Credit Card rewards question

[Candleshoe]

I don't have a CC.. really. I do have a $500 card with zero balance that I never use, for emergencies and as a guarantee for renting cars.

I do have credit accounts but I'm a novice at this.

Is it possible to pay my water, electric, MORTGAGE with a cc, and immediately pay off what I just charged via my debit card and not get charged interest but DO get some sort of reward?

I would love to earn airline miles for the things I'm already spending money on monthly. But I would NOT like to carry any kind of balance.

teach me!

 

[Disneyforever1]

We use the Disney Visa just to build up rewards points to use toward Disney vacation packages we book. Our mortgage company doesn't allow us to use a credit card to pay but we do use it to pay gas, electricity, water, gasoline, groceries, etc. We just pay it off twice a month so there is never an unpleasant surprise at the end of the month. The interest rate on this card is not good, so if you really have to put something on a credit card that you can't pay off the same month, I don't recommend this one.

 

[Candleshoe]

I'd be more interested in a great airline miles one.

Our mortgage company only allows ACH, I didn't think of that.


But you don't pay off immediately? Like:
- log on to water website
- pay water bill of $50 with rewards CC
- log on to Credit Card website
- pay $50 to the account via visa Debit card

Will that not work? Does the CC company not allow you to pay it immediately?


I'm extremely leery of carrying a balance. I really messed up in my college years and that's why I haven't wanted a card since.

 

[pryncess527]

I'd be more interested in a great airline miles one.

Our mortgage company only allows ACH, I didn't think of that.


But you don't pay off immediately? Like:
- log on to water website
- pay water bill of $50 with rewards CC
- log on to Credit Card website
- pay $50 to the account via visa Debit card

Will that not work? Does the CC company not allow you to pay it immediately?

I'm extremely leery of carrying a balance. I really messed up in my college years and that's why I haven't wanted a card since.

This is what I did when I first started playing the credit card reward game. I'd gotten into trouble in the past and did not fully trust myself. Now that I've been doing it awhile, I just wait till the statement is generated and pay the statement balance in full -- all my CC purchases are budgeted so I always know I can pay the bill in full at any given time during the month.

But, before I gained that level of comfort, it was no issue for me to go online and make a payment to my credit card 15 times a month to ensure I was always at 0.

I pay water, cable, phone and electricity with my CC. My mortgage company doesn't permit me to make that payment with a CC. We also put ALL our regular spending on CCs

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

Since I carry zero balance there is no need for me to pay it the same day, so I pay for whatever I would normally use my online banking or cash with my Disney Visa. Then I go into bill payer and schedule a convenient day before the actual payment is due, and pay that off. If it's little amounts, I keep track and then make one payment to pay off card just before the due date comes up.
I earn points and pay no interest.

 

[amcnj]

You don't even have to immediately pay off the amounts you just charged. Just pay the statement amount due in full each month and you will not incur any finance charges, yet still earn any rewards the card offers.

As mentioned previously not all companies allow you to charge amounts you owe them, and some that do may charge an additional fee to pay with a credit card. So look into that before opting to try and pay everything with a credit card. But of course other routine expenses like gasoline and groceries can be charged each month.

In my area the cable and phone company take credit card payments, but other utilities do not. We used to even be able to pay property taxes using the credit card, but a few years back the town started charging an extra fee to do so.

 

[kathie859]

I don't have a CC.. really. I do have a $500 card with zero balance that I never use, for emergencies and as a guarantee for renting cars.

I do have credit accounts but I'm a novice at this.

Is it possible to pay my water, electric, MORTGAGE with a cc, and immediately pay off what I just charged via my debit card and not get charged interest but DO get some sort of reward?

I would love to earn airline miles for the things I'm already spending money on monthly. But I would NOT like to carry any kind of balance.

teach me!

I do this all the time. I run 90% of expenses thru a credit card and pay it off monthly. They never get a penny of interest from me but I get a buttload of points which in my case can be converted to miles, cash or gift cards. I take the cash....

This card has an ungodly high credit limit, but I can remember when the limit was lower so I paid as I charged. Worked fine.

 

[Marionnette]

I'd be more interested in a great airline miles one.

Our mortgage company only allows ACH, I didn't think of that.


But you don't pay off immediately? Like:
- log on to water website
- pay water bill of $50 with rewards CC
- log on to Credit Card website
- pay $50 to the account via visa Debit card

Will that not work? Does the CC company not allow you to pay it immediately?


I'm extremely leery of carrying a balance. I really messed up in my college years and that's why I haven't wanted a card since.

You cannot pay a credit card balance with a debit card. You can add your checking account as an authorized method of payment on the CC's website and make your payments that way. Most credit cards will limit you to the number of payments that you can make per month using this method.

Now, whether you can pay your electric or water bills with a CC is going to depend on the individual company. My electric company makes you go through a 3rd party for CC or ACH payments online. That 3rd party charges a fee for the service. My water company does not accept CC payments at all.

And the best airline rewards card would be one that is branded for an airline that you'll actually use. No sense getting a United Visa if you fly Delta! I prefer my Chase Sapphire Visa because of the flexibility of the rewards. But there's an annual fee and not everyone is willing to pay it.

My recommendation to someone just starting out with CCs is to find one with no annual fee and flexible rewards. Your bank may have one that appeals to you. It helps if there's a substantial bonus for signing up and spending $X in the first 3 months.

 

[Candleshoe]

Since I carry zero balance there is no need for me to pay it the same day, so I pay for whatever I would normally use my online banking or cash with my Disney Visa. Then I go into bill payer and schedule a convenient day before the actual payment is due, and pay that off. If it's little amounts, I keep track and then make one payment to pay off card just before the due date comes up.
I earn points and pay no interest.

I would just be afraid of losing track, and then not having that money earmarked. i could transfer it from one account to another, but if I paid it right then and there then at the end of the month I wouldn't be short and have to dig into savings.

as long as there's no problem paying multiple times a month.

 

[Candleshoe]

You cannot pay a credit card balance with a debit card. You can add your checking account as an authorized method of payment on the CC's website and make your payments that way. Most credit cards will limit you to the number of payments that you can make per month using this method.

It's a visa debit card and works exactly like VISA. Do most cc's not allow you to pay with another cc?

 

[pryncess527]

It's a visa debit card and works exactly like VISA. Do most cc's not allow you to pay with another cc?

No, none of mine do. Or, if they do, it would incur fees. But paying them through either their website or my bank website directly from checking is easy enough.

Heck, they'll even send electronic bills to my bank and I can ask my bank to just always pay the balance in full before the due date and it gets done automatically. My paranoia hasn't let me go that far yet, I still need control,

 

[Candleshoe]

Now, whether you can pay your electric or water bills with a CC is going to depend on the individual company. My electric company makes you go through a 3rd party for CC or ACH payments online. That 3rd party charges a fee for the service. My water company does not accept CC payments at all.

And the best airline rewards card would be one that is branded for an airline that you'll actually use. No sense getting a United Visa if you fly Delta! I prefer my Chase Sapphire Visa because of the flexibility of the rewards. But there's an annual fee and not everyone is willing to pay it.

My recommendation to someone just starting out with CCs is to find one with no annual fee and flexible rewards. Your bank may have one that appeals to you. It helps if there's a substantial bonus for signing up and spending $X in the first 3 months.

I already pay all my bills with my Visa -- except my mortgage darnit.

I don't want an annual fee. Do you have a suggestion for a good non-annual fee card? I suppose if i were to work at it I could try the Chase Sapphire for a year and if it didn't work out, I could close it before they started charging me an annual fee. Do the points work on SWA or Jetblue? Those are the two I fly most. We took Aer Lingus this last summer to Ireland. We are in the daydreaming stages of either France or England so being able to get airfare on an airline that flew overseas would be great, too.

 

[Candleshoe]

No, none of mine do. Or, if they do, it would incur fees. But paying them through either their website or my bank website directly from checking is easy enough.

Heck, they'll even send electronic bills to my bank and I can ask my bank to just always pay the balance in full before the due date and it gets done automatically. My paranoia hasn't let me go that far yet, I still need control,

ACK!! This my not work for me then! I need control, too!!!

My credit union allows me to have as many accounts as I want though, so I could set one up for 'CC payments' and then transfer the amounts there as I spend them from the CC, then use ACH to pay from that account 2x a month.

 

[Candleshoe]

I want airline miles!! LOL. I'm such a travel bug.

I notice the Chase Sapphire says 2x on travel or restaurants. And travel listed things like parking.

I use a toll road daily on my commute and it's about $60/month. I pay my toll charges with VISA. I wonder if those would count as Travel. Anyone with experience here?

And restaurants: does fast food count?

THANKS!!

 

[Candleshoe]

sorry for all the posts, I'm excited

Does anyone know what this means:
You can redeem your miles as a statement credit against any travel expense – gas, airfare, baggage fees, hotel stays, you name it


I don't understand "as a statement credit", or how that works.

 

[supersnoop]

sorry for all the posts, I'm excited

Does anyone know what this means:
You can redeem your miles as a statement credit against any travel expense – gas, airfare, baggage fees, hotel stays, you name it


I don't understand "as a statement credit", or how that works.

That means you buy you airline tickets (or other travel expenses) with your card, and then tell the credit card company to use your points to "pay" for it.

 

[Candleshoe]

Ahhh! That makes sense. Do you have to send them anything or just 'tell them'?

 

[Psychodisney]

One thing to consider is the annual fee of the rewards card. If you are only charging a small amount per month, your rewards might be negated by the annual fee.

That being said, we use rewards credit cards for everything we can , and pay them off monthly. Our primary card is Capital One Venture because we get 2% back on all purchases and can use it for any travel expense( air, rental car, hotel). It does have an annual fee.

 

[Psychodisney]

Ahhh! That makes sense. Do you have to send them anything or just 'tell them'?

You log on to your account and select the expenses to be covered. Very easy with Capital one....probably with Chase too.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I already pay all my bills with my Visa -- except my mortgage darnit.

I don't want an annual fee. Do you have a suggestion for a good non-annual fee card? I suppose if i were to work at it I could try the Chase Sapphire for a year and if it didn't work out, I could close it before they started charging me an annual fee. Do the points work on SWA or Jetblue? Those are the two I fly most. We took Aer Lingus this last summer to Ireland. We are in the daydreaming stages of either France or England so being able to get airfare on an airline that flew overseas would be great, too.

If you are looking to get airline miles to go to Europe, southwest and JetBlue are probably not the best cards/airline miles to look into.

British Airways Visa sign up bonus gives you enough Avios for two roundtrip tickets to Ireland from Boston (through Are Lingus so you don't get the huge fees) but I see you are in Texas so I don't know if that helps you. There's lots of information out there on using miles for flights so you should be able to find something that works for what you are looking for.