Miles for Rent/Mortgage/Tuition? [Consolidated]
Oct 15, 2011, 10:46 am
#212
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 1,756
Oct 15, 2011, 12:14 pm
#213
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 904
Is chargesmart legit? Their website says they accept payments for Access Group (student loan provider). And I would love to charge my loan payments to a credit card and get the spending credit (and I am OK with the % fee from chargesmart). BUT I called AccessGroup, and neither the telephone rep nor his supervisor had ever heard of ChargeSmart at all, and the rep said that he couldn't tell me whether it was legit or not.
On a positive note, my landlord lets me pay rent with a credit card, with no fees!
Given NYC rent prices, that's a lot of easy miles and threshold credit. TBH, I chose this apartment partially because of the credit card deal.
On a positive note, my landlord lets me pay rent with a credit card, with no fees!
Given NYC rent prices, that's a lot of easy miles and threshold credit. TBH, I chose this apartment partially because of the credit card deal.Yes their fee can be high, but compared to the cost of mileage runs, not to mention the *incredibly* high value I place on my own time (
), I still think it's a value for me.
Oct 17, 2011, 4:54 pm
#214
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: Many
Posts: 335
I would think you could do this so that in effect your actual payment (to the cc company after you have used their check to pay the mortgage) is delayed a few weeks. But typically those checks don't accumulate points or miles. I believe they are treated like cash advances rather than as credit card charges.
Oct 25, 2011, 12:02 pm
#215
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Purgatory
Programs: Too many to list. Status is a half dozen.
Posts: 9,235
These checks can be very useful in managing cash flow. Normally I pay off all cc balances monthly, but indeed I've had two cards offer checks that can be used for anything - mainly to write myself a deposit right into my own bank account - at 0% interest and 0% fees for quite a few months. Pay off the monthly minimum until the due date, then pay it all off. The ones I'm talking about are like purchases in terms of how interest is calculated, but do not earn any miles or points. I assume you can't use that credit card in the interim because partial payments would be applied to the 0% balance not to the new purchases.
Dec 5, 2011, 10:13 am
#216
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Naples Florida and San Diego, California
Programs: Delta Diamond, Starwood Platinum
Posts: 73
Chase Continental/United Airlines Mortgage
I was in the market to refinance my home this year and I stumbled across the Chase Continental Mortgage Program. I ended up getting 25,000 miles for doing the re-fi through the program which isn't as sexy as getting "500,000 miles in a single churn" but I felt there it was worth the effort.
Several things made this a good value:
-the rate quoted was the best of the three quotes i received.
-the costs were reasonable and I received this offer from them...
"On Continental One Pass/Chase loans you receive reduced application fees ($395), no origination fee, no appraisal fee, and no credit report fees. The rates are slightly less than retail on most programs."
-Chase has a program where if you have a Chase checking account and set up your mortgage payment for automatic payments you receive 1% of your payments back annually. I opened a Chase checking account to do that and that program will eventually pay back a good chunk of the refinancing fees.
-I also opened a Chase Freedom Card and linked it to my checking account. This will pay a bonus amount on points earned as well as a minimum of 10 points per transaction. As I have the Sapphire Card as well the Freedom Card points can be transferred eventually to airline miles.
It seems to me that the gravitational center of the frequent flyer credit card universe has moved to Chase. I felt it would be good to move my checking and mortgage there as well and establish a solid relationship.
On the downside of all of this I must say that the process of underwriting a mortgage these days is horrible from a standpoint of all the requests for information. I ran into a situation with Chase where they were moving people about and it became exasperating at times [the managers apologized for all the people involved]. I would say that anyone searching for a mortgage or re-fi should know their patience will be tested.
Several things made this a good value:
-the rate quoted was the best of the three quotes i received.
-the costs were reasonable and I received this offer from them...
"On Continental One Pass/Chase loans you receive reduced application fees ($395), no origination fee, no appraisal fee, and no credit report fees. The rates are slightly less than retail on most programs."
-Chase has a program where if you have a Chase checking account and set up your mortgage payment for automatic payments you receive 1% of your payments back annually. I opened a Chase checking account to do that and that program will eventually pay back a good chunk of the refinancing fees.
-I also opened a Chase Freedom Card and linked it to my checking account. This will pay a bonus amount on points earned as well as a minimum of 10 points per transaction. As I have the Sapphire Card as well the Freedom Card points can be transferred eventually to airline miles.
It seems to me that the gravitational center of the frequent flyer credit card universe has moved to Chase. I felt it would be good to move my checking and mortgage there as well and establish a solid relationship.
On the downside of all of this I must say that the process of underwriting a mortgage these days is horrible from a standpoint of all the requests for information. I ran into a situation with Chase where they were moving people about and it became exasperating at times [the managers apologized for all the people involved]. I would say that anyone searching for a mortgage or re-fi should know their patience will be tested.
Dec 5, 2011, 10:24 am
#217
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: GGG, DFW, IAH
Posts: 284
Where did you get the other 2 quotes? In my personal experience big banks are just not competitive vs. small underwriters - and all the reward programs just turn them to non-competitive from very noncompetitive. I refinanced twice in the last 2 years and both times shopped around with ~10 diff lenders and any big bank (chase included) never made it to top 3 of the list.
Dec 5, 2011, 1:15 pm
#218
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,634
This is slightly OT, but I have a Chase Sapphire. For some reason, I paid all but a small piece of my balance one month -- like $2100 instead of $2200 or something. Totally out of the ordinary for me, because I always pay off everything in full. That was in September, and now it's December, and because I only paid of each month's *new* charges, interest was piling up on that small residuum from a few months ago.
Anyway, the point is, Chase waived all fees and charges for me, because of the longstanding relationship I have with them (checking, mortgage, other cards). So given the strong FF/points programs they have, and very good customer service, there are lots of reasons to consider Chase as your "gravitational center," as you put it.
Anyway, the point is, Chase waived all fees and charges for me, because of the longstanding relationship I have with them (checking, mortgage, other cards). So given the strong FF/points programs they have, and very good customer service, there are lots of reasons to consider Chase as your "gravitational center," as you put it.
Jan 4, 2012, 4:06 pm
#222
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC, USA
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AA Exec Plat, Marriott Lifetime Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,012
Jan 4, 2012, 6:06 pm
#223
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,082
Search for the word 'mortgage' on this forum & Credit Card Programs and you'll find some opinions. Give us some more details. Also check www.fatwallet.com
In general you don't want to be applying for a lot of cr. cards w/in 6 months of applying for a new mortgage.
Jan 4, 2012, 8:15 pm
#224
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
Virtually all the CCs issued by the US Banks are only open to US residents.
Of course you can get around this with a US address.
However, a few minor details - a US SSN, a US credit history / credit reports, are usually required in order to get any card issued by a US bank.
Since your location is YYZ, we do not know whether you are Canadian or American and this makes a big difference when applying a credit card issued by US bank.
Of course you can get around this with a US address.
However, a few minor details - a US SSN, a US credit history / credit reports, are usually required in order to get any card issued by a US bank.
Since your location is YYZ, we do not know whether you are Canadian or American and this makes a big difference when applying a credit card issued by US bank.
Jan 4, 2012, 9:34 pm
#225
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 90
I will be doing a refinance on my mortgage on Friday. Shortly thereafter I intend to do a churn. I don't see why it would impact anything. But I don't know much about credit scores or anything. Obviously the new loan would be for less than the original loan was for and maybe that will impact my credit utilization somehow. I wouldn't churn before you close.