Paying utilities via Credit Card

dcfc67

i use my mastercard credit card to  pay council tax.

no direct debit discount so i might as well get 200 plus avios every month for free.

Unfortunately local council don't accept AMEX, shame as 2K would take a chunk out of annual spend requirement 

crumpet_man

dcfc67 said:

i use my mastercard credit card to  pay council tax.

no direct debit discount so i might as well get 200 plus avios every month for free.

Unfortunately local council don't accept AMEX, shame as 2K would take a chunk out of annual spend requirement 

Do they take payment via Paypoint?  If so and if you think it is worth the effort, you could pay your council tax using Amex at a shop which offers paypoint services:

https://www.paypoint.com/store-locator

Fingerbobs

QrizB said:

crumpet_man said:

I have just remembered I have set my Octopus direct debit to £1 ...

That makes more sense 🙂

You don't have to do this with Octopus. I opt to pay all my bills by Variable Direct Debit (which means the DD amount is just the bill amount every month, rather than a fixed amount). With Octopus, after a bill is produced, I can log into the web site and pay it manually by credit card, and the DD isn't taken. If I forget, the DD is there as a backup. 

MyRealNameToo

Fingerbobs said:

QrizB said:

crumpet_man said:

I have just remembered I have set my Octopus direct debit to £1 ...

That makes more sense 🙂

You don't have to do this with Octopus. I opt to pay all my bills by Variable Direct Debit (which means the DD amount is just the bill amount every month, rather than a fixed amount). With Octopus, after a bill is produced, I can log into the web site and pay it manually by credit card, and the DD isn't taken. If I forget, the DD is there as a backup. 

Are you still getting the discounted rate on the tariff? Thought it was only if you had monthly DDs that were discounted which is how they get around the rules on not penalising people for CC payments which includes discounting non-CC payments. 

Fingerbobs

MyRealNameToo said:

Fingerbobs said:

QrizB said:

crumpet_man said:

I have just remembered I have set my Octopus direct debit to £1 ...

That makes more sense 🙂

You don't have to do this with Octopus. I opt to pay all my bills by Variable Direct Debit (which means the DD amount is just the bill amount every month, rather than a fixed amount). With Octopus, after a bill is produced, I can log into the web site and pay it manually by credit card, and the DD isn't taken. If I forget, the DD is there as a backup. 

Are you still getting the discounted rate on the tariff? Thought it was only if you had monthly DDs that were discounted which is how they get around the rules on not penalising people for CC payments which includes discounting non-CC payments. 

Yes, I've been doing this for years with several different energy suppliers. I don't think Octopus have discounted tariffs for DD payers(?), but with previous suppliers just having the variable DD set up is enough to keep the discounted tariff. 

I dislike fixed monthly DDs, and have been on Variable for all my bills for a couple of decades. The "lightbulb" moment for me was when I had a built up a credit balance of about £250, and the supplier wrote to me to tell me my fixed monthly payment was going up! 

MyRealNameToo

Fingerbobs said:
 I don't think Octopus have discounted tariffs for DD payers(?), but with previous suppliers just having the variable DD set up is enough to keep the discounted tariff. 

https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/some-tariffs-cheaper-direct-debit/

Would suggest they do

Fingerbobs

MyRealNameToo said:

Fingerbobs said:
 I don't think Octopus have discounted tariffs for DD payers(?), but with previous suppliers just having the variable DD set up is enough to keep the discounted tariff. 

https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/some-tariffs-cheaper-direct-debit/

Would suggest they do

(a) that doesn't mean they actually have any tariffs that are discounted or exclusive to DD payers, and (b) I did say I don't think they have any. Either way it's irrelevant because you can still have any tariff and pay by Variable DD. 

QrizB

MyRealNameToo said:

Fingerbobs said:
 I don't think Octopus have discounted tariffs for DD payers(?), but with previous suppliers just having the variable DD set up is enough to keep the discounted tariff. 

https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/some-tariffs-cheaper-direct-debit/
Would suggest they do

They definitely do have lower prices for DD payments on some of their tariffs. I showed how to tell on the first page of this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81632374/#Comment_81632374

[Deleted User]

MyRealNameToo said:

ArfurDaley48 said:

I'm looking to put as much on my credit card as I can to build Avios points. I pay my balance in full every month, non negotiable.

Are you sure the extra Avios are worth the loss of the discount for paying by monthly DD?

As long as there is an active Direct Debit mandate on the account then you get the 'Direct Debit' price - you can still pay ad-hoc amounts by Faster Payment, card and even sometimes plain old cash (if they provide a payment card/ barcoded statement).