Plan It™ Installment Program FAQs
For full terms and conditions of the American Express Plan It™ Installment Program, please refer to your American Express Installment Program section in your Cardmember Agreement or the Plan ItTM Terms and Conditions for more details.
Creating an Installment Plan
Plan It™ is a feature available on certain American Express credit cards that provides Cardmembers with the ease and flexibility of deferring their recent purchase(s) or a portion of their current billing statement into fixed monthly installments.
Credit Card Cardmembers in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and Prince Edward Island are not eligible to set up installment plans.
If you are eligible, you can log in to your online services account and click on “Create a Plan” from your home page or the statement tab in your mobile app. From there, follow the instructions provided.
Plan It is an embedded feature for eligible Cardmembers. There is no program enrollment required. Please see “How do I create a new installment plan?” for more information on how to create a plan.
You may create an installment plan for an eligible balance from the day it first posts to your account, up to but not including the payment due date to which that balance relates.
When you create an installment plan, you will be charged a fee instead of interest. The monthly fee will be displayed when making your selections to create a new plan. For details on how your monthly fee is calculated, please see your Cardmember Agreement – “Monthly installment amount and monthly installment fee” section.
This is not a promotional or special rate offer, unless specifically stated otherwise. The fee charged is comparable to the interest you would have paid if you carried this balance on your account, without the installment program.
Installment plan balances that are not yet paid will reduce your available credit. As you pay off your monthly installments, the amount paid off is added back to your available credit limit. To see your available credit, view your latest monthly billing statement or visit your online services account.
No, there is no credit check performed for creating an installment plan.
The minimum amount for any new installment plan is $100. To see how much you can move into the installment program at any given time, log on to your online services account.
Please note funds advances and special rates balances will not be eligible, unless a specific offer is presented to you. We may also limit your ability to move balances to the installment program based on your account’s available credit or for any other reason.
Yes. You can create new installment plans provided you have balances that are eligible for the installment program.
You will be given a choice when creating a new installment plan. Durations may include 3, 6 or 12 months.
Only Basic Credit Card Cardmembers can create installment plans. However, eligible balances from Supplementary Card transactions can be included in installment plan(s).
Yes. Foreign currency purchases are billed to your account in Canadian dollars and are subject to the same eligibility for plan creation as the rest of your balance. Plans are created based on eligible balances owing on your account.
If you are looking to enroll an amount corresponding to a specific purchase into an installment plan, you can access the journey through your Online Services account or Mobile app and select the purchase you would like to plan, or click here to start your Create a Plan journey.
If you are looking to enroll a portion of your account balance into an installment plan, you can access the journey through the Borrowing Centre and Payments Page within your Online Services account or Mobile app, or click here to start your Create a Plan journey.
Please note, these journeys will only be accessible if you are within an eligible planning window. Review question “Can I create an installment plan at any time?” for further explanation of when you may be eligible to use Plan It.
Paying Off Installments
Interest is not charged on balances moved into an installment plan, from the first day the plan is created, and for as long as the balance remains in an installment plan. Otherwise, interest will apply in accordance with your Cardmember Agreement, subject to any grace period that may apply. For full details, please see your Cardmember Agreement - “Effect of Installment plans on grace period”.
When creating an installment plan for new balances that appear on your most recent statement we include the monthly fee as part of the monthly installment amount you are required to pay each month. The fee will continue to be charged each month until your installment plan's principal balance is paid off or removed from the installment program.
However, when creating an installment plan for balances that have not yet appeared on a billing statement, the first month’s installment amount due will be applied in full towards the principal. In the second month, you will be required to pay the fee for both months 1 and 2 and the amount of the principal will be reduced to keep the installment payments the same.
Your monthly installment amount will be a part of the Minimum Payment due on your billing statement. The first installment will appear on the first statement after you create a plan. Your minimum amount due must be paid in order to keep your account in good standing. Installments will be billed each month for as long as you continue to have a balance in the installment program.
Your direct debit arrangement is not affected. If your direct debit is set up to pay the account’s minimum monthly payment, this will include any monthly installment amount. If your direct debit is set up to pay the full closing balance each month, it will be adjusted to reflect your latest outstanding balance, which will not include any installment balances that are not yet due.
Changing or Cancelling Installment Plans
Once set up, terms applicable to the installment plan cannot be changed. If you no longer wish to continue with the selected terms, you can cancel your installment plan(s) through your online services account.
Yes, you can cancel your installment plan(s) at any time through your online services account or by calling the number on the back of your Card. When you cancel an installment plan, the remaining amount of your principal balance will be added back to your regular Card balance where interest will be charged, subject to any applicable grace period. Please see your Cardmember Agreement - “Cancellation and Removal of Installment Plans” section.
If we don’t receive at least the minimum payment amount by the date of your next billing statement, your installment plans will be automatically cancelled. The remaining principal balance will then be added back to your regular Card balance where interest will be charged, subject to any applicable grace period. Please see your Cardmember Agreement - “Cancellation and Removal of Installment Plans” section.
Extra payments will not be applied to any installment balances that are not yet due. If you pay more than the balance on your statement, in a given month, it may result in a credit balance on your account.
Since credits from returned purchases will be applied to your regular Card balance, there is no impact to the installment plans you have already created. Plans are created based on balances owing on your account. Credits or disputed balances will not result in all or even a portion of the program being paid off or cancelled, nor will it stop any installment fees from being billed. If you have no other charges against which the amount could be applied, your account could end up with a credit balance. If you have a credit balance at the same time deferred amounts are still on your account and you would like to apply the credit balance against such deferred amounts, you will have cancel your installment plan(s). A payment of at least the minimum amount due will be required in order to keep your account current and in good standing.