"unofficially" paying mortgage with credit card (credit fee, fees, mortgage companies)

[SweepTheLeg]

OK, let me preface this:

I have a VISA debit card that I get rewards points for. However, I have to use it as a credit card, not a debit card. So the money comes out the same way, just if I process it as a credit card, the credit fees come out of the vendor's pocket.

Now... I want to see if there's a way I can use my "credit" card to pay my mortgage. I know the bank wouldn't accept it that way, but is there I way I can use Paypal or some other service to pay my bills, funding it with my credit card and paying out that way?

With the amount of points I can generate, I'm looking at a free flight a year.

[Humanoid]

but is there I way I can use Paypal or some other service to pay my bills, funding it with my credit card and paying out that way?

There is a way, but its explicitly forbidden by Paypal. You may get away with it for a bit, but they are likely to catch on.

[brokerdave]

have you called the 800 number? try that to pay that way, my cousin charges his mortgage still and transfers balances and has never had a late payment, meanwhile gets all the miles.

[picky-picasso]

Originally Posted by brokerdave

have you called the 800 number? try that to pay that way, my cousin charges his mortgage still and transfers balances and has never had a late payment, meanwhile gets all the miles.

The 800 number on the back of the credit card? Or the bank's 800 number? Can you elaborate?

[mobster75]

He means call up the 800 number for your mortgage servicer and ask them if you can pay by MC/VISA debit card. They might possibly just say yes.

[jimboburnsy]

You may want to carefully read your mortgage before you do anything like that. Some mortgage companies explicitly forbid "borrowed payments"

[rubber_factory]

I don't know why you'd want to do this.. or if it work work within the terms of your specific contract.. but it seems to me that you could get your mortgage payment from your credit card, pool it with your existing funds, and then pay out of your existing funds. Therefore you are not "Paying your mortgage with borrowed money."

This is how banks get around these sorts of "problems," right?

[SXN]

I remember looking into this for the sames reasons as you, it would be a great way to rack up mileage or rewards points. I came across a few 3rd party companies out there that will process credit card payments and pay your bank for you. But the amount these companies charge in transaction fees makes any type of benefit you might get from the points a wash. It would be cheaper just to buy mileage or points outright. Hopefully, banks change their policies about accepting credit cards at some point down the line, but in this economy I'm not sure it is going to happen soon.

The closest thing I have seen to getting reward points for your mortgage is something like Chase Bank and the Hilton Honors program. If you obtain a mortgage from Chase, you get something like like 100,000 Hilton Honors points or something like that.

[susancruzs]

I guess I just don't understand the point of all this. No one is giving anything for "free" and why jump through those hoops for one free flight a year????

[Debsi]

[quote=SXN;6846773]Hopefully, banks change their policies about accepting credit cards at some point down the line, but in this economy I'm not sure it is going to happen soon.

QUOTE]

I understand that you and the OP are talking about paying off your credit card each month, I do the same and get amazon.com points. However, if banks allowed people to pay their mortgages with credit cards, can you even IMAGINE the fall-out to our economy that would be caused by irresponsible credit users? They could run up tremendous credit card debt, never actually make a mortgage payment, then file bankruptcy, keep the house, and screw the credit card company (which screws all of us in the end).