Off With Their Heads!!!

[Anonymous]

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@digitek wrote:

Cash+ is kind of pain to use for utilities and I don't even bother so it just does streaming/internet and only saves me $20/year

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Yep, utilities often charge exorbitant fees for CC payments. My natural gas provider charges a flat-rate $2. I use ~$20-30 worth of gas in the summer months, so the $2 surcharge comes out to 7-10%, and I'd come out behind even with 5% back.

Then there's my ISP. I'd pay a whopping $10 extra per month for using a CC.

That said, the 5% back would benefit me on my electric and water bills, which are quite hefty. Hmm.

[GatorGuy]

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@simplynoir wrote:

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@credit_is_crack wrote:

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@GatorGuy wrote:

@digitek How do you get 4.5% for Altitude Reserve?

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@GatorGuy 

IIRC the altitude card gets 3% on mobile payments, and when those points are redeemed thru US Banks travel portal they add in an additional 1.5% so they'll get 4.5% return, but it has to be redeemed in that fashion. I could be wrong but I believe that's how 

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Using US Bank's Real Time Rewards (RTR) you can redeem points at 1.5x for travel purchases which can make it very lucrative for those that can use mobile pay. The redemption minimums are high depending on what you're attempting to redeem and require you covering the whole purchase but definitely worth it if it'll fit your spending

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@simplynoir Wow, that is a great bonus on top of the 3x. I definitely prefer redeeming purchases rather than having to go through portals which may not be cheaper. 

Definitely a shame I won't be 1/12 for a long time. 

[Taurus22]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@digitek wrote:

Cash+ is kind of pain to use for utilities and I don't even bother so it just does streaming/internet and only saves me $20/year

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Yep, the 5% back on utilities is overrated IMO. Utilities often charge exorbitant fees for CC payments. National Grid charges a flat-rate $2, for instance. If you're a natural gas customer as I am, and use only ~$20-30 worth of gas in the summer months, that comes out to a 7-10% surcharge, so I'd come out behind even with 5% back.

Then there's my ISP. I'd pay a whopping $10 extra per month for using a CC. 5% back isn't gonna come close to covering that.

The 5% back on utilities would benefit me on my electric bill, and would benefit me on natural gas during the winter months, but eh, it's not worth it to me to have a CC just to pay 1-2 bills (not to mention needing to keep an eagle eye on my natural gas bill to see if it's worth paying by CC or not).

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Wow......where do you guys live?  None of my Utility or ISP providers charge any CC fees. I hear people mention this a lot though.

[GatorGuy]

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@Taurus22 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@digitek wrote:

Cash+ is kind of pain to use for utilities and I don't even bother so it just does streaming/internet and only saves me $20/year

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Yep, the 5% back on utilities is overrated IMO. Utilities often charge exorbitant fees for CC payments. National Grid charges a flat-rate $2, for instance. If you're a natural gas customer as I am, and use only ~$20-30 worth of gas in the summer months, that comes out to a 7-10% surcharge, so I'd come out behind even with 5% back.

Then there's my ISP. I'd pay a whopping $10 extra per month for using a CC. 5% back isn't gonna come close to covering that.

The 5% back on utilities would benefit me on my electric bill, and would benefit me on natural gas during the winter months, but eh, it's not worth it to me to have a CC just to pay 1-2 bills (not to mention needing to keep an eagle eye on my natural gas bill to see if it's worth paying by CC or not).

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Wow......where do you guys live?  None of my Utility or ISP providers charge any CC fees. I hear people mention this a lot though.

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I have Comcast so not CC fee but also, isn't very large a bill. However do have a flat $2.50 fee for my utilities, but more than worth it since it is $500 a month. 

[Anonymous]

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@Taurus22 wrote:

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Wow......where do you guys live?  None of my Utility or ISP providers charge any CC fees. I hear people mention this a lot though.

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New York City.

My ISP, Verizon, doesn't technically charge a CC fee, but its advertised price includes a $10/month "autopay discount" for autopaying from my bank account, which effectively amounts to a CC surcharge.

[credit_is_crack]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Taurus22 wrote:

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Wow......where do you guys live?  None of my Utility or ISP providers charge any CC fees. I hear people mention this a lot though.

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New York City.

My ISP, Verizon, doesn't technically charge a CC fee, but its advertised price includes a $10/month "autopay discount" for autopaying from my bank account, which effectively amounts to a CC surcharge.

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That's crazy. I live in Greenwich CT and have Optimum. My cable, cell, gas, power and water companies don't charge for credit card payments

[Andypanda]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Taurus22 wrote:

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Wow......where do you guys live?  None of my Utility or ISP providers charge any CC fees. I hear people mention this a lot though.

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New York City.

My ISP, Verizon, doesn't technically charge a CC fee, but its advertised price includes a $10/month "autopay discount" for autopaying from my bank account, which effectively amounts to a CC surcharge.

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One trick for utilities that charge a CC processing fee (if you can afford it) is to prepay the utilities. If it is only a flat fee surcharge, you onky get hit with it once every few months.

[UncleB]

The benefit of having a card for 5% back on utilities can be highly regional and/or based on circumstances... for one person it will be "overrated" or otherwise not worth it, but for someone else it might be very worth it.

[Anonymous]

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@UncleB wrote:

The benefit of having a card for 5% back on utilities can be highly regional and/or based on circumstances... for one person it will be "overrated" or otherwise not worth it, but for someone else it might be very worth it.

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Absolutely. If someone is fortunate enough to live in a place where they can pay for gas, water, electric, Internet with a CC, all with a 0-4% surcharge, the Cash Plus/MCP could make a lot of sense to get.

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@credit_is_crack wrote:

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That's crazy. I live in Greenwich CT and have Optimum. My cable, cell, gas, power and water companies don't charge for credit card payments

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You're lucky! I used to live in Stamford and my utilities definitely imposed CC surcharges.

[credit_is_crack]

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@UncleB wrote:

The benefit of having a card for 5% back on utilities can be highly regional and/or based on circumstances... for one person it will be "overrated" or otherwise not worth it, but for someone else it might be very worth it.

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Those are facts @UncleB 

In Florida my Cash+ didn't do me any good, but up here I'm banking left and right. My categories are Utilities and Cable and I'm getting about $24 a month back (yeah they don't charge a fee, but the cost of the service still high lol)