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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Stache In Training on February 04, 2015, 09:59:05 PM

Title: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on February 04, 2015, 09:59:05 PM
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2015/02/how-can-i-pay-my-mortgage-using-a-credit-card.html

So this guy claims the Target prepaid REDcard lets you pay your mortgage by using as an intermediary.  Does this work? Has anyone used this?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: JLee on February 04, 2015, 10:16:00 PM
If I could do that, I could meet my $4k spending for my Chase Sapphire card now that the trip I was planning on using to do that was canceled...
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: madage on February 05, 2015, 06:43:36 AM
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2015/02/how-can-i-pay-my-mortgage-using-a-credit-card.html

So this guy claims the Target prepaid REDcard lets you pay your mortgage by using as an intermediary.  Does this work? Has anyone used this?

You can (currently) load the prepaid REDcard with a credit card at Target (no fee) and use the billpay function to submit just about any type of payment you want. The catch is the prepaid REDcard is not available everywhere.

You can do the same thing with Serve and/or Bluebird, but those are a little tougher and more expensive to load with a credit card.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on February 05, 2015, 09:12:34 AM
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2015/02/how-can-i-pay-my-mortgage-using-a-credit-card.html

So this guy claims the Target prepaid REDcard lets you pay your mortgage by using as an intermediary.  Does this work? Has anyone used this?

You can (currently) load the prepaid REDcard with a credit card at Target (no fee) and use the billpay function to submit just about any type of payment you want. The catch is the prepaid REDcard is not available everywhere.

You can do the same thing with Serve and/or Bluebird, but those are a little tougher and more expensive to load with a credit card.
Emphasis mine.

This is sort of true. Some credit cards are charged a cash advance fee. Other cards are not, and incur zero fees.
For an ongoing thread on which ones are being charged a cash advance fee, check out this thread on flyertalk: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: madage on February 05, 2015, 09:45:02 AM

You can (currently) load the prepaid REDcard with a credit card at Target (no fee) and use the billpay function to submit just about any type of payment you want. The catch is the prepaid REDcard is not available everywhere.

You can do the same thing with Serve and/or Bluebird, but those are a little tougher and more expensive to load with a credit card.
Emphasis mine.

This is sort of true. Some credit cards are charged a cash advance fee. Other cards are not, and incur zero fees.
For an ongoing thread on which ones are being charged a cash advance fee, check out this thread on flyertalk: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html)

That wasn't quite what I was talking about. Yes, you can load $1,000 per month to Serve online using a credit card, but there are other ways involving gift cards that do not risk cash advance fees.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: CptCool on February 05, 2015, 10:08:31 AM
Another option is Evolve money, but that currently only accepts Discover and not all mortgage servicing is included in their bill pay system
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on February 05, 2015, 11:24:35 AM
Another option is Evolve money, but that currently only accepts Discover and not all mortgage servicing is included in their bill pay system
This very recently changed. They accept Visa and Mastercard now, but all credit card transactions incur a 3% fee, so it's useless unless that's the only way you can meet a minimum spend requirement
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Ramparts on February 05, 2015, 12:23:25 PM
I guess I am one of the lucky ones, since my mortgage company lets me pay by credit card (for free!) if I use their automated phone system. It's nice to get 2% of my payment back :)

Of course, the only reason I went to their phone system in the first place was because they wanted to charge me $2.50 for the pleasure of using their online payment system. So, it may be worth going through your servicer's automated phone system just to see what options are buried in there.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: FarmerPete on February 05, 2015, 02:28:39 PM
My mortgage is just under $1k a month, so I can pay it off completely with my Serve card credit card transfers.  I have 5 automatic $200 transfers every month going from my CC to Server.  I then log in any make the bill pay once a month.  Makes me a few bucks, and it is painless now that I have the auto transfers.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on February 05, 2015, 06:50:27 PM
Cool, glad to hear some people are having luck with this.  The closest REDCard Target is about an hour away, but I'm already going there next week, so I may have to check this out.

So you can load the card at any target, what about load it online via your credit card?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Terrestrial on February 05, 2015, 08:13:39 PM
Well done OP for sharing this info.  I see I can get the prepaid red card at the target a half mile from my house.

I have been trying to find a way to pay my mortgage and some other bills for a while with no fees that kill the advantage, this appears to be it!

Hello 2 or 3 more free flights year...sweet!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Cycler on February 05, 2015, 08:24:22 PM
Wow! Thanks OP! First I've heard of this strategy and I wonder how long it will last, but certainly makes me wish there was a Target carrying them near me. Unfortunately, the closest is a 4 hour drive!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: mxt0133 on February 05, 2015, 09:18:11 PM
Does anyone know what Target in the Bay Area actually has them?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Cycler on February 05, 2015, 09:41:50 PM
Does anyone know what Target in the Bay Area actually has them?

There are none in California that have them at all. Here's the link to check states where they do have them (it's pretty limited): https://amex.serve.com/prepaidredcard/?ref=sr_shorturl_prepaidredcard#store-locator
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: mxt0133 on February 05, 2015, 10:04:03 PM
Does anyone know what Target in the Bay Area actually has them?

There are none in California that have them at all. Here's the link to check states where they do have them (it's pretty limited): https://amex.serve.com/prepaidredcard/?ref=sr_shorturl_prepaidredcard#store-locator

Thanks.

So what can we use for people in Cali?  Serve or BlueBird?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Returnoftheyeti on February 05, 2015, 11:41:09 PM
I had my RedBird shipped in from Michigan. There are a few reports of the cards down in SoCal. I load 1k at a time at Metreon and Tanforan Target.  Have not seen the red card for sale there. But I keep looking.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: michaelrecycles on February 05, 2015, 11:56:32 PM

You can (currently) load the prepaid REDcard with a credit card at Target (no fee) and use the billpay function to submit just about any type of payment you want. The catch is the prepaid REDcard is not available everywhere.

You can do the same thing with Serve and/or Bluebird, but those are a little tougher and more expensive to load with a credit card.
Emphasis mine.

This is sort of true. Some credit cards are charged a cash advance fee. Other cards are not, and incur zero fees.
For an ongoing thread on which ones are being charged a cash advance fee, check out this thread on flyertalk: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html)

That wasn't quite what I was talking about. Yes, you can load $1,000 per month to Serve online using a credit card, but there are other ways involving gift cards that do not risk cash advance fees.

Would it be possible to load Serve with credit card A (a non-cash advance fee card, of course) and then send a payment to reduce the balance on credit card B?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: mxt0133 on February 06, 2015, 12:54:26 AM
I had my RedBird shipped in from Michigan. There are a few reports of the cards down in SoCal. I load 1k at a time at Metreon and Tanforan Target.  Have not seen the red card for sale there. But I keep looking.

May I ask how you did that?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on February 06, 2015, 06:34:10 AM

You can (currently) load the prepaid REDcard with a credit card at Target (no fee) and use the billpay function to submit just about any type of payment you want. The catch is the prepaid REDcard is not available everywhere.

You can do the same thing with Serve and/or Bluebird, but those are a little tougher and more expensive to load with a credit card.
Emphasis mine.

This is sort of true. Some credit cards are charged a cash advance fee. Other cards are not, and incur zero fees.
For an ongoing thread on which ones are being charged a cash advance fee, check out this thread on flyertalk: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html)

That wasn't quite what I was talking about. Yes, you can load $1,000 per month to Serve online using a credit card, but there are other ways involving gift cards that do not risk cash advance fees.

Would it be possible to load Serve with credit card A (a non-cash advance fee card, of course) and then send a payment to reduce the balance on credit card B?
Absolutely. I do this all the time
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Scandium on February 06, 2015, 07:31:51 AM
eh, so how do you get from credit card to the RedCard? On the target site it says:

Quote
Once you register your Card, you can continue to add money using Direct Deposit, linking a debit card or bank account, or by adding cash for free at any U.S. Target store.

No mention of credit cards.
And the link in the OP explain this in a video, not in the text. That's some lame view-bait BS. Just write it out already!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Nothlit on February 06, 2015, 07:39:18 AM
The "or by adding cash for free at any U.S. Target store" includes debit or credit cards. (For now.)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Scandium on February 06, 2015, 07:47:36 AM
The "or by adding cash for free at any U.S. Target store" includes debit or credit cards. (For now.)

well that's inaccurate, but ok. Sounds like it's not really policy, but store staff still do it. So a chance it might get shut down. Loyal3 blocked credit cards two months after I used it to cycle $2000, so this will probably be shut down a week after I start using it.. :)

The points earning potential here is less than $200/year so not sure I'd bother to use it for that, but to get sign up bonuses it might be worth it.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on February 06, 2015, 08:06:30 AM
The "or by adding cash for free at any U.S. Target store" includes debit or credit cards. (For now.)

well that's inaccurate, but ok. Sounds like it's not really policy, but store staff still do it. So a chance it might get shut down. Loyal3 blocked credit cards two months after I used it to cycle $2000, so this will probably be shut down a week after I start using it.. :)

The points earning potential here is less than $200/year so not sure I'd bother to use it for that, but to get sign up bonuses it might be worth it.
There have been multiple blog posts from numerous bloggers attesting to the fact that this is allowed. If it wasn't policy, then the Target terminals simply wouldn't allow for credit card loads.
There is a decent chance that this will get shut down when the card becomes available nationwide. However, this is run by Amex, who also runs the Amex Serve, and has been absorbing merchant fees for online credit card loads for months (for those credit cards that don't code the transaction as a cash advance).
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Returnoftheyeti on February 06, 2015, 08:24:03 AM
I had my RedBird shipped in from Michigan. There are a few reports of the cards down in SoCal. I load 1k at a time at Metreon and Tanforan Target.  Have not seen the red card for sale there. But I keep looking.

May I ask how you did that?

Family lives in Michigan. Had them go buy a card for me and mail it out.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Mother Fussbudget on February 06, 2015, 05:35:07 PM
OP:  I did exactly this with my Target prepaid REDcard for the first time this month.  There are no fees, and the 'bill-pay' option is the thing you use to pay your mortgage.... or send a check to yourself to be deposited into your checking account.

I've been following the "REDbird / REDcard" discussion on FrequentMiler.com, and have had lots of success.  Best of luck!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Practical Magic on February 06, 2015, 07:54:36 PM
OP:  I did exactly this with my Target prepaid REDcard for the first time this month.  There are no fees, and the 'bill-pay' option is the thing you use to pay your mortgage.... or send a check to yourself to be deposited into your checking account.

I've been following the "REDbird / REDcard" discussion on FrequentMiler.com, and have had lots of success.  Best of luck!

You were able to do this in the PNW? I noticed the RedCard isn't offered at Target in WA...does that mean you do it all online (apply for the RedCard and later load it with another CC), and never go into a store? That would be cool.

Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: nanu on February 09, 2015, 02:03:53 PM
Posting to follow. I might try a friend from Ohio to get me a card and mail it to me as well (nearby Target don't have RedCard)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on February 09, 2015, 02:14:05 PM
There are many ways to pay for your mortgage via credit card.

The target red card is one (it is the only one that allows for direct swipe reloads of credit cards.)

Evilvemoney  can still be used using Visa gift cards as debit cards or reloadit cards. (0.5 to 1% activation fee).

If you're interested in learning the specifics of these techniques than I will once again plug the free travel hacking course that Brad from Richmond savers and I are running.

http://www.travelmiles101.com/miles-for-mustachians-registration

This course was designed for Mustachians by mustachians and is meant to give enrollees all of the skills they need to kill it in travel hacking.

It certainly covers manufactured spending in all of its glory. And these skills are very useful to prospective early retirees, even those who don't wish to travel.

Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Blonde Lawyer on February 10, 2015, 09:20:47 AM
Has anyone had their CC charge a cash advance fee for loading the Target Red Card? That would be my big concern.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: nanu on February 10, 2015, 09:26:20 AM
Because it uses the same platform as AmEx Serve, I would guess that credit cards that charge cash advance fees for that will charge the fee for this as well (however, this is a guess).
You can look at these posts for which cards people said charged/didn't charge the fee when using Serve:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1617380-chase-may-coding-amex-serve-cash-advance-not-confirmed.html
http://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/2itvb9/data_amex_serve_cash_advance_confirmations/
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: madage on February 10, 2015, 09:28:51 AM
Because it uses the same platform as AmEx Serve, I would guess that credit cards that charge cash advance fees for that will charge the fee for this as well (however, this is a guess).
You can look at these posts for which cards people said charged/didn't charge the fee when using Serve:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1644834-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments-2015-a-23.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1617380-chase-may-coding-amex-serve-cash-advance-not-confirmed.html
http://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/2itvb9/data_amex_serve_cash_advance_confirmations/

That advice doesn't apply to the Prepaid RedCard. You can only load RedCard online using a debit card, not credit card. The credit card loads are done in store, at a register, and always code as a purchase.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: nanu on February 10, 2015, 09:49:35 AM
Good to know, thank you (that's why I said it's a guess...)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on February 10, 2015, 04:34:50 PM
It is always a good idea to set your cash advance limit to zero when you activate your credit  card anyway This essentially eliminates the chance of you're being charged a cash advance fee for manufactured spending.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on February 10, 2015, 06:34:42 PM
It is always a good idea to set your cash advance limit to zero when you activate your credit  card anyway This essentially eliminates the chance of you're being charged a cash advance fee for manufactured spending.
According to numerous reports on the flyertalk thread, if you do this with Chase credit cards, this will prevent you from loading the Amex Serve - the transaction initially codes as a cash advance but posts as a purchase.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on February 10, 2015, 06:54:14 PM
I've seen the reports and have successfully loaded my soft serve with my chase SWA without incident, though admittedly not for the past several months.

It's sort of irrrelevant for loading up red card though as I have seen no reports of any such issues with that product.

Either way as someone who manufactures thousands of dollars of spend a month, I prefer to miss out on a couple specific cards for a couple different manufactured spending procedures then to worry about getting charged a cash advance.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on February 10, 2015, 06:59:29 PM
I've seen the reports and have successfully loaded my soft serve with my chase SWA without incident, though admittedly not for the past several months.

It's sort of irrrelevant for loading up red card though as I have seen no reports of any such issues with that product.

Either way as someone who manufactures thousands of dollars of spend a month, I prefer to miss out on a couple specific cards for a couple different manufactured spending procedures then to worry about getting charged a cash advance.
That's great. I posted that not necessarily for your sake, but for anybody else reading this thread.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on February 10, 2015, 11:51:09 PM

I've seen the reports and have successfully loaded my soft serve with my chase SWA without incident, though admittedly not for the past several months.

It's sort of irrrelevant for loading up red card though as I have seen no reports of any such issues with that product.

Either way as someone who manufactures thousands of dollars of spend a month, I prefer to miss out on a couple specific cards for a couple different manufactured spending procedures then to worry about getting charged a cash advance.
That's great. I posted that not necessarily for your sake, but for anybody else reading this thread.

And I'm glad you did. It was an important point you raised.


Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Secretly Saving on February 11, 2015, 01:12:40 PM
Got a redcard while out of town last week.  Waiting for the real thing in the mail and then will be trying this out.  We get a decent amount back and have a 50% or 75% multiplier (depending on the month) on our 1%, 2%, 3% purchases, so this could add up quickly for us! 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on February 13, 2015, 09:18:11 PM
Awesome, Secretly Saving.  Let us know how it works!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Secretly Saving on February 14, 2015, 07:27:44 PM
I promised I'd come back and update once the card arrived...

Spent some time at the store today and had an entertaining few minutes. 

Background:
- got the temp prepaid while out of town
- local store does NOT have the cards for sale, but they are for sale in my state
- got temp card registered, got real card in mail. got it registered

Went directly to customer service. Asked to put $1500 on the card.  Swiped and the register read an error message "amount to small."  Ok, I said, up it to $2500 (knowing that was the daily limit.) Nope, still no go.   

Got the floor manager, who was intrigued and tried it at 1500, 2000, and 2500 -- no go. They even called the help hotline for register issues and there wasn't even an option for the prepaid card that they could select...

 Got the store manager on duty to come out - had never heard of the prepaid.  Watched the situation and shook head.  They left to do some research.

I suggested trying a really low number and ironically, that worked.  In fact, it worked up to 1000.  Tried to put another $1000 on the card, but got a declined message.  They assumed it was on my end, but I knew it wasn't.  I even called the bank to confirm and yep, it was on the store's end. 

After determining that loading any more was futile for today, I left agreeing with the 1st manager that I would come back tomorrow and we'd try again. 

I did however, spend a few dollars and used the prepaid and confirmed the 5% back!

I'll keep you posted.



Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: redbirdfan on February 14, 2015, 07:56:35 PM
Try loading $1k - get the receipt, then another $1k - get the receipt,  then $500 - get the receipt.  Each interim receipt should show you the balance on the Red Card.  That has worked for me every time.  Make sure you receive fraud alerts by text for whichever card you use.  That way you can clear the purchase if you run afoul of the bank's fraud detection system.  You can load the card at any Target (meaning the Target does not have to sell the prepaid Red Card to be loaded at that store).  Try to start off slowly to not arouse suspicion. Load $1k, walk around the store for a while and then continue.   Even though you are using it for perfectly legal reasons, you are still using a product that is not very well known and in 3 minutes you are loading amounts that may exceed the respective employee's monthly income.  Try not to attract more attention than necessary.

For all similar products, I strongly recommend reviewing post on the Flyer Talk wiki page for the product so you don't run afoul of unsuccessful methods that have already been vetted.  Good luck!  (Note: As a practical matter I don't think it makes much difference whether you use the bill pay feature to pay your mortgage/rent or to just pay off the credit card bill). 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on February 14, 2015, 11:06:09 PM
Yes you can not load more than $1000 per swipe, by all accounts.

Here is a really nice review of the ins and outs of Redcard:

http://dealswelike.boardingarea.com/2015/02/09/target-redcard/
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Secretly Saving on February 15, 2015, 07:10:23 AM
$1,000 per load, but $2500 per day.  Interesting.  Even with this, it wouldn't let me load another $1000 after getting the first receipt.  Maybe I did it in too close of a time period?    I'll try a load, then shop, then try again today and see if that helps. 

Wondering, can any register load the card?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on February 16, 2015, 11:10:01 PM
So there aren't any Target's in my town, but there is a Walmart, that sells the Bluebird Card.  It has the same fine print of can only load with a debit card or cash that the RedCard has.  So does anyone know if the Bluebird card works the same?  The link above from deals we like says you can't have a bluebird if you have a redcar, or vise versa, so I assume they work exactly the same.  Anyone know?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: arebelspy on February 17, 2015, 11:22:22 AM
So there aren't any Target's in my town, but there is a Walmart, that sells the Bluebird Card.  It has the same fine print of can only load with a debit card or cash that the RedCard has.  So does anyone know if the Bluebird card works the same?  The link above from deals we like says you can't have a bluebird if you have a redcar, or vise versa, so I assume they work exactly the same.  Anyone know?

They do not work the same, no.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on February 19, 2015, 12:50:08 AM
You cannot directly load with a credit card with bluebird. But you can load with pin enabled non vanilla brand visa gift cards.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on March 07, 2015, 11:09:59 PM
so secretly saving, now that you've had it for a while, everything working right? you were technically able to pay your mortgage with a credit via the redcard?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: surfhb on March 08, 2015, 01:31:50 AM
What a crock of shit.....nothing in California?   

Anyone want to pick one up for me?  :)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: ChaseJuggler on March 08, 2015, 05:14:03 AM
Thanks so much for this tip. I am now getting $20 in free cash on every mortgage payment! (city double card)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Secretly Saving on March 08, 2015, 07:26:43 AM
Yes, Stache in Training.  It's been working just fine.  I've paid multiple bills with it and earned 5% back whenever I've gone to Target!  Yay!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Tami1982 on March 08, 2015, 11:02:42 AM
I bought a red card off ebay (they don't have them in Washington yet either) and have already registered it.  Just waiting for my permanent card so I can try loading it and paying my mortgage with it.  I will post how it goes.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on March 08, 2015, 11:17:12 AM
I got my permanent card last week.

I can confirm that you can load $2500 a day twice a month, and that you can pay any bill you like including mortgages with their bill pay application.

Hat tip to brad who runs The free "miles for Mustachians" travel hacking course with me Who graciously offered to pick up a Redbird card for me (and a bunch of our course takers) in Richmond Virginia.

It was very nice of him as he had to front $10 for each card he picked up.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on March 08, 2015, 08:00:41 PM
Thanks Secretly Saving, and everyone else who has chimed in here.  this is great!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: surfhb on March 10, 2015, 12:19:17 PM
Purchased a Red Card with my friends help who lives in Bolder, co.    Can't wait to see how the bill pay option works in paying the rent with my AMEX :)

They're also readily available on eBay for about $20 for those you aren't able to pick one up.   

With all my expenses now going to the green card I'll be getting a flight to Europa every 1.5 to 2 years.  Nice!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: SantaFeSteve on March 10, 2015, 12:45:30 PM
I've been using my Redcard for a few weeks to hit my minimum spend on some reward cards and using the online bill pay to pay down my student loans.  Works great so far.

FWIW I have been loading $1,000 per transaction and doing 2 transactions at the same time. So loading $2,000 per trip to Target and I have loaded more than $6,000 in less than 1 month. 

MilesdividendMD, I am not sure where you are seeing the limit of $5,000 per month but I have not had an issue with loading more and did not see that limit anywhere on the website or in my agreement.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: madage on March 10, 2015, 02:26:20 PM
Limits are fairly obvious: https://amex.serve.com/prepaidredcard/faqs/?anchor=cash-1
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: missundecided on March 11, 2015, 09:43:07 AM
I have a Bluebird card. Before I get one from eBay (I'm in CA so not available in Targets here), do I transfer service, or do I wait until I get the temp card? Is there a way to test eBay validity?

I'm guessing, too, that the Redcard is better than the Bluebird?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: SantaFeSteve on March 11, 2015, 09:58:16 AM
Limits are fairly obvious: https://amex.serve.com/prepaidredcard/faqs/?anchor=cash-1
indeed that is fairly obvious.  I read the cardmember agreement, again, and those limits are not in the agreement, but I did find them under additional legal disclosures on the website. 
I then went back to check and I did not in fact add $6,000 in a month.  I hit $5,000 and then it became March before I made my next deposit.

Anywho,  it does work nicely for the credit card minimum spend. 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: mxt0133 on March 11, 2015, 10:01:05 PM
I have a Bluebird card. Before I get one from eBay (I'm in CA so not available in Targets here), do I transfer service, or do I wait until I get the temp card? Is there a way to test eBay validity?

I'm guessing, too, that the Redcard is better than the Bluebird?

You need to close your Bluebird card before you can register your permanent red card.  I tried to register a RedCard and it errored out because I had the Serve card, I called and closed it and the red card registration went through in under 5 minutes.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: surfhb on March 16, 2015, 10:08:37 PM
Just received my card today.   

Question:   What about running my monthly savings through my Red Card to gain the points on my AMEX?    Let say I'm sending off $500 to my ROTH.    Can I load the card with $500,  withdraw the cash,  paid my AMEX then send the $500 to my ROTH?   Make sense?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 16, 2015, 10:13:51 PM
Just received my card today.   

Question:   What about running my monthly savings through my Red Card to gain the points on my AMEX?    Let say I'm sending off $500 to my ROTH.    Can I load the card with $500,  withdraw the cash,  paid my AMEX then send the $500 to my ROTH?   Make sense?

This makes absolutely no sense. You incur a $500 charge on your Amex. Then, you withdraw the $500 cash, and you pay off your Amex. That $500 has now been used to pay off your Amex. Where does this other $500 for the Roth come from?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: surfhb on March 16, 2015, 10:33:51 PM
Just received my card today.   

Question:   What about running my monthly savings through my Red Card to gain the points on my AMEX?    Let say I'm sending off $500 to my ROTH.    Can I load the card with $500,  withdraw the cash,  paid my AMEX then send the $500 to my ROTH?   Make sense?

This makes absolutely no sense. You incur a $500 charge on your Amex. Then, you withdraw the $500 cash, and you pay off your Amex. That $500 has now been used to pay off your Amex. Where does this other $500 for the Roth come from?

I already have the $500 ready to put into my ROTH.    If I load my card with $500 from my AMEX green card and withdrawl the cash......I  now have $1000.   500 goes to AMEX to pay off the reload and $500 goes to my ROTH.    I'm just funneling my savings through the Red Card to gain the points.   

Seems doable or maybe I'm being blonde :)

Can a AMEX to Red Card Reload be immediately turned into cash?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 16, 2015, 10:39:14 PM
Just received my card today.   

Question:   What about running my monthly savings through my Red Card to gain the points on my AMEX?    Let say I'm sending off $500 to my ROTH.    Can I load the card with $500,  withdraw the cash,  paid my AMEX then send the $500 to my ROTH?   Make sense?

This makes absolutely no sense. You incur a $500 charge on your Amex. Then, you withdraw the $500 cash, and you pay off your Amex. That $500 has now been used to pay off your Amex. Where does this other $500 for the Roth come from?

I already have the $500 ready to put into my ROTH.    If I load my card with $500 from my AMEX green card and withdrawl the cash, I now have $1000.   500 goes to AMEX to pay off the reload and $500 goes to my ROTH.    I'm just funneling my savings through the Red Card to gain the points.   

Seems doable or maybe I'm being blonde :)

You don't need to have $500 ready before starting this cycle in order to use the REDcard:

1) You have $0 to start.
2). Go to Target, use your Amex to load $500 to your REDcard. Then withdraw $500 cash from your REDcard. You now have a $500 asset, cash, and a $500 liability, your Amex. Net amount of money: nothing. Net amount of points? 500 points on your Amex (or whatever multiplier is applicable if your Target is coded as a grocery store, which it almost certainly isn't for Amex).
3). Deposit $500 cash into your bank account.
4). Pay off your Amex. You now are back to $0. No liabilities, no assets.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: surfhb on March 16, 2015, 10:48:02 PM
Right......so it's perfectly ok and legal to reload and repay my AMEX to gain the points?    Seems odd
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: arebelspy on March 16, 2015, 10:49:17 PM

Right......so it's perfectly ok and legal to reload and repay my AMEX to gain the points?    Seems odd

Yeah.

The Roth has nothing to do with it.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: surfhb on March 16, 2015, 10:53:41 PM

Right......so it's perfectly ok and legal to reload and repay my AMEX to gain the points?    Seems odd

Yeah.

The Roth has nothing to do with it.

Hmmmm....Won't AMEX catch on to this?     How many points a year can one gain doing this?   
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: arebelspy on March 16, 2015, 10:57:20 PM


Right......so it's perfectly ok and legal to reload and repay my AMEX to gain the points?    Seems odd

Yeah.

The Roth has nothing to do with it.

Hmmmm....Won't AMEX catch on to this?     How many points a year can one gain doing this?   

Do you get points loading an Amex to red card?  I know you didn't with serve. Nevertheless, you can load a visa then pay it off with the serve account.

If you just load and pay, they could shut you down, they want you using the account. But yes, on the whole it's what most people do.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: BCBiker on March 17, 2015, 05:33:43 AM
I have been using my Reloadable RedCard and it is incredibly flexible.  I have tried all kinds of things just to see if it works.

You can load $1500 to card with cc then immediately withdraw cash from ATM in store ($750 per day)

You can pay a friend or family member by check for free with no limits that I can see.  Just enter their address, name and contact.

Thus, even if your mortgage company is not on Bill Pay, just send a check to spouse or room mate, have them cash check, and use cash to pay mortgage.

You can transfer balances from one cc to another and earn points in the process.

It is kind of amazing but like others have said it will probably go away soon.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 17, 2015, 05:50:18 AM
Yeah redcard is legit a legit and awesome no fee way to churn money thru CC's

I'm currently looking for the best Grocery rewards credit card to maximize this as my Target posts as grocery. 

Anyone know what the best no limit grocery card is?  I already have the Amex Preferred i use for normal grocery purchases.  Is there anything else?

I have found the PenFed card gives you 3% at groceries but i'm not clear on how useful penfed points are.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 17, 2015, 10:48:06 AM
Yeah redcard is legit a legit and awesome no fee way to churn money thru CC's

I'm currently looking for the best Grocery rewards credit card to maximize this as my Target posts as grocery. 

Anyone know what the best no limit grocery card is?  I already have the Amex Preferred i use for normal grocery purchases.  Is there anything else?

I have found the PenFed card gives you 3% at groceries but i'm not clear on how useful penfed points are.

Note that every payment network sets its own merchant code for each merchant. It is very rare that Amex codes any Target as a grocery store, even if Mastercard and Visa code it as one.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 17, 2015, 11:30:01 AM
Yeah redcard is legit a legit and awesome no fee way to churn money thru CC's

I'm currently looking for the best Grocery rewards credit card to maximize this as my Target posts as grocery. 

Anyone know what the best no limit grocery card is?  I already have the Amex Preferred i use for normal grocery purchases.  Is there anything else?

I have found the PenFed card gives you 3% at groceries but i'm not clear on how useful penfed points are.

Note that every payment network sets its own merchant code for each merchant. It is very rare that Amex codes any Target as a grocery store, even if Mastercard and Visa code it as one.

I'm not using the AMEX for this purpose it is for our normal groceries.  i was looking for other cards the Diners Club card looks awesome if it becomes available again.  I just need to see if mastercard codes Target as a grocery store.  if not it just adds to my expenses by going to CVS and loading serve at FD
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 17, 2015, 11:41:19 AM
Yeah redcard is legit a legit and awesome no fee way to churn money thru CC's

I'm currently looking for the best Grocery rewards credit card to maximize this as my Target posts as grocery. 

Anyone know what the best no limit grocery card is?  I already have the Amex Preferred i use for normal grocery purchases.  Is there anything else?

I have found the PenFed card gives you 3% at groceries but i'm not clear on how useful penfed points are.

Note that every payment network sets its own merchant code for each merchant. It is very rare that Amex codes any Target as a grocery store, even if Mastercard and Visa code it as one.

I'm not using the AMEX for this purpose it is for our normal groceries.  i was looking for other cards the Diners Club card looks awesome if it becomes available again.  I just need to see if mastercard codes Target as a grocery store.  if not it just adds to my expenses by going to CVS and loading serve at FD

Oh oops. When you said "I'm currently looking for the best Grocery rewards credit card to maximize this as my Target posts as grocery" and then talked about your Amex, I didn't read closely and jumped to conclusions. My bad.

Off the top of my head I can't think of a no limit grocery store cc.

By the way, any advantage of FD vs Walmart? It's just closer to your house?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: SomedayStache on March 17, 2015, 11:44:44 AM
Citi card double counts target as grocery. This gets 2%.
Barclaycards sallie mae MasterCard counts target as grocery, but you only get 5% rewards up to a pretty low cap (250 or 350, I can't remember which).
I'd love to hear better suggestions.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 17, 2015, 11:50:38 AM
FD is on my way home and no hassles loading like at Walmart.  They welcome me with a smile and know me by name.  And the managers see it as 500 in sales so they like that. 

I think the best grocery card out there is the Diners club card.  just have to wait for it to go back live and i can get over 120K Starwood points for the measly price of 500 a year. 

For those that dont know that will get you 10 nights in a maui resort that costs over 400 a night.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 17, 2015, 11:51:07 AM
Off the top of my head I can't think of a no limit grocery store cc.

/face palm. I actually have one. The Amex Premier Rewards Gold - 2x points at groceries, no limit. Annual fee of $175 (but will rise to $195 starting June), waived the first year. Earns Amex Membership Rewards points, transferrable to 17 different airlines (sadly the only major US carrier is Delta, but you can also transfer to British Airways to book flights on AA (and US, but they'll be merged soon)).
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 17, 2015, 12:04:28 PM
with 2x points i'll probably just go with the barclay arrival card as they get 2.2x points when used to offset travel.  At least for now.  doesnt matter the store i use.  plus can be churned every 6-7 months apparently. 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 17, 2015, 02:19:41 PM
Thanks neo but you misunderstand the purpose of my initial question that the was a response too... this is the manufacture spend thru target on a card to maximize value of travel/cash back points. 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on March 17, 2015, 02:29:19 PM
If this post is out of line, please mods feel free to delete.

Anyone with local access to the RedCard please PM me. I would gladly pay you for your troubles to send one, we do not have them in NY I found out today.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 17, 2015, 02:56:20 PM
with 2x points i'll probably just go with the barclay arrival card as they get 2.2x points when used to offset travel.  At least for now.  doesnt matter the store i use.  plus can be churned every 6-7 months apparently.

You're comparing apples and oranges. A Barclay Arrival+ point can at most only ever be worth 1.111111 cents. An Amex MR point, however, can be transferred to many airline partners at a 1:1 ratio. The most lucrative use of such points is transferring during a bonus period (the most recent one was 1.4 British Airways Avios miles for 1 Amex MR point). Then, redeem them for short flights. This example (obviously, I cherry picked this one) shows a value of 8.5 cents per Avios. http://thepointsguy.com/2012/12/travel-tuesday-top-10-most-valuable-ways-to-redeem-british-airways-avios/ (http://thepointsguy.com/2012/12/travel-tuesday-top-10-most-valuable-ways-to-redeem-british-airways-avios/).
When you add in that 40% transfer bonus, that's 11.9 cents per Amex MR. And 2x points at grocery stores means an astounding 23.8% cash back.

But like I said, I cherry pikced that example. You should do your own research to see what kind of points valuation you can get using Amex MR points. Typically you can get a valuation of at least 1.5 cents a mile, but it really varies on your itinerary and particularly your home airport.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 18, 2015, 05:47:09 AM
with 2x points i'll probably just go with the barclay arrival card as they get 2.2x points when used to offset travel.  At least for now.  doesnt matter the store i use.  plus can be churned every 6-7 months apparently.

You're comparing apples and oranges. A Barclay Arrival+ point can at most only ever be worth 1.111111 cents. An Amex MR point, however, can be transferred to many airline partners at a 1:1 ratio. The most lucrative use of such points is transferring during a bonus period (the most recent one was 1.4 British Airways Avios miles for 1 Amex MR point). Then, redeem them for short flights. This example (obviously, I cherry picked this one) shows a value of 8.5 cents per Avios. http://thepointsguy.com/2012/12/travel-tuesday-top-10-most-valuable-ways-to-redeem-british-airways-avios/ (http://thepointsguy.com/2012/12/travel-tuesday-top-10-most-valuable-ways-to-redeem-british-airways-avios/).
When you add in that 40% transfer bonus, that's 11.9 cents per Amex MR. And 2x points at grocery stores means an astounding 23.8% cash back.

But like I said, I cherry pikced that example. You should do your own research to see what kind of points valuation you can get using Amex MR points. Typically you can get a valuation of at least 1.5 cents a mile, but it really varies on your itinerary and particularly your home airport.

and with barclay arrival plus points i can search around and find a baller deal on some hotel or condo that registers as a travel expense on the card.  I can then book that travel with that card and get more value out of it... its no different than the extreme example you just showed. only it has more flexibility.  Say a rental car company is running 6 dollar a day rentals.  Can i get that price with MR no can i with barclay yes... so there is a big difference between the flexibility of the 2 cards and one could argue an extreme example could be found either way.

I dont need airline miles i have 200k AA miles and 310k SW miles.  so finding some crazy weird conversion from MR with avios that would require me to jump closer to my destination to begin with using SW points doesnt really interest me.  AA miles are so easy to pick up with the citi cards it just doesnt make any sense to me to try to maximize that value with avios waiting for the 40% bump from AMEX and then finding some stupid crazy business class flight.  its not about maximizing that point as much as it is about maximizing the value of the dollar i'm spending for my purposes.  and AMEX doesnt do that for me currently.

Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: nanu on March 18, 2015, 06:49:03 AM
If this post is out of line, please mods feel free to delete.

Anyone with local access to the RedCard please PM me. I would gladly pay you for your troubles to send one, we do not have them in NY I found out today.
I haven't bought one myself, but I've seen them go for about $30 on ebay.
Not ideal, but possibly better than nothing if you can't find another way to get one
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 18, 2015, 11:55:01 AM
with 2x points i'll probably just go with the barclay arrival card as they get 2.2x points when used to offset travel.  At least for now.  doesnt matter the store i use.  plus can be churned every 6-7 months apparently.

You're comparing apples and oranges. A Barclay Arrival+ point can at most only ever be worth 1.111111 cents. An Amex MR point, however, can be transferred to many airline partners at a 1:1 ratio. The most lucrative use of such points is transferring during a bonus period (the most recent one was 1.4 British Airways Avios miles for 1 Amex MR point). Then, redeem them for short flights. This example (obviously, I cherry picked this one) shows a value of 8.5 cents per Avios. http://thepointsguy.com/2012/12/travel-tuesday-top-10-most-valuable-ways-to-redeem-british-airways-avios/ (http://thepointsguy.com/2012/12/travel-tuesday-top-10-most-valuable-ways-to-redeem-british-airways-avios/).
When you add in that 40% transfer bonus, that's 11.9 cents per Amex MR. And 2x points at grocery stores means an astounding 23.8% cash back.

But like I said, I cherry pikced that example. You should do your own research to see what kind of points valuation you can get using Amex MR points. Typically you can get a valuation of at least 1.5 cents a mile, but it really varies on your itinerary and particularly your home airport.

and with barclay arrival plus points i can search around and find a baller deal on some hotel or condo that registers as a travel expense on the card.  I can then book that travel with that card and get more value out of it... its no different than the extreme example you just showed. only it has more flexibility.  Say a rental car company is running 6 dollar a day rentals.  Can i get that price with MR no can i with barclay yes... so there is a big difference between the flexibility of the 2 cards and one could argue an extreme example could be found either way.

I dont need airline miles i have 200k AA miles and 310k SW miles.  so finding some crazy weird conversion from MR with avios that would require me to jump closer to my destination to begin with using SW points doesnt really interest me.  AA miles are so easy to pick up with the citi cards it just doesnt make any sense to me to try to maximize that value with avios waiting for the 40% bump from AMEX and then finding some stupid crazy business class flight.  its not about maximizing that point as much as it is about maximizing the value of the dollar i'm spending for my purposes.  and AMEX doesnt do that for me currently.

While my post was in response to your comment, I posted that as general information for the sake of other people on this forum. You were comparing points that have different values, and to the uninformed reader, it may seem like they are actually worth the same.

And secondly, you can certainly find baller deals on lodging. But it's far more difficult to find baller deals on flights, which is what I talked about.
That's great you have so many airline miles. Some people don't, and I'm sure some of them would appreciate knowing how Amex MR points are different from Barclaycard's Arrival+ miles.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 18, 2015, 01:24:00 PM
Johnny there is an answer to my question and its the old blue card from AMEX

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1535970-old-amex-blue-2013-2014-a.html

5% CB up to 50k a year after 6500 in purchases.  SOOO... even if i have to use a pharmacy and pay the 1% fee for the cards to load serve.  i still make 2k a year on this card cash money. if target counts as a grocery store with amex i will make 2500 a year on this bad boy. 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: johnny847 on March 18, 2015, 02:08:17 PM
Johnny there is an answer to my question and its the old blue card from AMEX

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1535970-old-amex-blue-2013-2014-a.html

5% CB up to 50k a year after 6500 in purchases.  SOOO... even if i have to use a pharmacy and pay the 1% fee for the cards to load serve.  i still make 2k a year on this card cash money. if target counts as a grocery store with amex i will make 2500 a year on this bad boy.

Well strictly speaking it's not an answer to your question because there is a limit of $50k ;) Close enough though, I'd be hard pressed to MS anywhere close to $50k.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 18, 2015, 02:26:52 PM
Johnny there is an answer to my question and its the old blue card from AMEX

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1535970-old-amex-blue-2013-2014-a.html

5% CB up to 50k a year after 6500 in purchases.  SOOO... even if i have to use a pharmacy and pay the 1% fee for the cards to load serve.  i still make 2k a year on this card cash money. if target counts as a grocery store with amex i will make 2500 a year on this bad boy.

Well strictly speaking it's not an answer to your question because there is a limit of $50k ;) Close enough though, I'd be hard pressed to MS anywhere close to $50k.

Yeah it will take me about 5 months to do all that spend Redcard and serve to the rescue assuming my target codes as a Grocery store otherwise it will take 10 months using just serve.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Tami1982 on March 18, 2015, 04:01:54 PM
Just an update.  I loaded my permanent redcard (the cashier did it very quickly, knew exactly what it was, took maybe a minute.)  Used the bill pay to pay my mortgage, car payment, and student loan.  All went through electronically two days later.  I checked all the websites and the payments posted.  WOOT.  Worked great:)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Lyngi on March 18, 2015, 08:17:49 PM
I bought a redcard off Ebay, too.  Took about a week to get the actual card, loaded it up at Target-easy.  I made a small payment to my mortgage to make sure.  It looks like it will take 4 days to get there.  One thing I noticed is that the Redcard website doesn't get along with Chrome browser.  It works fine with my android phone browser, and does fine with Internet Explorer. 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: SantaFeSteve on March 19, 2015, 07:25:37 AM
I bought a redcard off Ebay, too.  Took about a week to get the actual card, loaded it up at Target-easy.  I made a small payment to my mortgage to make sure.  It looks like it will take 4 days to get there.  One thing I noticed is that the Redcard website doesn't get along with Chrome browser.  It works fine with my android phone browser, and does fine with Internet Explorer.

FWIW, I use Chrome and have not had an issue with the Redcard website.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Secretly Saving on March 19, 2015, 07:27:15 AM
I haven't either.  I only use Chrome.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: boarder42 on March 19, 2015, 09:20:53 AM
works fine on my chrome browser also just so you know your android phone browser is chrome
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: fishie230 on March 19, 2015, 09:28:51 AM
Does anyone know if there's a way to find out if your bank is on the redcard billpay list?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: SomedayStache on March 19, 2015, 09:41:49 AM
Do you have a red card yet? I'm guessing not because then this would be a silly question.
But it doesn't matter, you can enter your bank's address and your loan number and they will mail a check.
My smallish bank is on their list, but I kept getting an error that my account number was the wrong format and so was unable to use their prefilled info.

I just manually entered the info and have paid my mortgage twice with no issues.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: fishie230 on March 19, 2015, 09:46:55 AM
Do you have a red card yet? I'm guessing not because then this would be a silly question.
But it doesn't matter, you can enter your bank's address and your loan number and they will mail a check.
My smallish bank is on their list, but I kept getting an error that my account number was the wrong format and so was unable to use their prefilled info.

I just manually entered the info and have paid my mortgage twice with no issues.

Thanks for the reply!  You're right, we don't have one yet and didn't want to bother with the long drive if we weren't actually going to be able to use it for our mortgage.  As long as we can just enter it manually, it sounds like it's worth the drive.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Tami1982 on March 19, 2015, 10:04:53 AM
I bought a redcard off Ebay, too.  Took about a week to get the actual card, loaded it up at Target-easy.  I made a small payment to my mortgage to make sure.  It looks like it will take 4 days to get there.  One thing I noticed is that the Redcard website doesn't get along with Chrome browser.  It works fine with my android phone browser, and does fine with Internet Explorer.

I also only use Chrome and did fine, but I do want to share something.  Please check your red card profile.  Mine had phone numbers that were not mine listed, and phone numbers can be used to transfer money.  They  may have had to put phone numbers in when the purchased the card from Target, I don't know.  But I also bought mine on ebay. 
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on March 23, 2015, 09:23:49 PM

Just received my card today.   

Question:   What about running my monthly savings through my Red Card to gain the points on my AMEX?    Let say I'm sending off $500 to my ROTH.    Can I load the card with $500,  withdraw the cash,  paid my AMEX then send the $500 to my ROTH?   Make sense?

Sure you can!

There's nothing magical about actually paying a bill from your red card. You can simply load up your redcard in then use it to pay off the very credit cards that you charged to load it in the first place.

Alternatively you could load up your red card and then withdraw all of your money to a linked bank account and get on with your life.  All that really matters is that you're meeting meaningful goals with your manufactured spending, that you're not doing anything that you feel to be unethical, and that you don't get shut down by the credit card company orThe prepaid card company (i.e. Redbird)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: secondcor521 on March 23, 2015, 10:10:44 PM
With all my expenses now going to the green card I'll be getting a flight to Europa every 1.5 to 2 years.  Nice!

Seems like that would cost you about 390 million miles:

https://www.google.com/search?q=distance+from+Earth+to+Europa&oq=distance+from+Earth+to+Europa&aqs=chrome..69i57.7685j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8 (https://www.google.com/search?q=distance+from+Earth+to+Europa&oq=distance+from+Earth+to+Europa&aqs=chrome..69i57.7685j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8)

:-P
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on April 09, 2015, 09:20:00 PM
So I got the permanent card in the mail, and it's activated.  Any reason to hold on to the card I got in the store?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on April 10, 2015, 10:30:39 AM

So I got the permanent card in the mail, and it's activated.  Any reason to hold on to the card I got in the store?

Nope, unless it has sentimental value!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Mother Fussbudget on April 10, 2015, 01:30:59 PM
OP:  I did exactly this with my Target prepaid REDcard for the first time this month.  There are no fees, and the 'bill-pay' option is the thing you use to pay your mortgage.... or send a check to yourself to be deposited into your checking account.

I've been following the "REDbird / REDcard" discussion on FrequentMiler.com, and have had lots of success.  Best of luck!

You were able to do this in the PNW? I noticed the RedCard isn't offered at Target in WA...does that mean you do it all online (apply for the RedCard and later load it with another CC), and never go into a store? That would be cool.

Yes, in the PNW.  Bought my prepaid REDCard at a Target while travelling.  You could also reach out to a friend or family member who lives near a participating Target, and  have them get one for you.  I *was* loading my card at my local Target (Factoria) but now have to drag all the way to Redmond to load the card.  Can not re-load from a credit card on-line.  But there's no fee to load from Visa or MC. 

I'm also using a gift-card transfer scheme to get 5x miles by buying gift cards from certain retailers that accept their own gift cards to buy other cards.  I go to Staples.com, buy the gift cards, take them to the 'retailer', and buy $500 Visa Gift cards earning 5K miles/transaction.  I buy enough from there (and another retailer) to earn miles/points, then go to Target, load the card (under the daily & monthly limits) and finally use the Target REDcard pre-paid account's bill pay to pay the mortgage.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on April 10, 2015, 02:01:12 PM
I actually got my prepaid Red card from Brad Barret who runs the travel miles 101 travel course with me.

I believe he has picked up dozens of these for course takers in areas that do not have access to the red card.

I can confirm that it is a very powerful miles and points earning tool.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: sirdoug007 on April 10, 2015, 02:50:07 PM
I'm also using a gift-card transfer scheme to get 5x miles by buying gift cards from certain retailers that accept their own gift cards to buy other cards.  I go to Staples.com, buy the gift cards, take them to the 'retailer', and buy $500 Visa Gift cards earning 5K miles/transaction.  I buy enough from there (and another retailer) to earn miles/points, then go to Target, load the card (under the daily & monthly limits) and finally use the Target REDcard pre-paid account's bill pay to pay the mortgage.

Can you give us a concrete example of how this works?

Such as:
1. Go to Staples.com and buy $500 Bestbuy gift card.
2. Go to BestBuy and buy $500 Visa gift card.
3. etc.

I'm not following where you use the credit card and how you exchange them for Visa gift cards without fees.  Thanks!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Mother Fussbudget on April 10, 2015, 04:58:55 PM
I left out the name of the 'store' on purpose.  There's always the chance when retail deals are verified, that the retailer stops accepting their own gift cards for other gift cards (UpgradeGC).  One could always be left stuck with gift cards for a store where you could only buy  (for example) "trains, planes and video games" if they stop doing gift card upgrades. 

My method:
1) From home, go to Staples.com and buy $500-$1000 of 'store' gift cards with e-mail delivery with Chase Ink Plus Visa card - 5x points at Office Supply stores.    (you receive 1 email per gift card.)
2) Follow each email to the online gift-card in your smart-phone browser.
4) Go to 'store' with your smartphone and buy 2x $500 Vanilla Visa Gift Cards. Scan each GC from the phone at the register + $4.95 fee.
5) Go to Target, and deposit Visa Gift cards into prepaid REDcard in $1000 increments (up to $2.5K daily / $5K monthly limits).
6) From home, use REDcard website bill-pay option to pay the mortgage. 
7) From home, use REDcard website bill-pay to send any excess to investment / savings account.

Complex... I know. 

I'm going trying a new method:  buy Sears cards via "Ultimate Rewards" portal (8x bonus), and use the Sears cards to buy Vanilla Visa Gift cards... but I haven't personally run that experiment.  I'm assured it will work.

To find retailers that accept their own gift cards to purchase other gift cards, see:  http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/laboratory/ and search "UpgradeGC SUCCESS"
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Mother Fussbudget on April 13, 2015, 10:12:23 AM
Forgot the last step...
8) From home, go to chase.com to pay off the Chase Ink Plus card with the $$ for my mortgage.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Mother Fussbudget on April 16, 2015, 09:55:23 AM
Follow-up: the Sears gift-card upgrade experiment was a FAIL.  Sears no longer accepts their gift cards in exchange for other gift cards. FYI
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: nanu on April 16, 2015, 12:16:13 PM
What happens if you use the Sears GC to buy something (whatever it is), and then return it?
Is the money refunded to the GC or somewhere else that you might be able to use?
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: arebelspy on April 16, 2015, 01:11:05 PM
What happens if you use the Sears GC to buy something (whatever it is), and then return it?
Is the money refunded to the GC or somewhere else that you might be able to use?

Gift card.

That's pretty standard for every store.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Researcher on April 16, 2015, 01:34:52 PM
So I got the permanent card in the mail, and it's activated.  Any reason to hold on to the card I got in the store?

No, that card is no longer active.

I've made a pretty good side business selling these online - it's been a game changer for sure.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Ricky on April 16, 2015, 04:02:06 PM
So I got the permanent card in the mail, and it's activated.  Any reason to hold on to the card I got in the store?

No, that card is no longer active.

I've made a pretty good side business selling these online - it's been a game changer for sure.

Why would anyone buy these if not to use them for manufactured spend? They can't do that unless they go into Target anyway.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: arebelspy on April 16, 2015, 04:31:29 PM
So I got the permanent card in the mail, and it's activated.  Any reason to hold on to the card I got in the store?

No, that card is no longer active.

I've made a pretty good side business selling these online - it's been a game changer for sure.

Why would anyone buy these if not to use them for manufactured spend? They can't do that unless they go into Target anyway.

Many Targets can load them, but don't stock them.  So they buy them from someone in a state who has Targets selling them, get it shipped to them, then load it at their local Target.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: purple monkey on April 16, 2015, 05:51:52 PM
New here.  Been lurking for over a year.

Please advise on the red card.

Is it a Target card or am I a newbie who is confused?

TIA
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Ricky on April 16, 2015, 06:35:08 PM
So I got the permanent card in the mail, and it's activated.  Any reason to hold on to the card I got in the store?

No, that card is no longer active.

I've made a pretty good side business selling these online - it's been a game changer for sure.

Why would anyone buy these if not to use them for manufactured spend? They can't do that unless they go into Target anyway.

Many Targets can load them, but don't stock them.  So they buy them from someone in a state who has Targets selling them, get it shipped to them, then load it at their local Target.

Ahh makes sense!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: arebelspy on April 16, 2015, 06:42:03 PM
New here.  Been lurking for over a year.

Please advise on the red card.

Is it a Target card or am I a newbie who is confused?

It is an American Express online bank account in partnership with Target, where you load it: https://amex.serve.com/prepaidredcard/

It is not a Target credit card, that is different: http://www.target.com/redcard/main

Welcome to the forums purple monkey dishwasher!  :)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: purple monkey on April 16, 2015, 09:30:16 PM
New here.  Been lurking for over a year.

Please advise on the red card.

Is it a Target card or am I a newbie who is confused?

It is an American Express online bank account in partnership with Target, where you load it: https://amex.serve.com/prepaidredcard/

It is not a Target credit card, that is different: http://www.target.com/redcard/main

Welcome to the forums purple monkey dishwasher!  :)

Thanks for the response and welcome!

I looked a little at your history.

Very, very impressive!!!
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Schaefer Light on April 17, 2015, 08:32:45 AM
I just noticed that the cards cannot be re-loaded in NC or Arkansas.  That's a bummer.  Especially since the stores near me in NC do sell the cards.  It seems ridiculous that they would sell them but not re-load them.  I guess I've got the opposite problem of most people.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Indexer on April 17, 2015, 04:27:17 PM
I just noticed that the cards cannot be re-loaded in NC or Arkansas.  That's a bummer.  Especially since the stores near me in NC do sell the cards.  It seems ridiculous that they would sell them but not re-load them.  I guess I've got the opposite problem of most people.

Same problem here.  The manager at the nearest store said it has something to do with the POS terminals.  They haven't been updated.  I call about once a month to see if it has changed.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: meadow lark on May 24, 2015, 01:19:49 PM
Read today you could no longer load the Red Card with a credit card.  Too bad.
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: milesdividendmd on May 24, 2015, 02:51:03 PM

Read today you could no longer load the Red Card with a credit card.  Too bad.

Meadow Lark,

That's true but there are countless other strategies that will allow you to pay all of your bills with credit cards, for 1% or less (sometimes even better than free. )

We cover many of these in our travel miles 101 course (which is free, at this point.)

Feel free to sign up!

AZ
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: SailAway on May 24, 2015, 03:21:47 PM

Read today you could no longer load the Red Card with a credit card.  Too bad.

Meadow Lark,

That's true but there are countless other strategies that will allow you to pay all of your bills with credit cards, for 1% or less (sometimes even better than free. )

We cover many of these in our travel miles 101 course (which is free, at this point.)

Feel free to sign up!

AZ
u
I just signed up. Thanks. :)
Title: Re: Way to actually pay mortgage with credit card
Post by: Stache In Training on June 11, 2015, 10:02:30 PM
Read today you could no longer load the Red Card with a credit card.  Too bad.

Yeah, I can confirm. I went to load it today with a credit card, and it got denied.