There are several reasons why consumers might want to pay their mortgage with a credit card, at least for a while. In tough economic times, paying off your mortgage on a credit card can help you buy some time and even give you the ability to pay off a mortgage in a few months.
Not only that, but paying off your mortgage with a credit card can be the ticket to a whole host of rewards—even a sizable welcome bonus that you don’t usually get with regular spending.
Unfortunately, when you try to pay your mortgage with a credit card, you run into some problems. First, the banks that offer mortgages don’t allow you to pay directly with a credit card, so you’ll need to find a way around it.
The next problem you face is that workarounds that allow you to pay your mortgage with a credit card cost money, and fees make paying your mortgage with a credit card much less attractive.
Having said that, in some cases, paying your mortgage with a credit card makes perfect sense, although there are some extra fees and steps involved.
When paying your mortgage with a credit card makes sense
In most cases, if you’re looking for a credit card welcome bonus that you can’t get, it makes sense to pay your mortgage with a credit card. Imagine you want to apply for a credit card that offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of opening the card. If you usually don’t have enough expenses to pay in plastic to meet the threshold, paying your mortgage with a credit card can give you a head start — even if you pay a small fee for it.
It also makes sense to pay your mortgage with a credit card if your premium income is higher than what you pay. For example, say paying your mortgage with a credit card incurs a 2.5% fee, but your credit card offers a flat 3% repayment rate. In this case, you can pay the mortgage with a credit card, pay the credit card bill in full each month to avoid interest, and pocket the 0.5% premium.
With that in mind, it doesn’t make sense to pay your mortgage with a credit card if you want to split your monthly payments or pay your bills. Your mortgage may have a low fixed rate, and the average rate on credit cards today is over 16%. Be prepared for financial disaster if you transfer secured debt at low interest rates to an unsecured credit card that charges high interest.
In most cases, paying your mortgage with plastic only makes sense if you have enough money in the bank to pay off your credit card bill each month. If you let your balance stranded and interest pile up, all the benefits of paying your mortgage with a credit card are lost.
How to pay your mortgage with a credit card
While paying off your mortgage on a credit card may seem like a pain, in some cases the extra return can be worth it. But how do you pay off your home loan with a credit card? Here are the two main options you might consider:
Using Plastiq.com
Plastiq.com is a third-party service that allows people to pay multiple bills with one credit card for a fee of 2.85%. Not long ago, the fee to use Plastiq.com was only 2.5%, so the added fee will further eat into your returns.
While the service allows you to pay bills like utilities and contractor payments with just about any credit card, there are very few card types you can use to pay your mortgage specifically through Plastiq.com. These include Discover, Mastercard, JCB International and Diners Club International credit cards, so your options are rather limited.
You can advance in a number of ways. Assuming you sign up for a card, you get 3 points for every $1 you spend. We also assume that every mile is worth a penny of travel. In this case, you can effectively use this card to pay your mortgage through Plastiq.com, get the equivalent of 3% back, and pay only 2.85% in fees. These are some rewards worth pursuing, but the math adds up.
However, you’re better off using Plastiq.com for a while to get the big welcome bonus. For example, assuming you sign up for a card after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of card opening, you’ll receive a welcome bonus of 60,000 points. If you use Plastiq.com to transfer a $4,000 mortgage payment to this card, you’ll pay a $114 fee. However, you will get a welcome bonus along the way.
While this bill pay service allows you to deduct more than 2.85% on each payment, you can avoid the fee by referring a friend. After you sign up, you have access to referral codes that you can share with others. When someone signs up and pays with your code, you get “free dollars” that can be used to pay free bills.
SEE ALSO!
- X1 Credit Card – Check how to apply.
- Destiny Credit Card – How to order online.
- Delta Skymiles® Reserve American Express Card Review – See more.
Convert Gift Cards to Money Orders
Another option is to use a rewards credit card to purchase PIN-enabled Visa gift cards, and then use those gift cards to pay for money orders. Most people can buy pin gift cards at the grocery store, which makes sense if you have a grocery store credit card that offers such bonus points. From there, you can set up your PIN and use your gift card to buy money orders from banks, grocery stores, Walmart, or anywhere else that sells money orders.
Your ability to execute this strategy may be somewhat location-specific. For example, your local grocery store may have strict guidelines on the types of cards that can be used to buy money orders. You may also find (as I did in my hometown) that your average grocery store customer service rep doesn’t care about your payment method.
You should also consider how you will use the money order to pay the mortgage, this part is important. If you live near a physical branch of the bank that holds the mortgage, such as Chase or Wells Fargo, you can go to the bank in person and pay the mortgage directly using a money order. However, if you need to send a money order to a mortgage lender, you might want to think again.
You can keep the receipt for the money order, and in most cases, if it gets lost in the mail, you can request a replacement, but additional steps and fees may apply. Also, if your money order is lost, your mortgage payment could be delayed, which could cause more problems.
Bottom line
Before you decide to pay your mortgage with a credit card, make sure you understand the fees and extra hassle involved. In general, you should only use this option if you have cash at the bank to pay off your credit card in full. Also, you should only pay the mortgage with a credit card if you are paying significantly less than the consideration.
Also consider whether you could use your energy better elsewhere. There are many ways to earn more premiums over time, and paying your mortgage with a credit card is just one of them. We encourage you to check to see if your other bills can be paid by credit card at no additional cost. For example, you can pay for health insurance or kindergarten with a credit card at no extra cost. Also, check if you can use your credit card to pay your utility bills, college tuition, contractors you work with, and any other bills you pay on a regular basis.
At the end of the day, it makes sense to pay your mortgage with a credit card, but don’t forget about all the other ways to earn rewards. With some creative thinking and some credit card welcome bonuses, you can earn points and miles for years to come.
SEE ALSO!
- X1 Credit Card – Check how to apply.
- Destiny Credit Card – How to order online.
- Delta Skymiles® Reserve American Express Card Review – See more.
- American Express focuses on customer experience with new checking account and redesigned application
