Bill Pay with Credit Cards

[calmloki]

Everything possible on CC autopay, and the CC bill auto pulled from our checking account. We track every expenditure through Quicken and are always checking our bank accounts, so we catch any hiccups very - often too - quickly. A few places won't do auto card pulls, but do accept cards, so I visit them if I must or call in CC payments. Normally pay those in multi-month installments - six months of $600+/month apartment water bills is a handy way of knocking out a new CC bonus spending requirement.

 

[whatnot]

Pay all recurring bills that do NOT charge a fee on CC for airline points. The recurring are on auto pay. Pay credit card in full every month. Pay all medical bills, house & car insurance on CC but have to do this via their website 2x a year. Started putting groceries on CC also, unless I need cash back and then use debit card.
If there is a fee (property tax) then I write a check.
I have used miles to upgrade to 1st class, buy 2 tickets to Europe, and various other flights within US.

 

[GTFan]

Credit Cards, what's a Credit Card?

A means to an end to get thousands of dollars of free travel. Paying all your bills with them is a perfect example.

 

[Sunset]

I use my CC daily and rarely use cash, hardly ever take cash out of the bank.
I pay bills that do not charge a fee with my CC, otherwise pay online via bank account.

Currently working on spending 4K in 3 months to get 50,000 Chase points (worth $500 minimum).

 

[GrayHare]

I'm uncomfortable putting all on CC. It's similar to what some say about FB, "If you're not paying for it, you're the product."

 

[COcheesehead]

I'm uncomfortable putting all on CC. It's similar to what some say about FB, "If you're not paying for it, you're the product."

The merchant is the one carrying the cost of the transaction. They will usually pass some of the cost onto the consumer in the price of the product. So you are paying for use of the card whether you use it or not.

 

[GrayHare]

The merchant is the one carrying the cost of the transaction. They will usually pass some of the cost onto the consumer in the price of the product. So you are paying for use of the card whether you use it or not.

Very true. If the price remains reasonable I can choose to pay via other means rather than also be the product.

 

[swakyaby]

Same here, and after our CC had been compromised and replaced a couple of times some years back I moved all our automatic payments to a single rewards card which never leaves the house and is never used for anything other than the automatic payments.

I learned this from the fine folk here, and thought it was a really good idea. It only takes one compromised credit card experience to appreciate how time-consuming it is to contact all the merchants. I do use rewards credit cards for as many purchases as I can do without fees. I put the CC on autopay for the full amount. My FICO score has never been higher since I started doing that.

 

[Dash man]

I pat most things by credit card and typically enjoy a free cruise each year because of it. I pay my cc bills as soon as they show up on my accounts that I check daily. That helps me spot potentially fraudulent activity too, but drives DW crazy because she can't get any purchase by me, not that I care.


Enjoying life!

 

[mickeyd]

Like others have mentioned, we pay all bills via CC for ease and to acquire cash back credits. We have been doing this for well over 10 years. Our local utilities and water will not accept CC so they deduct the cost directly from our checking account. I can not recall that last check that I have written.


Any money that we receive or pay out goes through our checking account so we have an easy paper trial to account for all ins and outs. I wish all of life's issues were this easy to deal with.

 

[Rustic23]

We have two credit cards. One is used for bills. Almost all on auto-pay. The other we charge just about all other purchaser, except restaurants that would take the card out of my view to ring up the charge. I have a prepaid card I use for gas and those times. Everything gets paid in full each month.

We do this because I got tired of replacing cards when they were cloned, most of the time at gas stations.

 

[harley]

Very true. If the price remains reasonable I can choose to pay via other means rather than also be the product.

I think you miss the point. Unless the merchant offers a cash discount you are already paying the price of using the CC. By using one (and paying it off every month so as to never pay interest or penalties) you get the benefit of the cash back or miles or whatever. By not using a CC you are definitely part of the product. Not to say there's never a reason not to use a CC. Staying under the radar with cash has it's advantages.

 

[Katsmeow]

I use my Amex Blue Cash Preferred to pay every bill that I can. The exception is if they charge a fee to use a credit card that would be larger than the cash back I would get from using the credit card. I pay the Amex card in full each month so no issue with debt.

 

[EastWest Gal]

My son's college accepts credit cards for tuition etc without an extra fee, too.

Anything that can be paid with the card without extra fees goes on the card.



So it's like a 2% pay raise without the taxes.

I tried to pay my son's tuition with the cc after his 529 ran out but the hefty fee stopped me.

We pay most bills by credit card or online banking. I pay the credit card off completely (bring balance to zero) 2 days before the due date. I have two major cards, one cash back and one airline miles. Putting our health insurance premiums on the credit card means lots of miles/cash back.

Also, paying everything by credit card helps with budgeting as I can categorize the statements each month.

I've had to replace cards several times over my lifetime due to fraudulent charges and twice my wallet was stolen. Never lost money. It's much safer to use a credit card than direct withdrawal. You're liability is only $50 if that.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forumle
Wm

 

[kitesurfer2]

i pay everything on a chase card. it auto pays out of my checking account. i draw $200 out of the ATM ever 3 or 4 months as i rarely use cash. i have 9 $100 bills in my sock drawer now

 

[scrabbler1]

My monthly bills either don't allow CC usage to pay them, charge a fee to use them, or are bills I set up many years ago to pay using ACH or online billpay through my local bank's checking account. At least I am not writing any monthly checks any more, only some semi-annual or less frequent bills via check.


My former health insurer, BCBS, allowed me to use my CC to pay the monthly premium without a fee, so I used it and earned the 1% cashback on my CC which was kinda nice. My current health insurer, OSCAR, doesn't have that option, only debit card or ACH, the latter of which I use.


The only automated CC payment I use is a small, annual charge with my backup CC, just often enough to keep the card open without forgoing any meaningful cashback benefit.


I don't generally seek out ways to use my CC more, as I don't want to have my CC info "out there" more than needed. I use all the electronic tools available (except for debit card) to pay my monthly bills, whichever works best and provides me with desired comfort and security.

 

[cantlogin]

I use a credit card for every expenditure possible in order to capture the cash back rewards.
For expenses that need to be paid by check, I use the Discover Checking account online.
That allows me to avoid postage and envelope costs AND they actually pay me $0.10 per check.

I've wondered if I could get away with paying all my bills in one cent increments.

 

[mickeyd]

I recently learned that our church now accepts CCs for anything, even raffle tickets!

 

[Sunset]

Everyone should do what they are comfortable with, but understand sometimes things really are better once you learn or understand it more.

I don't worry about being the product, which I think GreyHare means is the tracking of your spending by the CC company and they sell that tracked info.

• I use multiple CC so each gets only part of the elephant picture.
• Most nearly all the stuff I buy is what everybody else buys, so no news there.
• If I ever wanted to buy a nuclear bomb or other weird thing, I can still use cash, and my CC usage would make me look normal as a benefit.
• You are part of the product even if you don't use a CC, all those cameras everywhere use or soon use facial recognition so they know you are in a Victoria Secret store anyhow.

Other folks have said they don't want the CC info out there, but when you pay online via the bank, or by a check you are giving out your bank information. Personally I'd rather give out CC info where I'm limited by law to a $50 loss, than write a check giving total access to my checking account to whoever looks at the check even years later.

 

[GTFan]

Yeah it's always funny to hear 'I only pay by cash or check' when you actually have much less protection doing it that way. You can lose cash (or have it stolen) and if anyone does draft your checking account or uses a stolen debit card or ATM credentials it's a much bigger hassle to get the money back.

Not to mention all the extra benefits you get with a lot of CCs, such as extended warranty, price protection, travel insurance, rental car collision waivers, foreign currency transactions, etc. Using a CC is a no-brainer, I only pay a few bills every month because everything is charged to cards.

This is how you win against the banks, doing it otherwise you are being taken because you're paying the costs for everyone else.

 

[pb4uski]

I just hate to get the credit card bills at the end of the month and having to pay for something that is already gone, like groceries. So, my fix is to charge the groceries to get the 3% cash back (AMEX), then go home and pay that credit card bill immediately through my bank on line bill pay. I just do this for any purchase in the $50 plus range. I like the 5% cash back on gas also but don't buy that much gas to really make it worth while.

Yesterday, I had to get new batteries for my golf cart. Used my 1% cash back card, went home and did a bank bill pay for $811. Got my $8 cash back which reduced the price of the batteries. Just my way of dealing with credit card debt.

Johnnie, why not just put your credit card on auto-pay? On the due date the credit card company draws the balance due from your bank account. You can turn it off if your circumstances change and it would save you that second step of ordering a check.

I keep things simple and just have a single 2% cash back card on everything that I charge.

 

[pb4uski]

Yeah it's always funny to hear 'I only pay by cash or check' when you actually have much less protection doing it that way. You can lose cash (or have it stolen) and if anyone does draft your checking account or uses a stolen debit card or ATM credentials it's a much bigger hassle to get the money back.

Not to mention all the extra benefits you get with a lot of CCs, such as extended warranty, price protection, travel insurance, rental car collision waivers, foreign currency transactions, etc. Using a CC is a no-brainer, I only pay a few bills every month because everything is charged to cards.

This is how you win against the banks, doing it otherwise you are being taken because you're paying the costs for everyone else.

+1 I received a check for over $600 from my credit card company a couple years ago after our refrigerator broke and required some expensive repairs shortly after the manufacturer's warranty period had expired but still within the extended warranty period offered by my credit card company since I put the purchase on my credit card. SWEET!

 

[FIREd]

The only bills I pay with my credit card are my internet and cell phone bills. The other vendors / service providers tack on fees for paying with a credit card.

 

[Sunset]

I paid all our insurance (house, cars, etc) with the CC, there was no fee.
I've been doing it for years, but each time it's a new agency, I just say I'd like to pay by CC how much is it ?
If they don't say a fee, or higher price, then there is none as I pay exactly what a check would be.

 

[Helena]

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I pay most of my purchases and household bills via a cc that gives cash back. Otherwise I am leaving money on the table. I pay the cc off every month so there is never interest fees or annual fee. I can pay my cc bill either on line or over the phone.

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