A charge card requires the balance to be paid in full rather than revolving month to month.
Like a credit card, a charge card lets its holder buy goods or services using an account provided by an issuer. The key traditional distinction is repayment: a charge-card balance is generally due in full at the end of the billing period, while a conventional credit card permits revolving a balance subject to interest and a credit limit.
American Express is strongly associated with charge cards, although the company and other issuers also offer ordinary credit cards. Some modern products marketed as charge cards may allow limited installment features, so the precise agreement controls the repayment terms.
Charge cards can still have annual fees, late-payment consequences, and spending controls. They are not the same as debit cards, which draw money from a deposit account, or prepaid cards, which spend money loaded in advance.