Change Takes Effect
Amex sorts each charge by the setting at 8 pm ET. The business-card page says eligible charges are added to your Pay Over Time balance based on the setting at 8:00 pm ET each day, and that if it's Off then, that day's charges go to your Pay In Full balance. The personal-card terms tie it to the transaction date the merchant provides, which Amex says can differ from the day you made the purchase, for example when a merchant is slow to submit it or uses the shipping date.
A charge can also move into your Pay Over Time balance on your Closing Date. Until February 1, 2027, both pages say that requires the setting to be on at 8 pm ET that day, and on when the charge was made.
Turning the setting off doesn't wipe out a balance you already carry. The personal-card page says that if your setting is inactive before February 1 and you have an existing Pay Over Time balance, you'll continue to incur interest on it.
What Changes on February 1, 2027
The personal-card page says that on February 1, 2027, Pay Over Time "will be permanently set to 'Active' and the option to change the setting will be disabled." After that, new charges are automatically added to your Pay Over Time balance, up to your Pay Over Time Limit.
If your setting is inactive before that date, the page says you'll see the Minimum Payment Due as an additional payment option each month, starting with your next statement after the change. It also covers AutoPay. If your setting is inactive and AutoPay is set to Minimum Payment Due, that AutoPay setting stays, and interest will be charged on your remaining Pay Over Time balance and on new eligible charges. Amex suggests updating AutoPay to Statement Balance (or Adjusted Balance, if you have an active Plan It plan) before the change, and paying your Statement Balance in full before February 1 to avoid interest on new charges in the billing period when the change takes effect.
The business-card page shows two sets of terms, one effective through January 31, 2027 and a replacement set effective February 1, 2027. Its replacement terms say eligible charges will be automatically added to your Pay Over Time balance on the transaction date provided by the merchant, so check what your own business account shows before you rely on the setting.
Whether to Turn Pay Over Time Off
If you pay your Account Total New Balance in full by the Payment Due Date every month, the setting doesn't cost you interest. Both pages say you won't be charged interest on charges automatically added to a Pay Over Time balance when you do.
The cost shows up once you carry a balance. Both pages say that if you're carrying a Pay Over Time balance from your last billing period, new eligible charges accrue interest starting from the transaction date. Turning the setting off is how you keep new charges out of that balance: they sit in the Pay In Full balance, which Amex's terms say is part of the Minimum Payment Due.
Rewards aren't a reason either way. The personal-card page says using Pay Over Time has no impact on how you earn and redeem Membership Rewards points. The business-card page says you keep earning rewards as long as you pay at least the Minimum Payment Due by the due date.
The reason to leave it on is flexibility. Each month you can pay the full balance, the Minimum Payment Due or any amount in between, and Amex charges interest on the part you don't pay in full.
The Decision
If you always pay in full, switching the setting off is a guardrail, not a savings. Setting AutoPay to Statement Balance does the same job, since the business-card page says that's the AutoPay setting to use if you want to avoid interest.
If you've ever paid less than the full balance and don't want new charges joining it, turn the setting off now. On a personal card, that only works until February 1, 2027, when Amex sets Pay Over Time to Active for good, so set AutoPay to Statement Balance (or Adjusted Balance, if you have any active plans) before then.
