Can i set up a way to earn rewards on a credit card by paying all my bills and expenses with it?
Ok, i own a house and do have good credit. I have never been late on a payment. I understand all the risks involved in using credit cards. My goal is to set up automatic payments from all my monthly bills (phone, internet, gas, electric, MORTGAGE, HOA, car, etc.) as well as use my credit card to pay for EVERYTHING. My goal is not to run up the balance or use it irresonsibly (sp). I just want to use my card like cash and pay it off each month. Hopefully, this will help me build better credit and EARN REWARDS (cashback, travel, miles, etc.). I want to consolidate all my bills and expenses into one payment on my credit card, and pay it off each month. Do credit card companies allow this? Is there anything i'm overlooking that won't allow me to do this? thank you
I personally use your scenerio in my current lifestyle. I consolidate everything to one credit card on an automatic payment schedule and pay the balances down each and every month.
The key is paying down the charges in the 30 day grace period so you dont incur any interest charges and your rewards come free of charge.
You must consider the amount of the monthly charges and may have to add an additional card because you want to make sure that all your monthly charges remain under 30% of the credit limit. Otherwise, your charges to the one card will throw off your debt ratio and lower your FICO score.
In my situation I have a 25K card which I use for my monthly bills and emergency fund. It also has rewards which I let accumulate until christmas time.
Yes, the credit cards allow this afterall, they are not loosing money. The credit card companies make a majority of their money off the retailers themselve as they pay a fee on each transaction. Credit card companies make anywhere from 1.5-4% on each transaction depending on the company each service. They don't mind at all if you pay everything with plastic.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
You sure are overlooking something. First of all, you are asking for real trouble by allowing anyone to have access to your personal checking account. That's what you do when you have "auto pay". One mistake from any vendor and you are screwed for life. (consult "check 21 laws). The second mistake you are making is that in the fact the more "rewards" you earn the more you owe them. Check the fine print. The APR will always be a hell of a lot higher than what you will get in return. The third error is that paying off your bills on a monthly basis is NOT CREDIT. It is only considered "credit" if you take a minimum of 6 months to pay something off. Lastly, if you do consolidate all your bills, it will show up as one line of credit only and will not build your credit history as fast. Don't mean to be so negative but you asked. Lots of luck.
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December 31st, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I personally use your scenerio in my current lifestyle. I consolidate everything to one credit card on an automatic payment schedule and pay the balances down each and every month.
The key is paying down the charges in the 30 day grace period so you dont incur any interest charges and your rewards come free of charge.
You must consider the amount of the monthly charges and may have to add an additional card because you want to make sure that all your monthly charges remain under 30% of the credit limit. Otherwise, your charges to the one card will throw off your debt ratio and lower your FICO score.
In my situation I have a 25K card which I use for my monthly bills and emergency fund. It also has rewards which I let accumulate until christmas time.
Yes, the credit cards allow this afterall, they are not loosing money. The credit card companies make a majority of their money off the retailers themselve as they pay a fee on each transaction. Credit card companies make anywhere from 1.5-4% on each transaction depending on the company each service. They don't mind at all if you pay everything with plastic.
References :