Optimizing Cash+ Categories

[cws-21]

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I agree with you, @CL-Addiq. I would rather have my cellphone bill on my Autograph for 3% cash back and cellphone protection than on the Cash+ or Max Cash Preferred for 5% but without cellphone protection. However, I am somewhat interested in the Cash+ for utilities.

@xenon3030, you're recommending two Cash+ cards and I don't even know if I can use one! I have Verizon for landline and Internet, and know that autopay is required for the credit or discount, but is there no way to use PayPal Bill Pay for it as well?

[xenon3030]

Not sure why you cannot use Cash+. There are several 5% categories like department store (Macy's, Kohl), furniture (Ikea), cloth (express), utility, TV/internet/stream, cell phone. One of my Cash+ cards will cover department store/furniture and the other one possibly should cover cloth/utility (I have straming credits from my other cards).

Verizon should get covered by a debit card. I did not check, but you may check whether using the billpay service from paypal can qualify you for the verizon autopay. If you have a high monthly bill from Verizon, you may get Discover debit card (1% cashback).

[cws-21]

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@xenon3030 wrote:

Not sure why you cannot use Cash+. There are several 5% categories like department store (Macy's, Kohl), furniture (Ikea), cloth (express), utility, TV/internet/stream, cell phone. One of my Cash+ cards will cover department store/furniture and the other one possibly should cover cloth/utility (I have straming credits from my other cards).

Verizon should get covered by a debit card. I did not check, but you may check whether using the billpay service from paypal can qualify you for the verizon autopay. If you have a high monthly bill from Verizon, you may get Discover debit card (1% cashback).

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Except for "Home utilities" and "TV, internet and streaming," the Cash+ just doesn't fit my regular spending or I already have categories covered with other cards. Even those two categories are a bit sketchy with the fees that I am charged for using a credit card by my utility providers and not being able to keep the Verizon discount if I use a credit card. PayPal Bill Pay may change things, but I would hate to get the Cash+ for these two categories and then have Bill Pay go away. I would be stuck with a card that I would not use other than the occasional purchase from a department store, clothing store, furniture store, or the like. It might make more sense for me to, at least, pay my utilities with my AOD Visa Signature and PayPal Bill Pay. I would lose 2% cash back, but I would not end up with a card that would be nearly useless for me.

[Anonymous]

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@cws-21 wrote:

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@xenon3030, you're recommending two Cash+ cards and I don't even know if I can use one! I have Verizon for landline and Internet, and know that autopay is required for the credit or discount, but is there no way to use PayPal Bill Pay for it as well?

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Verizon FioS works with PayPal Bill Pay.   I don't know about the other offerings (various versions of Verizon WIreless Home Internet, and DSL, if that is still available).   I would expect them to work, but... no guarantees!

[cws-21]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@cws-21 wrote:

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@xenon3030, you're recommending two Cash+ cards and I don't even know if I can use one! I have Verizon for landline and Internet, and know that autopay is required for the credit or discount, but is there no way to use PayPal Bill Pay for it as well?

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Verizon FioS works with PayPal Bill Pay.   I don't know about the other offerings (various versions of Verizon WIreless Home Internet, and DSL, if that is still available).   I would expect them to work, but... no guarantees!

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Thanks, @Anonymous. I have Verizon FioS, but I can only see how to add a bank account, debit card, or credit card as payment in my Verizon account. Using a credit card will make my account ineligible for the Auto Pay discount per the content below from the website. I realize that the PayPal Bill Pay will obviously be set up on the PayPal end, but can I do Auto Pay of my Verizon bill also from PayPal? I am confused because it seems as though I need to add a payment method to my Verizon account to qualify for the Auto Pay discount, but PayPal is not an option. What am I missing? 

"You're receiving a discount because you're enrolled in both Auto Pay and paper - free billing and maintain an active account. Payments must be made via Auto Pay using a bank account, debit card or the Verizon Visa® Card - all other credit cards are not eligible for the discount."

[Anonymous]

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@cws-21 wrote:

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Thanks, @Anonymous. I have Verizon FioS, but I can only see how to add a bank account, debit card, or credit card as payment in my Verizon account. Using a credit card will make my account ineligible for the Auto Pay discount per the content below from the website. I realize that the PayPal Bill Pay will obviously be set up on the PayPal end, but can I do Auto Pay of my Verizon bill also from PayPal? I am confused because it seems as though I need to add a payment method to my Verizon account to qualify for the Auto Pay discount, but PayPal is not an option. What am I missing? 

"You're receiving a discount because you're enrolled in both Auto Pay and paper - free billing and maintain an active account. Payments must be made via Auto Pay using a bank account, debit card or the Verizon Visa® Card - all other credit cards are not eligible for the discount."

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Autopay is set up for Bank Account ACH, or your fave debit card (I used to use paypal business debit for example) or even a credit card.   Then each month you push a payment using Paypal bill pay (linked to Cash +/Max Cash or whatever), or prepay several months if you prefer.    The point is that autopay isn't actually used, but for safety sake, choose the option there so that reward+discount is maximized.  For expensive FioS packages, a 5% credit card rewards may be more valuable than the discount.    But, for now, Paypal Bill Pay allows you the best of both worlds!

[cws-21]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Autopay is set up for Bank Account ACH, or your fave debit card (I used to use paypal business debit for example) or even a credit card.   Then each month you push a payment using Paypal bill pay (linked to Cash +/Max Cash or whatever), or prepay several months if you prefer.    The point is that autopay isn't actually used, but for safety sake, choose the option there so that reward+discount is maximized.  For expensive FioS packages, a 5% credit card rewards may be more valuable than the discount.    But, for now, Paypal Bill Pay allows you the best of both worlds!

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Thanks again, @Anonymous. Let me make sure that I understand. I set up Auto Pay with, for example, my checking account in my Verizon account. I then use PayPal Bill Pay to pay my Verizon bill manually before the Auto Pay actually goes through. Since there is a zero balance in Verizon, the AutoPay never goes through. Am I close?

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

Ditto the above.  Rent would not be covered unless for some reason they were misclassified as a public utility.  US Bank is very specific on which MCCs will count.  For utilities that do charge a fee, I recently discovered in a thread a few months back that PayPal Bill Pay not only doesn't charge a fee but passes through the appropriate MCC.  My electric and gas (same company, separate bills) and water/sewer providers charge a fee for credit card payments (which I would just minimize by paying ahead with $600 payments) but this completely eliminated them.  (And I switched to Discover last month for the PayPal category so it works for that as well.)

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That's one fantastic hack! I was able to add my electric bill and my gas bill to the Paypal bill pay. I am also going to add my car insurance at some point.

As for the cell phone bill, I am prepared to take 5% cash back on it instead of getting cell phone insurance through one of my other cards. I have only ever damaged one phone in my life, so I am pretty careful with my devices. Over time, the cash back I will definitely receive will outweight any cost to replace a phone. Because you know for sure you'll get cash back, but you never know if you will use or get any benefit from insurance.

[cws-21]

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@RehabbingANDBlabbing wrote:

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As for the cell phone bill, I am prepared to take 5% cash back on it instead of getting cell phone insurance through one of my other cards. I have only ever damaged one phone in my life, so I am pretty careful with my devices. Over time, the cash back I will definitely receive will outweight any cost to replace a phone. Because you know for sure you'll get cash back, but you never know if you will use or get any benefit from insurance.

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@RehabbingANDBlabbing, there are definitely people on both sides of the cellphone protection vs. cash back for cellphone bill debate. I, personally, think the Wells Fargo Autograph is somewhat the best of both worlds. It offers cellphone protection and 3% cash back on phone bills.

[Anonymous]

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@cws-21 wrote:

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Thanks again, @Anonymous. Let me make sure that I understand. I set up Auto Pay with, for example, my checking account in my Verizon account. I then use PayPal Bill Pay to pay my Verizon bill manually before the Auto Pay actually goes through. Since there is a zero balance in Verizon, the AutoPay never goes through. Am I close?

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Yes.