You can even pay an insane amount (over your regular mortgage) and ask Citi to credit your extra payment to escrow only. Pay this extra amount just before the year ends, and Citi will send you back any excess escrow in the first Q of the year (at least thats how my mortgage works with Citi) in the form of a cheque. You can wash a lot of money this way. Of course, this is all predicated on the assumption that this charge on the credit card is considered a purchase (and not a cash advance) and it is considered an "everyday" purchase to earn 5 points on the Citi Amex or 2 points on PPE and match that with flight points to get 4 points.