The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Linea_Norway on July 08, 2019, 11:05:18 AM
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Hi.
I read on this forum that some of you pay bills with their credit card, like their electricity bill.
My credit cards let me pay interest from the moment a bill is paid. Normally, if I pay with my credit card in a shop, the interest only starts from next month and by that time I have paid the bill already.
But how do you pay a normal bill in the internet bank with credit card without paying interest? Do you first fill up the credit card account with enough money?
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My credit cards [in the US] have a grace period for interest when used as a credit card (this is not true for cash advances, so I don't do cash advances) - no interest if I pay the bill in full each month. The bills that I pay with a credit card go through as regular credit charges. No difference if I pay a utility bill, cell phone bill, or my final bill at a grocery store or restaurant.
My personal utility company does charge a fee to pay with a credit card - a $2.50 flat fee. I am allowed to pay $1,000 at a time (which for me is many months worth of electricity and water). So, I charge $1,000 on a card to help earn a lucrative sign-up bonus, and only pay $2.50 (or 0.25%). I'm still ahead even if I'm just earning 1% cash back.
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My car insurance will let me may with a credit card at no extra cost, and it counts as a purchase to the CC company (so, like NotJen, I am charged no interest till after the next statement, which I always pay in full). My other bills charge a fee, usually about 3%, to pay with a credit card, so I don't.