Title:
Can I Pay My
Mortgage With A Credit Card?
Word Count:
330
Summary:
Yes you can.
There are two ways to make a mortgage payment with your credit card.
The first way is to use the convenience checks that credit card companies send
out every so often. These checks work like those you would write from a
checking account, but they draw against your credit rather than available bank
funds. You can write, sign and mail these off to mortgage companies.
The second way is to use an online billpay feature (such as the type available
at MBNA). This...
Keywords:
personal finance,
credit card, home mortgage
Article Body:
Yes you can.
There are two ways to make a mortgage payment with your credit card.
The first way is to use the convenience checks that credit card companies send
out every so often. These checks work like those you would write from a
checking account, but they draw against your credit rather than available bank
funds. You can write, sign and mail these off to mortgage companies.
The second way is to use an online billpay feature (such as the type available
at MBNA). This allows you to pay a certain amount to the specified company. The
amount will be drawn out of your available credit and paid to the mortgage
company similar to a check.
The downside to these two methods?
You won’t receive any cashback, miles, points or other credit card rewards for
these transactions; which is the main reason for paying with a credit card
anyway.
So, is there a way to pay with a credit card and still get the bonuses?
Yes there is. Well, there was.
There was a time when you could purchase Charter One gift cards using your
credit card. These worked just like ATM/Debit cards and could be loaded with up
to $500 each.
Basically you just needed to purchase these gift cards, take them to an ATM and
pay the withdrawal fee (around $3) and pocket the $497 cash, while still
receiving your credit card bonuses. You could then deposit enough cash to pay
your mortgage and write a check to cover the payment.
Of course, this all required a lot of planning, but being able to get cash from
a credit card without paying huge cash-advance fees AND still getting your
bonus rewards is a huge plus.
Naturally, this program was abused in this way, and when they realized they
weren’t going to make much money from it, the program was cancelled.
But be on the lookout for another loophole like this, because they come up all
the time!