Do you Autopay your Monthly Bills?

[audreyh1]

Fidelity has eBills?!?!? I had no idea.

They are supposed to. I’ve never gotten my Amazon Synchrony ebill to get set up, even though I’ve tried several times.

 

[jazz4cash]

I’ve never used billpay at Fidelity so I did a quick search. The billpay feature looks pretty good but I’m too lazy to try it just to see.

 

[teej1985]

I’ve never used billpay at Fidelity so I did a quick search. The billpay feature looks pretty good but I’m too lazy to try it just to see.

I use it to pay my rent. Fidelity mails a check out and doesn't deduct it from my balance until the landlord cashes my check. Pretty sweet.

 

[PERSonalTime]

That’s why people avoid pulls, but you can still automate via push.

Push, pull?

 

[Mark1]

They are supposed to. I’ve never gotten my Amazon Synchrony ebill to get set up, even though I’ve tried several times.

It must be a "Synchrony" thing, as I have tried several times now to get my Lowes Synchrony CC setup and it never takes. I now just ignore the "EBill Elgible" prompt, and key in the amount manually each month.

 

[audreyh1]

Push, pull?

A pull is when you give a company your bank info so they can directly debit your account.

A push is when you send the company a payment via bank billpay.

 

[dknighd]

I like the concept. But am leery of the execution.


I'm taking baby steps

 

[big-papa]

A pull is when you give a company your bank info so they can directly debit your account.

A push is when you send the company a payment via bank billpay.

Yep. I know a lot of people who really don't like pull since you have to give out your account info.

And, indeed, I do recall back in the 80's when things were significantly less automated and mistakes were made like the pull not happening and the resulting late notice or the double-pull in a single month.

Haven't seen anything like that, though in a couple of decades. Thank goodness.

Cheers
Big-Papa

 

[Gumby]

I have the vast majority of my bills paid from one credit card. I autopay that card by pull from my bank account.

 

[audreyh1]

Yep. I know a lot of people who really don't like pull since you have to give out your account info.

And, indeed, I do recall back in the 80's when things were significantly less automated and mistakes were made like the pull not happening and the resulting late notice or the double-pull in a single month.

Haven't seen anything like that, though in a couple of decades. Thank goodness.

Cheers
Big-Papa

Just a few years ago the county had a snafu where property taxes were pulled multiple times for folks who paid by echeck, where you gave your bank account credentials and they drafted your account. It was the provider who screwed up, and this was a company that provides such services to many counties across the country, not some newbie. It eventually got ironed out but very messy for those paying.

You still read about the occasional multiple pull.

So I remain leery.

 

[braumeister]

I am losing the luxury of using a credit card, as all the local utilities have changed their model to only accept autopay from a bank account. It's understandable that they want to avoid those fees as much as I want to get the card rebate.

 

[big-papa]

Just a few years ago the county had a snafu where property taxes were pulled multiple times for folks who paid by echeck, where you gave your bank account credentials and they drafted your account. It was the provider who screwed up, and this was a company that provides such services to many counties across the country, not some newbie. It eventually got ironed out but very messy for those paying.

You still read about the occasional multiple pull.

So I remain leery.

I could see that. I tend to avoid "one-time" pulls like the one you describe.

Back in the day, I recall health club memberships being the worst about doing multiple pulls...

Otherwise I have a mix. Smallish things like utilities are all set up for pull. I push the mortgage mainly because of the magnitude of it. I'll never allow a pull for a credit card bill.

If there's no extra fee involved, I try and use a credit card for whatever I can to get the cash-back...

Cheers.
Big-Papa.

 

[audreyh1]

I am losing the luxury of using a credit card, as all the local utilities have changed their model to only accept autopay from a bank account. It's understandable that they want to avoid those fees as much as I want to get the card rebate.

Yeah, water and gas have always refused CC. Also monthly HOA. The bank mails monthly paper checks to water and HOA. I put gas on monthly billing so it wouldn’t vary, although they seem to update the amount every 6 months - at least I get a monthly email. Fortunately electric and internet take CC. Cellphone I had to switch from CC to bank pull, but I just opened an interest paying T-Mobile Money account to cover only that.

 

[Gumby]

I have the vast majority of my bills paid from one credit card. I autopay that card by pull from my bank account.

I guess I should add that while I have the card set on autopay, I don't actually autopay. Instead, I review the statement as soon as I get it (online) and then manually authorize the payment. If for some reason I were traveling and unable to do this, it will autopay when the set day arrives.

 

[jazz4cash]

If there's no extra fee involved, I try and use a credit card for whatever I can to get the cash-back...

Cheers.
Big-Papa.

I pay flat fees for using CC to pay gas, electric and water. The fee is less than the cashback so I am still benefiting. About once or twice a year I get a low utility bill so I pay two months so the fee is effectively cut in half. I even thought about paying quarterly.
My property tax and life insurance are the only ones that I don’t pay with CC. The county uses a 3rd party (Governance?) that charges too much to use CC. I would prefer to push this payment but I haven’t tried and I do like getting an instant payment confirmation. If it gets bungled its their fault.

 

[RetireAge50]

If my wife and I drove off a cliff into a deep ocean everything would continue to get paid automatically except insurance and taxes. Even our income is automatic. Credit cards paid automatic. Most paid via Venmo credit card for 3% back. Others bank draft.

We go on some extended trips of couple of months so it is nice to not think about whether or not the bills are stacking up.

 

[Chuckanut]

My primary way to pay my bills is using Capital One’s ENO virtual card for each vendor. It’s very secure since the virtual number can only be used at one vendor so if it gets stolen, it’s not a big deal. I also get 1.5% cash back which I spend on pizza and beer every 4 to 6 months. They don’t call me Diamond Chuckanut for nothing.

Then I pay the CC bill using Bill Pay from my account at Too Big to Fail Bank.

If I have to let them directly tap into my checking account (Thank you T-Mobile for that wonderful experience) I use an account at a credit union in which I only keep a few hundred dollars at a time. No way I am letting any outfit tap directly into my account at TBTF Bank.

 

[Tracer]

I've been using auto-pay ever since it was a thing. Never really had any problems with it. I have all bills charged to my CC from anyone that will accept CC payments without a convenience fee to avail the 2.25% cashback on the card. The CC payment itself is on auto-pay. I don't use any billpay service. I deal with my bills maybe an hour per month at the most by making sure there's enough in the account to cover everything. The rest of the month my bill paying is on auto pilot.

Besides my CC bill, currently only 3 bills are on auto-pay from my checking account.. My condo maintenance (doesn't accept CC). Florida Power and Light (they charge a convenience fee) and T-Mobile who recently eliminated the $5 discount for auto-pay if you pay with a CC so I switched that to direct debit from checking to keep the discount.

 

[teej1985]

I've been using auto-pay ever since it was a thing. Never really had any problems with it. I have all bills charged to my CC from anyone that will accept CC payments without a convenience fee to avail the 2.25% cashback on the card. The CC payment itself is on auto-pay. I don't use any billpay service. I deal with my bills maybe an hour per month at the most by making sure there's enough in the account to cover everything. The rest of the month my bill paying is on auto pilot.

Besides my CC bill, currently only 3 bills are on auto-pay from my checking account.. My condo maintenance (doesn't accept CC). Florida Power and Light (they charge a convenience fee) and T-Mobile who recently eliminated the $5 discount for auto-pay if you pay with a CC so I switched that to direct debit from checking to keep the discount.

Which card is 2.25% ?

 

[FlaMariner]

Our auto pay plan

1. Pay most everything we can on our BofA Premium Rewards if the fee is less than 2.63%. Why? Because the credit card pays us 2.63% (restaurants and travel earn 3.5% BTW)
2. Pay Verizon bill on Verizon Credit Card. Why? Because the card pays 2% for paying Verizon (& 4% for gas and groceries)
3. Pay everything else (and credit card) with BofA Billpay unless there is a discount for auto draft...Also, sign up for e-bills with bill pay to get reminders and e-statements w/billpay. (Able to keep up with Her Majesty's Talbot's bill that way)

(Property tax and IRS income tax are now being payed with the credit card as we "make money" paying those bills)

The system is somewhat flawless and instead of the old days where it costs me to buy stamps and I loose a few days float, I'm now making a few $$$ and keeping my money a few days longer.

 

[audreyh1]

Our county charges 2.5% for a credit card “convenience fee” on property taxes. The best cash rewards card I have against that category is 2%.

Calculated out - net it would be ~$20 fee plus 30+ day float to pay by CC. I’ll have to think about it.

 

[rk911]

If my wife and I drove off a cliff into a deep ocean everything would continue to get paid automatically except insurance and taxes. Even our income is automatic. Credit cards paid automatic. Most paid via Venmo credit card for 3% back. Others bank draft.

We go on some extended trips of couple of months so it is nice to not think about whether or not the bills are stacking up.

Same here except we do auto ACH debit...vendor pulls from our bank account. All income is on auto deposits as well. And we have the same exceptions...taxes and insurance lplus our lawn maintenance, snow removal and mosquito control. Those are usually paid online. I get e-mail and text alerts on all deposits and all bills come via email. We started doing this as soon as it became available because we always vacationed in our motor home.

 

[Tracer]

Which card is 2.25% ?

Fidelity Signature Visa. One of my accounts at Fidelity is managed which comes with some enhanced benefits. Their card is normally 2% cashback. One of the benefits is they give you extra cashback on their Visa card up to 3% depending on the amount managed.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I don't see why you would lose the discount, though I suppose it's possible. As far as I can remember, the Auto Pay by bank or Credit Card is set up on the same exact billing page. They've been eating the fees ever since I first used them in 2010ish. I haven't lived in a state with an auto pay discount (or maybe I am just oblivious to there being one!)

I'm glad you mentioned USAA. I finally called and confirmed that I won't lose the discount or incur any additional fees. My autopay was initially set up in 2001 and I'm certain that they required ACH to not pay more at that time (I charge everything I can on rewards cards). Never occurred to me to ask if they changed the policy before this thread.

 

[mystang52]

I pay flat fees for using CC to pay gas, electric and water. The fee is less than the cashback so I am still benefiting. About once or twice a year I get a low utility bill so I pay two months so the fee is effectively cut in half. I even thought about paying quarterly.
My property tax and life insurance are the only ones that I don’t pay with CC. The county uses a 3rd party (Governance?) that charges too much to use CC. I would prefer to push this payment but I haven’t tried and I do like getting an instant payment confirmation. If it gets bungled its their fault.

Our county charges 2.5% for a credit card “convenience fee” on property taxes. The best cash rewards card I have against that category is 2%.

Calculated out - net it would be ~$20 fee plus 30+ day float to pay by CC. I’ll have to think about it.

I get 2 property tax bills each year - an estimated one for the August payment, and then final bill for the tax year, with 3 scheduled payment dates. I pay these via my bank's Bill Pay. My property tax bill offers a feature to "pay by eCheck" but likewise charges a convenience fee.
Using my Bill Pay, I just enter my account # in the Memo Field; no convenience fee, I schedule those 3 payments. I get all the convenience without the convenience fee.