Play & Pay At Your Own Pace With American Express’ Plan It® Instalments

Between gifting for the entire extended family and that fifth consecutive dinner out, once again, silly season got the better of us. And now, you’re anxiously doing the calculus on your finances post Valentine’s Day.

Thankfully, the answer is actually quite simple. Especially when you leverage tools like American Express’ Plan It® Instalments, which is available to Amex Credit Card Members, and allows you to pay off eligible purchases/a portion of their balance over $100 in equal monthly instalments with no interest (A fixed monthly fee and T&Cs apply) ¹.

Here are three ways you can get on top of things in 2025:

Budget Before Anything

As painful as it may be to face your finances, there’s no way you’ll be able to master your spending without understanding how much money is coming in, how much money is going out, and where these funds should be allocated accordingly. The art of budgeting is often overlooked, but can come in clutch when you need it most. 

The challenge lies in discipline, accountability, and in certain cases, creativity. What can you live without? What can’t you live without? Are there viable alternatives?

You don’t need to become a miser but as with most aspects of life, you need to move with intention if you have any desire to succeed.

The Art of Delayed Gratification

Now that you’ve determined the rules of engagement, it’s time to determine the “what” — as in “what” are you saving for?

Perhaps there’s a big-ticket item that’s been on your wish list forever. Perhaps you’ve been dreaming about turning the out-of-office autoreply on and absconding to the south of France for six weeks. Or perhaps you’re just looking to improve your financial health in the new year.

Whatever the case, resisting the urge to buy immediately is the two-fold strategy forward: not only will forcing yourself to pause for a minimum of 48 hours filter out all those impulse purchases, but also make those major milestone spends far more rewarding once you’ve properly earned it.

Anticipation, after all, is all part of the experience.

Think It, Buy It, Plan It®

You could always audit the numbers, establish a budget, track where every dollar is going, and even rein in the lifestyle inflation despite closing in on that long-promised promotion. But if you’re looking for a solution to enable you to spread the cost of purchases over time, much like Julius Caesar during the Gallic War, you can divide and conquer with American Express’ Plan It® Instalments.

As alluded to earlier, this feature, available to Amex Credit Card Members, allows you to pay off both individual purchases ($100 or more) — e.g. the aforementioned blow-out dinners — or a portion of your total balance in equal monthly instalments. There’s no interest, just a fixed monthly fee.¹

What’s the benefit?

First and foremost, you have control over your purchases after the point of purchase. By spreading the costs across a 3, 6 or 12 month plan¹, you have oversight on your financial plan.¹ The other major tick in the pros column — particularly for both Consumer and Business Card Members — is that Plan It® Instalments is an excellent way to manage cash flow while paying off those heftier expenses, like equipment upgrades and so forth.

How does it work?

1. Log into your online American Express Account via Web or App.
2. Select either the $100-or-more purchase you want to pay off in instalments or a $100-or-more portion of your balance you want to pay in instalments 
3. Opt for a 3, 6 or 12 month plan depending on your ability to pay it off.
4. Review the details and confirm your repayments
5. Your Plan It Instalments will be included in your Minimum Payment Due each month.

To find out more — and to check out the Plan It Calculator for a better sense of what payments you’d be making — check out the link below.

This article was produced in partnership with American Express. Thanks for supporting the brands which support Boss Hunting.

This is not financial advice and the information provided in this article has been prepared in a general sense without taking your objectives, personal situation, or needs into account. Speak to a licensed financial professional for advice specific to your circumstances.

¹ Plan It Terms & Conditions

• You can create an Instalment Plan as long as your account is in good standing. We may withdraw this offer, prevent you from creating any new Instalment Plans or cancel any of your existing Instalment Plan(s) at any time if your Card Account is overdue, or if you do not comply with your Card Conditions.
• The minimum Plan amount is AU$100. We may also limit the amount that can be transferred to an Instalment Plan.
• You will be charged a Monthly Plan Fee for each Instalment Plan created. This fee will be charged each month your Instalment Plan is active and will be disclosed to you at the time of creating your Instalment Plan.
• Each Instalment Plan will begin from the date it is successfully created, as communicated to you in your Online Account.
  Payment of your first Monthly Instalment will be due in your next payment cycle.
• You may request to cancel your Instalment Plan(s) at any time through your Online Account or the Amex App. Any billed Monthly Plan Fees will remain payable, but no further Monthly Plan Fees will be billed after cancellation is effective. As cancellation can take 24-48 hours to process (“Processing Time”), you may be charged a further monthly plan fee after requesting cancellation if the Processing Time occurs on your payment date.

View the full Plan It® Instalment Terms and Conditions here.

American Express Consumer Credit Cards are offered, issued and administered by American Express Australia Limited ABN 92 108 952 085, Australian Credit License No. 291313.