# Paying Big Stuff on AGR MC



## VentureForth (Jun 19, 2012)

Anyone have huge payments automated through AGR MC?

I'm thinking that I could set up my mortgage to he paid through AGR MC, then set my payment to AGR the next day. Biggest draw back I see is that it would likely be considered a cash advance, adding fees and interest. However, I wouldn't have to worry about interest if posts immediately, and I figure that cash fees would be a cheap way to buy points...

Any thought?


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## MrFSS (Jun 19, 2012)

VentureForth said:


> Anyone have huge payments automated through AGR MC?
> 
> I'm thinking that I could set up my mortgage to he paid through AGR MC, then set my payment to AGR the next day. Biggest draw back I see is that it would likely be considered a cash advance, adding fees and interest. However, I wouldn't have to worry about interest if posts immediately, and I figure that cash fees would be a cheap way to buy points...
> 
> Any thought?


Would your mortgage company accept MC for payments? They have to pay a fee, too, so maybe they wouldn't want to do it.

I have heard of people trying to buy a car with a credit card and the dealer wouldn't take it for that exact reason.


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## the_traveler (Jun 19, 2012)

I tried to buy a car (full cash paid off) with my AGR MC, thinking I could get mucho points, but I could only charge $5,000 on it!




I don't know if it was just that one dealer or not.


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## jb64 (Jun 19, 2012)

And if it is a cash advance, you won't get any points. I believe you only earn points on purchases, not cash advances. Definitely not worth it.


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## fairviewroad (Jun 19, 2012)

Well, you could always try it once to see if it works. If not, you're out a few bucks in charges, no biggie.



the_traveler said:


> I tried to buy a car (full cash paid off) with my AGR MC, thinking I could get mucho points, but I could only charge $5,000 on it!
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know if it was just that one dealer or not.


Are you sure that that wasn't related to your credit limit? You may have run into the $5000 ceiling no matter what you were buying.


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 19, 2012)

I dont have a Mortgage but I pay my Rent each month with my AGR MC and receive the Points! I also pay my Car Insurance and Health Insurance Premiums with it and almost everything I can use a Credit Card for also! As has been said No Cash Advances, but that's what Debit Cards are for, no-one should use Credit Cards for Cash Advances even if you intend to pay it off Monthly since youll be charged "Fees" and wont get any Points ! Id suggest you call your Mortgage Company and Chase and ask?? :unsure:

As Dave mentioned, some places wont accept Large Amount charges on Credit cards due to "fees" but I know that the "Charge Cards" (ie American Express)can be used to charge almost anything and with the Black Card there is No Limit, Ive heard of people buying Houses and Exotic Cars with them!


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 19, 2012)

VentureForth said:


> Anyone have huge payments automated through AGR MC? I'm thinking that I could set up my mortgage to he paid through AGR MC, then set my payment to AGR the next day. Biggest draw back I see is that it would likely be considered a cash advance, adding fees and interest. However, I wouldn't have to worry about interest if posts immediately, and I figure that cash fees would be a cheap way to buy points...Any thought?


Points are not actually free. They are paid for by behind-the-scenes rates and fees charged to the sellers and servicers of your purchases. That is why sellers and lenders involved in large purchases do not allow credit cards for more than a fraction of the total payment. Nobody wants to **** away 2-5% of their margin to a credit card processor. Some businesses, like supermarkets and department stores, simply pass along the charge in higher prices. Others, such as car dealers and mortgage companies either restrict or simply refuse to accept premium/kickback credit cards in lieu of lower cost methods such as conventional ACH transactions.

The one and only time it makes sense to pay any sort of credit card surcharge for points is during the initial minimum spend stage in order to unlock a large sign-up bonus. There is never a situation where it makes financial sense to perform any sort of cash advance for points. Cash advances do not have grace periods and interest will be charged from the moment the advance is completed. Even if you pay it off immediately there will be a retroactive charge on your account for the time when the cash advance was active. Cash advances probably won't qualify for points accrual anyway, and even if they did the value vs. cost is completely upside down.


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## VentureForth (Jun 19, 2012)

I understand what you all are saying. As for paying as a cash advance, the theory is this: Let's just say $1000 to make it easy. I pay my mortgage on the 1st of the month using the AGR account. How? Great question. If I could pay it like I pay utilities with a credit card, that'd be awesome, but I don't think my bank will allow that. So, the alternative is to get "cash advance" checks. These provide a routing number and an account number directly tied to your line of credit. However, I believe it would be treated as a cash advance. What is the cost? For a $1000 payment, that would cost $30 for the cash advance fee. IF I have a direct payment made to Chase the day after the mortgage payment, there would be no interest. So, if I did get points for this transaction, I would essentially be buying 1000 points for $30.

Now, with Jim Hudson being able to pay rent with a credit card, man wouldn't it be nice to pay a mortgage the same way???

But, to Texas Sunset's point, if I were to wait for the billing cycle, and if I don't get the points anyway, then of course, it would be pretty dumb.


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## PRR 60 (Jun 19, 2012)

Cash advances do not earn points. From the Chase T&C's:



> You do not earn points on balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that are used to access your account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including fees for products that protect or insure the balances of your account.


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## VentureForth (Jun 19, 2012)

OK - so I get that. Does the use of a routing number and account number automatically mean that you are taking out a cash advance?


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## amamba (Jun 19, 2012)

If you find a mortgage processor that will take credit cards, let me know. But most don't do them, because like Texas Sunset says, the person who takes the card generally pays a fee.


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## VentureForth (Jun 19, 2012)

What other large bills could be paid with a credit card? My cell phone, my electric bill, my water... None of my credit cards - that's a given. That's a few hundred points every month anyway...


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 19, 2012)

VentureForth said:


> OK - so I get that. Does the use of a routing number and account number automatically mean that you are taking out a cash advance?


Any time you're not swiping a card or entering the CCV you're no longer making a standard rate charge. There are some situations where you can supposedly receive a cash advance for "free" but if you read the fine print it's still a bad deal for all but the worst financial emergencies. I honestly cannot fathom when a cash advance would make any sense for most people. Even in the case I listed above, specifically the part about agreeing to pay a surcharge to unlock a sign-up bonus, should only be used if there is no other way for you to clear the minimum spend before the bonus expiration window has ended. There are all sorts of methods for earning points, but none that I'm familiar with involve cash advances of any kind. At least not since the US Mint stopped allowing you to churn tens-of-thousands of dollars as conventional credit purchases by mail. I'll never understand why they ever allowed that.


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## amamba (Jun 19, 2012)

VentureForth said:


> What other large bills could be paid with a credit card? My cell phone, my electric bill, my water... None of my credit cards - that's a given. That's a few hundred points every month anyway...


Cable tv! My verizon fios bill is like $150/month and I pay that on my AGR card. Also:


EZ Pass tolls

Natural gas (for heat/hot water/stove)

Oil (if you have that for heat)

Gym membership ($86!)


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## VentureForth (Jun 19, 2012)

I'm going to have to sell my house and move my family to an apartment where we can pay rent on my AGR. And electric/heat/water/gas/cable/phone/cell ALL on my AGR!! Mwaa ha hah!!

OK.... I'll stick with little incidental purchases so my wife doesn't go bezerk.


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## Ispolkom (Jun 19, 2012)

amamba said:


> Cable tv! My verizon fios bill is like $150/month and I pay that on my AGR card. Also:
> 
> 
> EZ Pass tolls
> ...


It pays to look carefully at each bill, though. While I can pay for telephone, water and garbage pickup with a credit card without a fee, I'd have to pay a $4.95 fee to use a credit card on my gas/electric bill.


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## Anderson (Jun 19, 2012)

I used to put my fuel oil bill on my card. That was an easy couple of thousand points per year until we were able to get things switched to natural gas.

As to paying for using the card, in general I would consider a charge of 2% to _definitely_ be acceptable, and 3% to be "on the bubble" versus what I'd be paying for the tickets I redeem for.


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## the_traveler (Jun 19, 2012)

When I had a UA credit card, I called Chase (I think) and raised my credit limit temporarily to pay an IRS pre-payment of $25K! However, because the IRS does not themselves pay the "processing fee" (like most stores do), I had to pay the 3.xx% fee - but for 25K miles it was worth it!





BTW - Those eventually became AGR points with the merger with CO!


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## Ryan (Jun 19, 2012)

Bills I pay monthly on the AGR card:

Water (quarterly, $2.95 fee)

Cell Phone (AT&T)

TiVO

Verizon FiOS

Also, almost every bit of shopping that I do goes though the card. Gas, groceries, restaurants, shopping (online and in-store). Basically, if the merchant accepts a card, I'll use it!

I usually end up getting about 5,000 points per month, which really helps things out.


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## pennyk (Jun 19, 2012)

In 2008, I paid a portion of my father's funeral (up to my credit limit) on my AGR card. I pay my monthly ATT home and business phone bills and my monthly office internet bills with my AGR card. I have State Farm Insurance and they will put my premiums on my AGR card. My health insurance company insists on taking the premiums right out of my checking account. 

If I wanted to pay my condo monthly maintenance fee by credit card, I would have to pay a service charge, and I do not like service charges.


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## benjibear (Jun 19, 2012)

Doctor and medical bills. With higher co-pays and deductables some could get alot of points.

Driver license and car renewals. Not much here in PA but it still is a few points.

Gift cards. You can buy these things everywhere for places that are not even around you. At my grocery store, they even have deals where you buy $50 and get a $10 off your next shopping order. You can give gift cards instead of giving cash. You can give gift cards to your kids to go shopping, dining, gas, etc. instead of cash. Ask the baby sitter, kid next door that cuts your grass, dog walker, etc. if they will take payment with a gift card.

Work expensis. You can pay with your credit card and then just get reimbursed for your expensis which you get the points.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 19, 2012)

Ispolkom said:


> It pays to look carefully at each bill, though. While I can pay for telephone, water and garbage pickup with a credit card without a fee, I'd have to pay a $4.95 fee to use a credit card on my gas/electric bill.


The trick with flat rate fees is to pay several months worth of charges in advance, preferably as part of your minimum spend. If possible try to get the percentage of the credit processing fee down below 2% where you're at least nearing break-even territory. If you can get at or below 1.5% you're probably getting close to a net gain even without any signup bonus.



Anderson said:


> As to paying for using the card, in general I would consider a charge of 2% to _definitely_ be acceptable, and 3% to be "on the bubble" versus what I'd be paying for the tickets I redeem for.


I'd be hard pressed to rate my favorite points (Chase Ultimate Rewards) above 2 cents per point. I don't know of _any_ loyalty program that can come close to being worth a full three cents per point, and certainly not the recently diluted AGR program.



the_traveler said:


> When I had a UA credit card, I called Chase (I think) and raised my credit limit temporarily to pay an IRS pre-payment of $25K! However, because the IRS does not themselves pay the "processing fee" (like most stores do), I had to pay the 3.xx% fee - but for 25K miles it was worth it!


Are you sure about that? If you were paying say, 3.3% for 25k airline miles, then it's not much different than spending $825 for a zero-earn discounted domestic flight. Add-in all the various restrictions and exceptions that come with a typical points redemption and I'd say that was a rather questionable wager.



pennyk said:


> If I wanted to pay my condo monthly maintenance fee by credit card, I would have to pay a service charge, and I do not like service charges.


Sorry to hear about your father. See my comment to Ispolkom above. Not sure it would work for you, but worth looking into in my view.



benjibear said:


> Doctor and medical bills. With higher co-pays and deductables some could get alot of points.


The level of complexity and obfuscation we're forced to deal with here in the most bloated and counterintuitive health care system the world has ever known is almost beyond my ability to comprehend it. When I did a little research and crunched some of the numbers I eventually discovered that I could actually *save* money by intentionally _*avoiding*_ my health insurance plan for all but the most serious emergencies. It just boggles the mind why we continue to put up with this nonsense.


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## DivMiler (Jun 19, 2012)

VentureForth said:


> What other large bills could be paid with a credit card?


When my wife and I got replacement windows purchased and installed through Lowe's, I charged the whole thing (over $11,000) on my Starwood American Express card. Usually contractors (painters, roofers) don't take credit cards, but since this was through a store, they had to. It was the largest charge (by far) I've ever made at one time, but I was a pleased as punch at the time.


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## JayPea (Jun 19, 2012)

I pay everything I can with my AGR credit card including:

Phone/internet/satellite TV bundle

electric (it does have a $4.25/mo fee for using a credit card, but to me it's worth it)

car/renters insurance

cell phone

gas/food/anything else that takes a MasterCard.

The only things I can't pay with the card are my rent and my car payment. Unfortunately, those are big bills. Ah,well. Some of my medical expenses, like prescriptions, I can pay with my card but others I can't.


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## shelzp (Jun 19, 2012)

I run every monthly bill that I can through my credit card to keep my points balance up.

From a company's point of view...there is another reason they don't like to take credit cards and the problem is fraud. Obviously they are billed a percentage by the bank. But the biggest issue is chargebacks. Banks ALWAYS issue a chargeback to the merchant in favor of their card holding customer. I was in business for about 30 years and never won a challenge from MC, Visa or AmEx. (I didn't accept Discover because they have a whole extra level of fees.) For example a customer could sign for a UPS delivery but claim they never received the package and my company was charged the entire amount by the bank. I think fraud is why individual contractors (as well as car dealers) don't want to take credit cards. When you don't deal with it you aren't aware just how dishonest folks can be.


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## LD sleeper fan (Jun 19, 2012)

Every charitable organization to which we contribute takes plastic now, so there's a nice point source. And check with your church too. Church contributions are fair game as well. We tack on a percentage though, so our church won't take a hit. on the other hand, ours is installing a "contribution kiosk" in the lobby, so they're willing to absorb any fees it seems.

This is a great thread with lots of suggestions for those of us "playing the game". Keep the ideas coming!


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## amamba (Jun 19, 2012)

Oh I remembered something else I like to pay on my AGR card! My stupid car tax. Fun times in Rhode Island with that ridiculous tax. That does have a 3% fee but I am way too lazy to bring my payment over to city hall.


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## the_traveler (Jun 19, 2012)

I pay for my medicine with my card. All $.34 and $.65 worth!




(I have a great health insurance!



)


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## love2travel (Jun 19, 2012)

Vet bills are always alot. And I pay for my daughter's tuition using the credit card. She goes to a private school. I was thrilled to hear I could charge it. That's a lot of points!

Question for you: I transfer $ to my credit card (Chase Saphire) as I spend it (unlimited transers). If I make a payment to my credit card while the transaction is pending will I still get points? does that make sense? So at times, it looks like I have a little credit on my account until the pending transaction is completed.

Sue


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## alben (Jun 19, 2012)

My strategy is to pay nearly everything with a credit card, if possible. With the exception of not using a credit card where there is a service fee charged if a credit card is used or if credit cards are not accepted. You would be surprised at how much you spend when putting everything on a credit card, versus paying cash. As your online statement is a testament to where your money has gone, versus cash pocket money that is gone at the end of the week with no recollection to where it went.

Big items that I have found:

Car payment (RBS Citizens takes credit cards with no fees).

Electric/Gas utility bill.

Water/Garbage bill.

Cell phone bill.

Cable bill.

Insurance bills.

Vet bills.

Dining.

Groceries.

Gas.

Church/charities.

Home improvement stores.

Big box stores. Any stores.

Typically I put 90% of my spend on on a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The remaining 10% I spread around to the other credit cards that I have, whether I am churning the cards or not so that it looks like they are being used according to the issuing banks. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card lets me move the points to various programs, including Amtrak.


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## gatelouse (Jun 19, 2012)

Sue: Yes, you will get points for charges even if you prepay your balance.

Sunset: I think you're spot-on with your analysis. Some utilities and local governments will charge a flat fee for a credit card payment, with a limit on the amount charged. If you can afford it, max out the amount--I've paid 1 cent per point this way.

Federal tax paid by credit card can be done for under 2%. If you know EXACTLY what you're doing, you can reduce withholding and make quarterly payments on the card.

If you have a SPG AMEX, spend there instead, charge enough to get SPG Gold status, then transfer the points to Amtrak, 5000 at a time, during a Summer TQP partner promo. Now that's winning.


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## Shanghai (Jun 20, 2012)

I charge most of my expenses on my AGR cards and have accumulated many points

this way. I pay my phone bill, gasoline, food store and my home insurance

with the card. I also charge my Amtrak travel costs on the card too!!


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## the_traveler (Jun 20, 2012)

Hint for some of us - If you pay for meals on the train, buy something in the cafe car or buy stuff like from the PPC or even beer or wine with your meal, use your AGR MC to pay for it!



The charge is coded "Amtrak" and earns 2 points per dollar, just like Amtrak travel!


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## trainman74 (Jun 20, 2012)

the_traveler said:


> Hint for some of us - If you pay for meals on the train, buy something in the cafe car or buy stuff like from the PPC or even beer or wine with your meal, use your AGR MC to pay for it!
> 
> 
> 
> The charge is coded "Amtrak" and earns 2 points per dollar, just like Amtrak travel!


And add a big tip on the card for even more points!


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## CaliforniaMom (Jan 24, 2014)

I know this is an old topic, but since I just found out by reading it that I can pay our Verizon Wireless bill with a credit card, thought it could use an update. Thanks!


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## fairviewroad (Jan 24, 2014)

CaliforniaMom said:


> I know this is an old topic, but since I just found out by reading it that I can pay our Verizon Wireless bill with a credit card, thought it could use an update. Thanks!


For sure! I have a work cell phone through Verizon which I put on my Amtrak MC...that's a free 1000 points or so per year for me. I also put my

home landline/internet service on credit card (CenturyLink) as well as my home trash collection. The trick is to find bills that you have to pay

anyway, but don't charge a service charge for using a credit card. (My gas and electric utilities charge a fee, for example).


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## Ryan (Jan 24, 2014)

One of the Chase business cards give 5x points for telecom. Free 50000 points per year!

Need to get around to applying for that one.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 24, 2014)

RyanS said:


> One of the Chase business cards give 5x points for telecom. Free 50000 points per year! Need to get around to applying for that one.


Both the Chase Ink Bold and Chase Ink Plus earn 5x on cellular, landline, internet, and cable television. Those bills alone bring in around 10,000 points per year in my case.


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## Ryan (Jan 24, 2014)

I typed one too many zeros there, I was just trying to multiply the previous poster's 1,000 by 5.

I'm right about where you are.

For now. My parents and I are contemplating going in together on a family plan. There seems to be some decent economy of scale with Verizon's family plans. 5 points per dollar on whatever 5 lines and 12 GB or so of data would be pretty sweet.


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## CaliforniaMom (Jan 24, 2014)

RyanS said:


> 12 GB or so of data would be pretty sweet.


My family shares one Verizon plan - me, my husband, our 14 yr old son and our 12 yr old son. We share *ONE gigabyte *of data (we use wifi a lot). I'm always telling our kids that turning the data usage on is ONLY for emergencies (and really wanting to play Clash of Clans is not an emergency).


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## Ryan (Jan 24, 2014)

I've got grandfathered unlimited data on AT&T now, it would be hard to give that up.  Phone doesn't do any good in my pocket, I bought it to use, not carry around.


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## Acela150 (Jan 24, 2014)

RyanS said:


> I've got grandfathered unlimited data on AT&T now, it would be hard to give that up.  Phone doesn't do any good in my pocket, I bought it to use, not carry around.


I luckily got Grandfathered in with Verizon and when I upgraded from my old useless Blackberry to my iPhone 4S I lost it..  Verizon doesn't offer any good data packages.. I think 500 mb then 2 gb 4gb and so on..


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## PaulM (Jan 24, 2014)

gatelouse said:


> Federal tax paid by credit card can be done for under 2%. If you know EXACTLY what you're doing, you can reduce withholding and make quarterly payments on the card.


I see I'm not the only one who figured this out. I believe I pay 1.88% to use the CC for federal tax due and estimated payments, reasoning that I should be able to get a return of at least 5%. I just booked an AGR roomette for two SBG to TOL on the day I wanted; and the fare amounted to .083 cents on the dollar. I'm sure last July's SEA to QCY roomette award did better than 1.88%


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 25, 2014)

I recently switched to Republic Wireless. Moto X is $300 with unlimited everything and no contract at $40 a month. 4G in major cities and 3G on the highway or in small towns. Always unlimited. Best overall value I'm aware of.


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## SarahZ (Jan 25, 2014)

I have Sprint's unlimited plan and pay $135 for both of us under a family plan.

Unfortunately, Sprint's coverage isn't what it used to be, so I'm thinking of switching when our contract is up. I checked our data usage, and even when we took the SWC and had to use cell data the entire trip, we didn't go over 2G (combined). That really surprised me.

I wish AT&T offered wireless as part of their U-Verse bundles. We have U-Verse for our TV and internet, but they only allow landlines to be bundled.


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## me_little_me (Jan 25, 2014)

The state of NC has for years allowed you to online pay your vehicle registration ($2*) at no charge with a CC. In the past, the county would bill you for an annual tax on your cars (could be up to a couple hundred $$ depending on value) and that required a fee for CCs. This year for the first time, the state has taken over collecting the auto tax that the county bills and includes it with the registration fee - and no charge for using a CC for the full amount.

The VA lets me pay mt medication co-payment on pay.gov web site with my CC. No fee.

The city water department lets me pay my bill online with CC. No fee.

Our Verizon phones are on my son's plan and we pay him by check at the beginning of the year for the whole year. Next year I'll look at paying my portion monthly direct or just pay the bills until it reaches what I owe him.

Ooh! Those points!


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## Tumbleweed (Jan 25, 2014)

Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?


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## Ryan (Jan 25, 2014)

Nope gift cards are good. In addition to telecom stuff, the Chase Ink cards give 5x back at office supply stores. Office Depot sells give cards. Good opportunities for points there.

There's a good number of blogs out there that really get into some of the ways to earn points - most of them are airline focused, but the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards are popular and the 1:1 transfer to AGR (if you have the right cards) makes then valuable to us.


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## PRR 60 (Jan 25, 2014)

Tumbleweed said:


> Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?


By and large, gift cards are offered for merchants that accept credit cards, so I'm not sure I see an advantage in buying gift cards over simply using the AGR credit card for the everyday purchases. For a card that gives 5x, I see it.


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## the_traveler (Jan 25, 2014)

I have to agree. Except for buying a say Macy's gift card at Office Depot, I don't see any advantage to using a gift card that gave you 5x or using the AGR MasterCard and getting 5x.


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## Tumbleweed (Jan 25, 2014)

I guess one possible advantage would be if you needed to get a bunch of points right away you could buy gift cards, collect the points, and use the cards later for whatever....


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## Meat Puppet (Jan 31, 2014)

Acura allows $10,000 on the AGR Mastercard for new or pre owned.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 31, 2014)

Tumbleweed said:


> Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?


& 


PRR 60 said:


> By and large, gift cards are offered for merchants that accept credit cards, so I'm not sure I see an advantage in buying gift cards over simply using the AGR credit card for the everyday purchases. For a card that gives 5x, I see it.


&


the_traveler said:


> I have to agree. Except for buying a say Macy's gift card at Office Depot, I don't see any advantage to using a gift card that gave you 5x or using the AGR MasterCard and getting 5x.


&


Tumbleweed said:


> I guess one possible advantage would be if you needed to get a bunch of points right away you could buy gift cards, collect the points, and use the cards later for whatever....


One of the more lucrative reasons to buy gift cards is to unlock a new account bonus requiring minimum spend without having to lockin specific purchasing decisions. Changes to US law have made gift cards more useful by restricting fees and preventing expiration dates. Which is good because there are now more than four billion "star bucks" locked up in gift cards for a certain coffee conglomerate. I don't shop at Starbucks myself but there are some stores I do shop at that also sell gift cards. I don't know what I'll need from a store like Amazon or Home Depot, but I know I'll probably need something, so I can bank the signup bonus and category bonus now and spend the money later when I actually need whatever it is.


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## pianocat (Feb 5, 2014)

Devil's Advocate said:


> Tumbleweed said:
> 
> 
> > Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?
> ...


I think this is what I'm going to do to fulfill the 'spend $1,000 in 3 months to receive 18,000 points' offer from my new AGR MC. I've used nearly $500 already, and since I purchase food, prescriptions, etc. at Walmart every week - I know a gift card from there would be eventually used up. Another question...after I pay the MC bill, how soon can I expect to see the 18,000 points post to my AGR account?


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## the_traveler (Feb 5, 2014)

Most likely, the bonus points will post to your AGR account the day after your credit card statement closed! (If your credit card statement closes on the 10th, your bonus points will probably be in your AGR account on the 11th!)


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## pianocat (Feb 5, 2014)

That's good info. to know, Thanks! Noticed that the small print at Teleflora where I ordered flowers yesterday says 'allow 4-6 weeks for points to post'. I would like to book my next trip sooner than that....will Amtrak let me pay for the trip now, then when the points are there, refund me for the portion where I want to substitute with points...or would it be better to simply be patient and wait til they're all in my pts. balance?


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## rrdude (Feb 5, 2014)

pianocat said:


> That's good info. to know, Thanks! Noticed that the small print at Teleflora where I ordered flowers yesterday says 'allow 4-6 weeks for points to post'. I would like to book my next trip sooner than that....will Amtrak let me pay for the trip now, then when the points are there, refund me for the portion where I want to substitute with points...or would it be better to simply be patient and wait til they're all in my pts. balance?


No.

And, just if you are paranoid, like I am. (or want a leg to stand on if you have a dispute) I'd suggest taking a screen shot of your computer, directly AFTER you complete the sale online, and B4 you take the screen shot, click the history arrow (depends on which browser you are using) to PROVE to AGR that you did indeed "navigate" to their partner seat, directly from the AGR pages......

It's shortened my dispute time on many, many occasions. Here's a sample of what I mean.


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## the_traveler (Feb 5, 2014)

The only way that work would if you book separate reservation.

Example: If you want to go from STL to Winslow, AZ and book one reservation, you could not get a refund. But if you book 2 reservations (1 to the zone border of ABQ and the 2nd from ABQ), you could get a refund for the STL-ABQ portion. That is if it's by the cancellation deadline and/or minus any penalty amount.


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## Fin (Feb 5, 2014)

I pay my homeowners and auto insurance on my CC, that really adds up


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## pianocat (Feb 5, 2014)

rrdude, I appreciate that info. and though I didn't take a screen shot [btw, how do you do that??] I have a printed receipt for both floral purchases that have the AGR logo on the top, Teleflora logo on the side - it's a confirmation page listing billing info, etc. and also each receipt says " You will be awarded 2625 points", and "You will be awarded 1375 points" When I made the purchase, I linked directly to the flower site through the AGR email I had been sent. I guess I could take a picture of this confirmation page in case there's a dispute....now you have me nervous that the points might not get posted. I'll try to be more patient.....but I'm pretty good about staying after something I'm due. [believe it or not, I'm STILL waiting for Greyhound to refund the unused portion of my December Christmas trip - I need to call them again tomorrow, as a matter of fact!] Traveler - I'll probably just take my chances and wait to reserve when all points are posted and then not have to mess with a cancel. Cross fingers that the dates I want are available for travel, but I'm pretty flexible in the summer months.


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## Dan O (Feb 5, 2014)

I pay gas, groceries, etc on AGR card. Found out my son's college takes it too w/o extra fees so $40K is going on that last year and this year. I was surprised they didn't charge extra.

Dano


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## Ryan (Feb 5, 2014)

Jackpot!

That's awesome.


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## pianocat (Feb 5, 2014)

Dan, that's a great perk! Did someone say in this thread that the IRS will take MC? As a self-employed operator, I pay quarterly taxes and that'd be great to be able to use AGR MC for that.


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## pennyk (Feb 5, 2014)

pianocat said:


> Dan, that's a great perk! Did someone say in this thread that the IRS will take MC? As a self-employed operator, I pay quarterly taxes and that'd be great to be able to use AGR MC for that.


Generally, IRS payments may be made through certain contractors, but there is a fee. If I remember correctly, the fee was more than the value of the points.


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## Ryan (Feb 5, 2014)

Here's a good analysis.

http://thepointsguy.com/2012/03/does-it-make-sense-to-pay-taxes-with-a-credit-card/


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## pianocat (Feb 5, 2014)

I'll probably not pay my quarterly taxes with AGR MC just because it looks like it's more expensive, with side costs. As I said earlier, I'll get a Walmart gift card and use that puppy over the next few months. Surely this will make my account blossom with points! HAHAHAHH. We'll see. Just wish it were easier to SEE the results of instant purchases. Why, oh why do they make us wait 4-6 weeks???


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## Dan O (Feb 7, 2014)

pianocat said:


> Dan, that's a great perk! Did someone say in this thread that the IRS will take MC? As a self-employed operator, I pay quarterly taxes and that'd be great to be able to use AGR MC for that.


The thought of a train trip kind of takes the sting out of tuition...well a bit. But I have to pay it in any case so might as well get a train ride out of it.


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## sechs (Feb 8, 2014)

PRR 60 said:


> Tumbleweed said:
> 
> 
> > Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?
> ...


Now that prepaid Visa and Mastercards can be assigned PINs and used like debit cards, for a small fee, you can buy something to use at places that take debit but not credit.


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