Sunday, May 27, 2007

M. Starita Boyce, a college administrator from Pennsylvania, can't stand that many credit card companies charge interest on an entire charge even if a customer pays off part of the balance. For example, if someone racks up a $500 charge and pays $250 on the due date of the first bill, many companies will charge interest on the entire $500.

That's why Boyce canceled her credit card with HSBC several years ago. A bank spokeswoman, Cindy Savio, said that HSBC does not charge interest on debt that has been paid on credit card purchases but that it does charge on debt that has been paid on credit card cash advances.

Boyce switched to an American Express card that she pays off each month. She likes her personal Amex card but is miffed at the red tape she recently encountered over a corporate Amex card her employer pays directly.

Earlier this year, a glitch caused the university to stop paying the account, but Boyce did not find out for three months when she received a call from Amex. The company said she couldn't wait until Monday to get the university to straighten it out and demanded she pay the balance herself right then to avoid a bad credit report, she says. She paid immediately and was reimbursed by the university, which corrected the problem and let Amex know the situation wasn't Boyce's fault.

But Amex still dinged her credit report, saying she was 90 days late in paying.

"I have been living this battle since March, and American Express promises to make the change, but they don't do it," she says. "It's ridiculous."

Rosa Alfonso, a spokeswoman for Amex, said that the company won't comment on individual accounts but that it makes clear to all corporate cardmembers they are personally responsible for those accounts and making sure their employer pays them on time.