MilesBuzz! - Payments to third parties with credit card

Sorry if this has already been answered -- but as I understand it, services like ChargeSmart allow you to use your CC (for a fee) to pay certain types of vendors (mortgage, rent, auto insurance etc., but some specific categories). And others, like Amazon, let you pay anyone, but that person has to have an Amazon account.

Is there a service that would allow me to use my CC to pay a third party who doesn't have an account? Ideally the service would just cut a check to the third party and send it on my behalf. I realize this would entail a fee; I don't particularly mind the fee (obviously lower fee is preferable to higher, but I'm willing to pay ~2-3% for this).

Thanks (feel free to merge into another thread if necessary).

If you are looking for a service that cuts a check, I think williampaid does this. I have not used it nor have I read through the entire thread, but here's the info: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/1112860-pay-your-rent-online.html

You could do somehing similar by using two Paypal accounts. I think the Paypal fee in a Premier account for receiving payments funded from a credit card is something like 2.9% plus 30 cents. This will allow you to charge cash to a credit card and get the points/spend for a fee, but it won't handle the "send a check" part.

Williampaid says they're designed to "pay your rent". I'm more interested in paying a generic third party. The paypal option doesn't work because the recipient doesn't want the hassle of opening an account. They're generally paid by check and want to continue receiving a check from me.

My bank will do this from my checking account but obviously that doesn't earn miles.

Williampaid says they're designed to "pay your rent". I'm more interested in paying a generic third party. The paypal option doesn't work because the recipient doesn't want the hassle of opening an account. They're generally paid by check and want to continue receiving a check from me.

My bank will do this from my checking account but obviously that doesn't earn miles.

The business model for williampaid is to pay rent, but basically it just cuts a check to whomever you designate. You can basically set your third party as a landlord and send them a check. 2.95% fee, so it is not cheap, but in theory you can send yourself a check. I have been using this site for more than a year, grandfathered to 2.45%, use it to meet minimum spend. I hate the website and user interface, not intuitive, but it does the job.

Williampaid says they're designed to "pay your rent". I'm more interested in paying a generic third party. The paypal option doesn't work because the recipient doesn't want the hassle of opening an account. They're generally paid by check and want to continue receiving a check from me.

My bank will do this from my checking account but obviously that doesn't earn miles.

paydivy and paypal have same fee of over 3% i think.
don't know any other sites where you can send money to another person with credit card and fee is just 3% or less?
i am not talking about chargesmart or williamspaid.

Venmo is also 3% and you can deposit the money straight to the bank

Thanks for the tip about williampaid -- I didn't realize you can just designate anyone you want as your "landlord".

Of course what would be easiest is if the guy would just sign up for Amazon Payments but, ah well.

Thanks for the tip about williampaid -- I didn't realize you can just designate anyone you want as your "landlord".

Of course what would be easiest is if the guy would just sign up for Amazon Payments but, ah well.

so have you sent money (thru credit card) to anyone using williampaid yet?
just select LANDLORD right? still a 3% fee?

so have you sent money (thru credit card) to anyone using williampaid yet?
just select LANDLORD right? still a 3% fee?

for a second, get the word "landlord" off your mind, when you do a payment it just asks you the name of who to write the check and address of where the check is going to be sent to. WP could care less of who you send it to, as long as they get their 2.95%.

Lets do a test, I can PM you my name and address and you cut a check for $1,000. When I get the check and cash it I'll let you know.

Funny, I would also be willing to help you out with this test :)

@ORD-TGU - Have you had any experience with different credit cards using this services, different banks?


for a second, get the word "landlord" off your mind, when you do a payment it just asks you the name of who to write the check and address of where the check is going to be sent to. WP could care less of who you send it to, as long as they get their 2.95%.

Lets do a test, I can PM you my name and address and you cut a check for $1,000. When I get the check and cash it I'll let you know.

I am troubled by a trend that I fear is being repeated in this thread.

Williampaid is a service designed and intended to pay a landlord for rent. For those of us who use it legitimately, it works well.

I like the service so much that I called and asked if they would also allow me to pay my mortgage, which they declined as they said they are only set up to pay landlords at this time.

For those of you who think nothing of trying to "scam" the system by substituting someone other than a landlord to avail yourselves of the service - have you no shame? This is no different than those who would also think nothing of buying a high priced item at Costco.com, charging it to a Visa card and then returning it to a store and getting a cash refund.....all in the name of collecting points and miles.

This service works well for the use it is intended for. Please do not ruin it for us by forcing them to take more restrictive measures or to raise fees because of increased overhead necessitated by people trying to use the system for a purpose other that as it was designed.

FrAAmer, no disrespect, but what does WP care who you send the check to, they collect their 3% either way? This is not the same as Costco who has to eat the fee from the credit card company when you return something - WP is passing it along to you. Are you suggesting that the more business they have, the more they will need to charge in fees?

FrAAmer, no disrespect, but what does WP care who you send the check to, they collect their 3% either way? This is not the same as Costco who has to eat the fee from the credit card company when you return something - WP is passing it along to you. Are you suggesting that the more business they have, the more they will need to charge in fees?

Agree with cjpat on this one. I've got to make a monthly payment of about $1100 to a third party. Not sure why WP would care if it's my "landlord" or someone else.

That said, if they have a rule that says you can only use it for rent, I might stay away; I wouldn't want to have funds frozen or anything like that.

(But of course that was the very reason I posted in the first place -- I wanted to know if there are services that will cut a check to a third party that don't have these restrictions (rent, mortgage, auto, etc.))

I am not Williampaid, nor do I pretend to speak for them. But I am a merchant who is tired of abuses to the credit card system that I feel are causing "fees" to increase for all of us.

Williampaid has a business model (and agreements with credit card processors) to provide a certain service. Within that model, they feel they can offer said service for a "fee." Their model does not include payments for a mortgage and if they didn't care who the money was sent to, they would have also accepted paying my mortgage for me as they already pay rent for me.

What you are asking them to do is not what their service is designed for. They "care" because payments to a landlord are very different than payments to an individual. Payments to a landlord are intended to be more than a "one shot deal" and have less inherent risk than random payments to an individual.

No disrespect to you either, cjpat44, but do you use (or have you used) Williampaid? From my experience in establishing a relationship with them to use their service, there was "more" than just specifying a name of a landlord, and who the money was being sent to was "vetted" before they would allow me to use their service.

A merchant is "on the hook" for chargebacks. If you are not a merchant who has experienced a "chargeback" (legitimate or not), from my experience as a merchant, it is time consuming to sort everything out - and the credit card processor deducts the disputed amount from the merchant's bank account BEFORE the merchant has an opportunity to defend the chargeback. (And the customer still has the goods or service). So, as a merchant, I do not have the merchandise OR any money while the chargeback is in dispute.

In Williampaid's case, Williampaid (or a similar service) could send the check to someone and the person who was intending to send the check could "dispute" the charge on their credit card and ask for a chargeback.

Williampaid (or a similar service) would then be "out" the money until the dispute is resolved. They would have sent the money to the recipient by a check, the recipient would have cashed the check and they would have nothing to show for it.

How many times do you think this needs to happen before a company suffers financially?

Ah - I see from your explanation why WP would have such a policy: payments to landlords are unlikely to be charged back. This probably also explains why banks will send a check to anybody - because the fees are deducted before the check is ever written, so no risk of the above. I'm still not sure why, though, it would be such an abuse of their system to send the check to a third party (not a landlord) if you don't charge back your payment. In that case, nobody is really out anything and everybody, cc company included, gets their fees. Not that I'm condoning breaking the rules, but I just don't see this as a moral issue in the way that the Costco return actually harms them.

The "morality" has to do with the fact that the business is set up to pay landlords. They don't say, "pay anyone you want to" or of course if it were not so risky they would gladly pay anyone as it would increase their business.

My concern lies with the assumption that "they don't care who they pay" (as posted by ORG-TGU) so just substitute a name so they will pay it. To me, that's just plain wrong and is an attempt to "scam" the system.

cjpat44 - you never answered my question - and I will address ORG-TGU as well, are you a Williampaid user?

The "morality" has to do with the fact that the business is set up to pay landlords. They don't say, "pay anyone you want to" or of course if it were not so risky they would gladly pay anyone as it would increase their business.

My concern lies with the assumption that "they don't care who they pay" (as posted by ORG-TGU) so just substitute a name so they will pay it. To me, that's just plain wrong and is an attempt to "scam" the system.

cjpat44 - you never answered my question - and I will address ORG-TGU as well, are you a Williampaid user?

Yes, I am a WP user, for more than a year, and yes to make one rent payment a month. I use it in a legit way. I do hate their new and old interface, so buggy, but it does the job. Scheduling is a mess. But check arrives and had not had a problem. I text my landlord just to verify payment. I find the fees too high just for the miles, but I find it fantastic for meeting minimum spend.

I once read on this forum "pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered" so I stick to the rules, believe me or not.