Different cards have different cashback offers, however it seems like the categories that I’m autopaying (mainly auto, health, and homeowners insurance) are 1%.
Taxes can be paid by credit card, but there is a service fee which is greater than the cashback, so it’s ACH for that.
This is the one I use. It’s a simple 2% on everything with a $200 sign-on bonus to compensate for the effort of switching saved payment information. Citi also has one that pays 1% + 1% when you pay off the card, which is essentially the same thing for most of us, I’d guess.
I’m currently paying my monthly bills by logging into my bank account and manually entering them into the bill pay companies I’ve set up. I’ve been burned by a phone company and cable company in the past where they’ve charged me more “by mistake”. I think companies in the US are notorious for this — they always charge more, never less!
It’s annoying and tedious, but I’m reluctant to change because I’m not sure I’m disciplined enough to check everything monthly if I set it up for autopay. And is checking everything is also annoying and tedious….
Still, my financial planner has suggested I switch to using a credit card where possible, and I may do that before the end of the year.
Autopay through the bank or credit card if it’s acceptable (to get the points).
Autopay to CC (20 characters)
Yes, especially the phone company. I agreed to automatic payments (the convenience of which cannot be denied, especially while traveling) only after getting these two under control.
Automated payment by credit card is an issue if this happens: Texas utility settles over sky-high energy bills from freeze - ABC News
If you get a ludicrous bill, you can choose to dispute it or not pay it. But if it has already been paid by credit card, there may be less recourse to get it refunded.
Yeah, I think you can do it either way… Set up bill payment through your bank, or set it up through each entity’s website. I mainly do the latter, and most are on auto-pay with some exceptions. Some insurance and tax bills I pay manually. Our landscaper prefers a check and we pay our housekeeper in cash.
Thanks for all this good info!
So I am thinking I will setup payment for utilities from my 3% back credit card
oh well…
You always have to consider, that those companies do not making any gifts at all.
Someone has to pay for everything with them, and in most cases, this is after all the customer, not the company receiving the payment…
eBills …
I just found a fun new way to pay bills (old fuddy-duddy trying to catch up…)
After talking to the bank techs, they told me they have a service called eBills. If you set this up, then the bank can collect the bill from the company and then you can set up auto pay with this. This is beneficial as an example your utility company where is the monthly amount will always be slightly different, and now you can pay it off automatically directly from my bank.
Just thought I would pass this method on.
Is anyone using this method?
My bank has offered that for many years. However I just set up directly with the utility companies to use ACH directly with the bank. Trivial to set up and all the utilities here do it. I did try the bank service for a short while for non-reoccurring expenses but I ended up just writing personal checks because the bank interface was too clunky.