Making mortgage payments with a CC for miles

[travellingcari]

Originally Posted by sbm12

With what sort of fee? That's always the sticking point on this type of transaction. You get all these miles, but the fees make them cost more than just buying whatever you were going to use the miles for in many cases.

PS- Welcome to FlyerTalk!!

At NYU here in the US the fee was 3% but to a max of $100. Since I only did it to cover the float time between tuition due and loans posting, and never had to pay interest, it worked out fine for me. The $100 was well worth it because a) I didn't have that kind of cash and b) SPG points.

[sbm12]

Originally Posted by travellingcari

At NYU here in the US the fee was 3% but to a max of $100. Since I only did it to cover the float time between tuition due and loans posting, and never had to pay interest, it worked out fine for me. The $100 was well worth it because a) I didn't have that kind of cash and b) SPG points.

If the fee is capped at a reasonable price as yours was then it does make sense. I just fear for people whose eyes light up at the thought of all those points without taking into account the real cost of doing so. The points for taking out a mortgage is a similar effect. Seems great until you realize that your interest rate is higher and you're paying for those points for 15-30 years.

[WBurcham]

Originally Posted by TechAirman

You'll have to ask your credit card company if they can send you a purchase check instead of a cash advance check. If you can get the purchase check then pay for the CC charge by your next due date and you're safe. In the event that the only option is the cash advance check then keep checking your online CC account to find out when the charge posts to your CC account. Be prepared to make an immediate online payment to your CC account in order to minimize the cash advance interest charged. Remember the benefit of this exercise is earning miles with the cash that you were going to pay the mortgage company which earns 0 miles.

RE: Purchase Checks, do they come across as regular (i.e. mile earning) transactions?

If so, what is to stop someone from say writing a $9,999 purchase check to a friend each month (to avoid pesky US Treasury notifications)?