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There used to be ways to do this, but it seems like they've all vanished. I need something scalable, I pay 10K a month in mortgages. That's some serious travel rewards if I can find something that works. Issue is the loan processor doesn't take credit cards and paying with prepaid stuff usually has a fee associated that negates the rewards I'd gain buying prepaid cards to pay the mortgages.
Surely there is SOME way. Money orders purchased with a credit card and mailed to the mortgage company/loan processor?
I've looked into it as well, both for mortgage payments and tax payments. No matter what, there's going to be processing/transaction fees, so you have to figure out if it's worth it.
I probably pay $1k+ in transaction fees a year by using credit cards to pay some of our taxes. The miles and points offset some of that, but the main reason I do it is because it gets me to the elite airline and hotel loyalty tiers, and the upgrades and fee waivers are worth way more to me than $1k.
Just on my last trip to Asia, we were upgraded to a suite at the luxury hotel we stayed at and both of our coach tickets were upgraded to the premium lie-flat beds on the 10+ hour trans-pacific flight, for free. The upgrade for that leg alone would have cost us over $1k EACH if we had paid out of pocket.
I've looked into it as well, both for mortgage payments and tax payments. No matter what, there's going to be processing/transaction fees, so you have to figure out if it's worth it.
I probably pay $1k+ in transaction fees a year by using credit cards to pay some of our taxes. The miles and points offset some of that, but the main reason I do it is because it gets me to the elite airline and hotel loyalty tiers, and the upgrades and fee waivers are worth way more to me than $1k.
Just on my last trip to Asia, we were upgraded to a suite at the luxury hotel we stayed at and both of our coach tickets were upgraded to the premium lie-flat beds on the 10+ hour trans-pacific flight, for free. The upgrade for that leg alone would have cost us over $1k EACH if we had paid out of pocket.
what credit cards do you use for earning status?
i just picked up an spg amex business and set up the points to transfer to me. it should get me a nice hotel stay but no status. i have a mileageplus club card that gets me some status but there isnt any additional status from more spend. i guess that is fine, im just trying to see how i can get the most value for my spend.
i just picked up an spg amex business and set up the points to transfer to me. it should get me a nice hotel stay but no status. i have a mileageplus club card that gets me some status but there isnt any additional status from more spend. i guess that is fine, im just trying to see how i can get the most value for my spend.
Let me preface this by saying that our situation isn't that common. I think the practicality of most miles/points/status strategies will depend on everyone's unique financial situation and travel habits.
For hotels, we use the Citi Hilton Reserve. It has a $95 annual fee, and if you put $40k of spend on it in a year, you get one free weekend night certificate and Hilton Diamond status, which is their highest tier. Assuming all of the spend is manufactured by paying federal taxes (1.87%), that will be about $750/year in transaction fees and $850/year when adding in the annual fee. It's probably not worth it if you don't travel a lot, or if upgrades aren't that important to you. Also, I think the consensus is that US hotels aren't as generous with the suites, but we've always had pretty good success being upgraded to nicer/larger rooms, and usually with views. The last time we were at the Waldorf Astoria, we were upgraded on a four-night stay to a corner room in the Towers, which is considerably nicer than their standard rooms. We've been trying different NYC hotels since the Waldorf shut down, and at the most recent hotel we tried, we were upgraded from a standard room to the top floor with views of Central Park.
For airlines, it's a little more complicated. We use the Delta Amex Reserve, which has an annual fee of $450, and in order to maximize the benefits, you need to put $60k on the card. If all of that spend was manufactured as well, it would come out to $1122 in transaction fees and a total of about $1600 in transaction + annual fees. For that princely sum, you would get one free companion certificate (valid for one RT domestic flight), 90k redeemable miles (about three RT saver tickets between JFK-LAX for us) and 30k medallion qualification miles (MQMs). The 30k MQMs by itself should give you automatic Silver status, but the biggest value is if those 30k MQMs will bump you up from Gold to Platinum, or Platinum to Diamond. At the Platinum and Diamond levels, you get Upgrade Certificates that are easily worth over $1k each if you use them to upgrade to Delta One premium service.
For us, we will put just enough spend on these cards to hit those status targets ($40k on Citi Hilton and $60k on Amex Delta Reserve). Any other spend would probably be better off on a more flexible travel card like the regular Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve or Citi Prestige. We're also only able to do this because we pay our own taxes (K-1) and we pay a LOT of taxes.
it is definitely going to depend on the individual. when it comes to flight, i dont have much choice because united is by far the most likely airline. so im getting a united card.
hotels can be a little more flexible. i went with spg because of the value of the points and the different hotel chains i can use it at. but im sure hilton would be plenty usable.
once you get those benefits, it probably pays to just put the spend on a 2% cash back card but i just use the united club card to keep it simple.
There used to be ways to do this, but it seems like they've all vanished. I need something scalable, I pay 10K a month in mortgages. That's some serious travel rewards if I can find something that works. Issue is the loan processor doesn't take credit cards and paying with prepaid stuff usually has a fee associated that negates the rewards I'd gain buying prepaid cards to pay the mortgages.
Surely there is SOME way. Money orders purchased with a credit card and mailed to the mortgage company/loan processor?
You can use 'plastiq' Their service allow you to pay for anything under the sun with your credit cards with fee of course.
it is definitely going to depend on the individual. when it comes to flight, i dont have much choice because united is by far the most likely airline. so im getting a united card.
hotels can be a little more flexible. i went with spg because of the value of the points and the different hotel chains i can use it at. but im sure hilton would be plenty usable.
once you get those benefits, it probably pays to just put the spend on a 2% cash back card but i just use the united club card to keep it simple.
Honestly, I originally went with Hilton because of work, and now I stay with them because it's familiar. I really like the Starwood properties and have heard good things about SPG, but I'm waiting to see what happens with the Marriott Rewards merger before possibly switching.
At the IRS 1.87% charge to pay taxes that one could possibly have value but most other large payments come with fees too high to justify although mr zero makes a great point that if the spend puts you into elite status you value it can really be worth it
My Amex plat at 550.00 is more than worth it although I don't find much value in the point system. The only spend that goes on it is airline tickets booked direct with airlines at 5x points, travel booked on Amex travel at 5x points or for electronics or expensive items that Amex will double the warranty and cover loss, theft or breakage for I think 3 months. They also offer some deals online that you have to add to your card monthly that give extra points or statement credits which have added up the a lot for me. I have it for the centurion lounges though
Edit and rental cars because of their coeravge you can pay for that's a primary coverage instead of secondary
There used to be ways to do this, but it seems like they've all vanished. I need something scalable, I pay 10K a month in mortgages. That's some serious travel rewards if I can find something that works. Issue is the loan processor doesn't take credit cards and paying with prepaid stuff usually has a fee associated that negates the rewards I'd gain buying prepaid cards to pay the mortgages.
Surely there is SOME way. Money orders purchased with a credit card and mailed to the mortgage company/loan processor?
Money orders are considered to be a cash advance. Fees would make this very expensive and no bank I am aware of gives points for cash advances.
Not to mention everyplace won't take a CC...USPS doesn't.
Even more pertinent, there's a limit on the size of a MO. Most are restricted to $1000 so you'd have fees for however many you needed. In your case...fees X 10?
More information than you needed, right?
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