Paying Mortgage and all Bills on credit cards

[Chili]

BTW, just to reiterate: As others have said, most mortgage companies won't allow you to pay with CC..

[CWO]

Your avatar go figure...lol

Not sure what my avatar has to do with anything, but ok.

[jw33]

I use my AMEX Black for almost everything.

[GeorgeG.]

For those that are doing this, are you guys maxing out your cards by doing this and then paying it off each month? I thought it was best practice to keep your monthly charges <50% of your cc limit?

[8mpg]

We put everything but the mortgage on the c/c. I don't believe Chase will let you pay your mortgage with one. If they did, we would. It's pretty simple. Pay it off each month and done. It actually helps control unnecessary spending if you just keep your credit card(s) on you and don't carry cash or your debit card. Cash is easy to blow and debit card makes it easy to frequent the atm and easy for someone to rfid you. It also reduces transactions to keep up with on your bank account. Cleaner, simpler.

There are several good cards out there right now. We used AA Advantage for years until AA started with all their bankruptcy bullshit. I wanted nothing to do with them so I cancelled my AA cards and went with Chase Sapphire. We've been very happy with them. Double points on dining, single on everything else, but they have some decent cardholder perks. Basically, you can use your points whenever you want for whatever you want, including paying down your balance and they have a their own travel site for members.

Im using a Chase Sapphire as well. The ultimate rewards is a good system that is very flexible.

For those that are doing this, are you guys maxing out your cards by doing this and then paying it off each month? I thought it was best practice to keep your monthly charges <50% of your cc limit?

Its best to keep under 10% usage but this is across the board with all your credit cards. Maxing out one card and paying it off isnt a big deal if you have multiple other cards with credit lines you arent doing anything with.

[Binky]

I've been going over it in my head and the only way it would make sense to me was if it was either a 0% card or you paid the balance off every month with no carry over. Obviously the former doesnt exist anymore, so if you are carrying a balance then there is a higher cost for the miles.

My aim would be to have a "free" airline ticket once a year so i can take a vacation. I don't travel, and i am also "cash only" meaning i don't have any credit debt. I have an emergency use CC, but theres no mileage perk on it. I have to work the exact numbers still, but I estimate I could put about 18k a year if i just did bills and no mortgage. Need to find out what an average coach seat would be...seem to remember it being 15k miles. The cash back sounds like another viable option (ie just buy the ticket with it).

Another benefit would be with the payroll timing. I used to (for 20 years actually, damn) be paid on the 1st and 15th and built my auto payments around that schedule. Now i'm every two weeks, those dates can be all over the place. Some weeks thin, others fat. Seems the CC plan would help smooth that out to a single date, but obviously be a larger payout that one time a month.

Don't get me wrong, i'd love to invest and get build a nest egg, but there's nil intrest on my checking and savings so my money isn't working for me at all. If its gotta go out, might as well see if I can get some cheese on the backend...

Anyone have sage advice on pitfalls you've experianced you didn't anticipate/expect?

[talisman]

There are quite a few cards out there that are rewards cards that have an introductory 0% for the first year, sometimes longer. Venture One, Commerce Bank come to mind. AA Advantage has interest and an annual fee, however the fee is waived the first year and you get a $100 credit on the first flight you book with it, which cancels out the second year fee. Work it right and keep on top of it and you can revolve them around each other, and even if you have a balance keep it at 0% while still getting rewards. The AA gives 2 miles per $1 spent, so I use it most out of the several cards I have. In the last year I've really started trying to make my money work more for me, and I already have gotten some big gift cards, and have enough airline miles for a free roundtrip to Europe in the off season.

[ScottJ]

I use my amex blue sky miles card for everything (no annual fee), and pay it off every month (so no interest). I'd put my mort on it, but citi said I can't put that on auto pilot via CC, just via bank draft (which I do).

I get $100 of statement credit on travel related stuff for every $7500 I spend/charge on that amex. That is like free money.

I charge about $60k on my amex last year, I was like whoa when I saw my annual stats, the ~$800 in statement credit was nice.


--Scott

[SMKR]

My brother does this on his Amex.. The same card he uses for all business expenses as well. He just pays it off in full every time he gets his statement.

He earns an ass load of points.. From what he has said it covers nearly all his christmas gifts each year (points can be redeemed for gift cards) and a number of free flights.

Of course he's probably putting $20k a month on it.

That's what my FIL does each month but more around 200k/mos in business expenses

[SMKR]

Does B of A allow payment via cc for mortgages?

[Chili]

Does B of A allow payment via cc for mortgages?

You should be able to find out by looking at your statement.. They usually detail all payment methods available. Or just call them. I am willing to bet they don't. I would imagine that the only places that will allow it are smaller lending institutions like CU's and the like.

[ScottJ]

anyone else have Citi Mortgage, and got turned down to pay with cc?

[Chili]

Most mortgage lenders won't mainly because of the fees assessed. That shit comes right off of their bottom line. The whole not wanting consumers paying back credit with credit is a BS excuse they use.

[94form2000z]

Pay just about everything with it. Have for about 7 years.

Just pay it all or as much as possible off when ya get paid.

[SMKR]

You should be able to find out by looking at your statement.. They usually detail all payment methods available. Or just call them. I am willing to bet they don't. I would imagine that the only places that will allow it are smaller lending institutions like CU's and the like.

Yea that's why I asked, I've scoured the statement and see nothing regarding cc payment option.