Is it possible/wise to pay rent/phone contract/council tax with credit card?

ahmeah

Apologies if this is a silly question but is it possible or wise to pay monthly things off such as my rent/phone contract/council tax using a credit card?

If it's possible, why would you and why wouldn't you?

Thanks!

Slithery

Depends on whether or not you're paying it off every month and the provider accepts CC payments...

But it may be a good idea to help build credit, for example a £20 a month mobile contract paid via your CC which is then paid of via DD every month might increase two of your credit markers rather than the one if you only pay directly via DD. You can then cut up the credit card and it's only doing positive things rather then negative ones.

As always this advice depends upon the current situation of any credit agreements that you already have, using additional borrowing that is available may also prove detrimental depending on your circumstances.

G_M

What is your aim?
* To build a positive credit record?
* to pay bills you otherwise can't aford?
* to save money?


But if you have a 0% card, and can pay off the minium amount each month, and are sure of being able to pay off the outstanding debt when the 0% deal ends, why not?

(assuming the creditor accepts cc paymets!)

AdrianC

If you're putting your rent etc on your credit card, that's not paying them. It's merely deferring paying them.

ThePants999

My bank account gives 2% cashback on bills paid by direct debit, and my credit card gives 0.5% cashback on everything. So I wouldn't want to use my credit card on anything that my bank considers a qualifying bill, but I would on everything else

ThePants999

AdrianC wrote: »

If you're putting your rent etc on your credit card, that's not paying them. It's merely deferring paying them.

That's a matter of perspective. Personally, since I pay my credit card in full every month, I always deduct my credit card balance from my bank balance when considering how much money I have. So I consider anything I put on my credit card to be immediate spending.

AdrianC

ThePants999 wrote: »

That's a matter of perspective.

No, it's a simple fact.

Personally, since I pay my credit card in full every month

So you only defer it by a few weeks. That may well allow you to manage your cashflow better - but it's simply an extra step between receiving the bill and actually paying it.

Sanne

I pay council tax by credit card as I get 0.5% cashback, about £8 a year so better than nothing! Not heard of a landlord accepting CCs but you never know... would have loved to get some additional cashback on some of the money we spent on roofers, gas engineers/plumbers etc but they all wanted bank transfer.

I do pay it off every month though and use it for anything I can - has helped me build credit and as long

So all in all, if you have a 0% deal and get interest for your money in the meantime (and can pay it off after!) or if you have a cashback/reward card of some sort - or if you need to build credit history - then why not!

POPPYOSCAR

AFF8879 wrote: »

I’m guessing OP wants to max out air miles / cash back / other reward schemes linked to the amount spent on the card. I’ve never known a landlord or mortgage provider to accept payments by CC but there may be some I guess.

Our mortgage provider will but advised us that the CC company treat it as an advance of cash and charge accordingly.

ThePants999

AdrianC wrote: »

No, it's a simple fact.



So you only defer it by a few weeks. That may well allow you to manage your cashflow better - but it's simply an extra step between receiving the bill and actually paying it.

Couldn't disagree more. The organisation you've paid has received their money, so the bills have clearly been "paid". And logically, there is no difference between a positive balance in one of your accounts reducing, and a negative balance in another account increasing. Incurring debt is the same as spending. (The fact that many people don't realise that is a problem!)

If I had £10 in my bank account, and paid a £20 bill, thereby going £10 overdrawn, are you seriously claiming I've only paid half the bill? If not, what's the difference between an overdraft and a credit card?

Please reserve the words "simple fact" for things that are actually facts, not your way of looking at the world - and preferably ones that are also simple

Murphybear

I have some friends who run an independent lettung agency. They got cc facilities a few years ago but stopped using it because very few people used it. They charged for paying by cc so it would have been a desperate tenant who would have paid the rent that way.