[Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

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ZinCO
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by ZinCO »

anon_investor wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:41 pm
ZinCO wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:36 pm
cowdogman wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:34 pm
ZinCO wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:16 pm
ZinCO wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 12:40 pm In spite of all the recent failure posts here, and maybe partly BECAUSE of the very real possibility that BP shortly gets the axe, I just pushed a $4500 property tax payment through. I did however remove all but one CC from my wallet first to make sure they charged the right one. I'll update this post once the payment is reflected at my county.
Second half property tax payment time... Decided to experiment a bit. Removed all CC's from my profile except the one I wanted to use (a Visa and my defined primary card), and an Amex business card that I wouldn't be too upset about if they used that instead.

Chose the Visa when specifying the amount to pay.

You can guess what happened. There is NO WAY that it is cheaper for PPBP, swipe-fee-wise, to use a Business Amex for the transaction, but that's exactly what they did.

As a PYPL shareholder... no wonder their stock performance has been so abysmal lately.
Not sure what you see on your monitor, but when I use PayPal Bill Pay the final screen has a dropdown menu allowing me to pick which credit card to use. I used it yesterday and selected the PayPal MasterCard. I double-checked this morning and the PayPal MasterCard was charged.
Correct, the dropdown menu showed my primary card, the Visa.
Weird. I pay my utlity bills monthly via PayPal Bill Pay, and I select my US Bank Cash+, and that is the one that always gets charged, despite having multiple CCs on my PayPal account.
There were some earlier complaints in this thread about PPBP using the wrong card, that's why I wanted to see it for myself.
GaryA505
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by GaryA505 »

I'm too lazy to read this whole thread. Can someone give a one-line explanation on how to get 5% on a credit card.
Get most of it right and don't make any big mistakes. All else being equal, simpler is better. Simple is as simple does.
patrick
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by patrick »

GaryA505 wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 3:12 pmI'm too lazy to read this whole thread. Can someone give a one-line explanation on how to get 5% on a credit card.
Use the "Pay bills" feature of your PayPal account to charge the bill to a credit card (only works with certain bills) that includes it in a 5% category (as Discover did in Q3 2022 and Chase Freedom did in Q4 2022).
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by jeffyscott »

^ And you can also use US Bank cash+ to get 5% on utility bills, while avoiding "convenience fees" by paying through PayPal bill pay.
GaryA505
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by GaryA505 »

Cool, thanks.
Get most of it right and don't make any big mistakes. All else being equal, simpler is better. Simple is as simple does.
Lyrrad
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by Lyrrad »

ZinCO wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:16 pm You can guess what happened. There is NO WAY that it is cheaper for PPBP, swipe-fee-wise, to use a Business Amex for the transaction, but that's exactly what they did.
I sometimes get a card in PayPal that doesn't work at all. In those instances I have to ask for a new card number from the issuer since the issue seems to be isolated to the card number. I think once it happened after a few charges didn't go through on a card.
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cowdogman
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by cowdogman »

ZinCO wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:50 pm
anon_investor wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:41 pm
ZinCO wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:36 pm
cowdogman wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:34 pm
ZinCO wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:16 pm

Second half property tax payment time... Decided to experiment a bit. Removed all CC's from my profile except the one I wanted to use (a Visa and my defined primary card), and an Amex business card that I wouldn't be too upset about if they used that instead.

Chose the Visa when specifying the amount to pay.

You can guess what happened. There is NO WAY that it is cheaper for PPBP, swipe-fee-wise, to use a Business Amex for the transaction, but that's exactly what they did.

As a PYPL shareholder... no wonder their stock performance has been so abysmal lately.
Not sure what you see on your monitor, but when I use PayPal Bill Pay the final screen has a dropdown menu allowing me to pick which credit card to use. I used it yesterday and selected the PayPal MasterCard. I double-checked this morning and the PayPal MasterCard was charged.
Correct, the dropdown menu showed my primary card, the Visa.
Weird. I pay my utlity bills monthly via PayPal Bill Pay, and I select my US Bank Cash+, and that is the one that always gets charged, despite having multiple CCs on my PayPal account.
There were some earlier complaints in this thread about PPBP using the wrong card, that's why I wanted to see it for myself.
There are two (at least) places on the PayPal site where I can designate the card/bank account to use for PayPal transactions. The first is in the "Wallet" tab where I can designate the preferred card/account. The other place is in the the BillPay payment process:

Screen 1: Pick Payee
Screen 2: Confirm Payee
Screen 3: Enter Amount
Screen 4 ("Pay" screen): It's on this screen that I can choose a card/account to use. Usually this is automatically populated with my "Preferred" card, but sometimes not. In any case, I can pick on this screen which card/account to use.
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by jeffyscott »

^ Yes, but PayPal reserves the right to use any payment method, not just the one you designate for a transaction. And they have exercised that right with me and others. One person even had them use their connected checking account in place of the card selected.
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cowdogman
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by cowdogman »

jeffyscott wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 5:08 pm ^ Yes, but PayPal reserves the right to use any payment method, not just the one you designate for a transaction. And they have exercised that right with me and others. One person even had them use their connected checking account in place of the card selected.
I'm not seeing where the PayPal User Agreement says that. The relevant provision seems to be:
You can choose any of the payment methods in your PayPal account as your preferred payment method. You can select a preferred payment method in your account preferences on www.paypal.com or in the PayPal app. There may be times when your preferred payment method cannot be used, for example, if you select a credit card that is expired.

You can set separate preferred payment methods for online transactions, in-store transactions, and each of your automatic payment agreements, as described below.

If you have chosen a preferred payment method, it will be shown as the primary method of payment.

If no preferred payment method, it’s still your choice.

The availability of certain payment methods may be limited based on that particular seller or the third-party website you are using to complete the transaction.

If you have not selected a preferred payment method, or your preferred payment method is unavailable, we will show you available payment methods, including the payment method you used most often or most recently, at the time of transaction. You can also click on the “Manage” link to see all of your available payment methods, or add a new one, and select a payment method during the transaction.
I interpret the above to say that if the "preferred" method isn't available, then PayPal will show me the available methods and ask me to choose--see final paragraph. That has been my experience. The specific Bill Pay rules (https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/pp-b ... le.x=en_US) don't contradict the above.

I'm not saying PayPal unilaterally changing methods hasn't happened--just that I haven't seen it and it doesn't appear to be permitted by the User Agreement.
need403bhelp
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by need403bhelp »

cowdogman wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 5:40 pm
jeffyscott wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 5:08 pm ^ Yes, but PayPal reserves the right to use any payment method, not just the one you designate for a transaction. And they have exercised that right with me and others. One person even had them use their connected checking account in place of the card selected.
I'm not seeing where the PayPal User Agreement says that. The relevant provision seems to be:
You can choose any of the payment methods in your PayPal account as your preferred payment method. You can select a preferred payment method in your account preferences on www.paypal.com or in the PayPal app. There may be times when your preferred payment method cannot be used, for example, if you select a credit card that is expired.

You can set separate preferred payment methods for online transactions, in-store transactions, and each of your automatic payment agreements, as described below.

If you have chosen a preferred payment method, it will be shown as the primary method of payment.

If no preferred payment method, it’s still your choice.

The availability of certain payment methods may be limited based on that particular seller or the third-party website you are using to complete the transaction.

If you have not selected a preferred payment method, or your preferred payment method is unavailable, we will show you available payment methods, including the payment method you used most often or most recently, at the time of transaction. You can also click on the “Manage” link to see all of your available payment methods, or add a new one, and select a payment method during the transaction.
I interpret the above to say that if the "preferred" method isn't available, then PayPal will show me the available methods and ask me to choose--see final paragraph. That has been my experience. The specific Bill Pay rules (https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/pp-b ... le.x=en_US) don't contradict the above.

I'm not saying PayPal unilaterally changing methods hasn't happened--just that I haven't seen it and it doesn't appear to be permitted by the User Agreement.
I’m pretty sure it is listed in the terms when setting up a new payee, but this was some time ago so I don’t have any recent DPs or a link.
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by jeffyscott »

"For one-time Bill Pay payments, if you have not set a preferred payment method or if your preferred payment method is unavailable (for example, because it is expired or has insufficient funds) the payment method used will be in the following order, if applicable: 1. Funds held as balance in your PayPal Balance account (if one is linked to your personal PayPal account); 2. Bank account; 3. PayPal co-branded debit card; 4. PayPal co-branded credit card; 5. Debit card; 6. Credit card; and 7. E-check."

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/p ... nt-methods

I have no idea how they decided my designated card was "unavailable", but apparently that's what they did and I don't trust them to not do so again, so have one card and no bank account connected to PayPal.
ZinCO
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by ZinCO »

jeffyscott wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 6:33 pm I have no idea how they decided my designated card was "unavailable", but apparently that's what they did and I don't trust them to not do so again, so have one card and no bank account connected to PayPal.
I think that's the only answer unfortunately. My "unavailable" CC is the same one I've been using for about 10 Paypal (not Bill Pay) transactions a week for the last 8 months.
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cowdogman
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by cowdogman »

jeffyscott wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2023 6:33 pm
I have no idea how they decided my designated card was "unavailable", but apparently that's what they did and I don't trust them to not do so again, so have one card and no bank account connected to PayPal.
Weird. Maybe the bank that issued the Visa card declined the transaction because of fraud concerns, and so PayPal reverted to the next card?

FWIW the PayPal MasterCard generally works with PayPal Bill Pay (for me anyway) for 3% back.
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nyinvestor718
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by nyinvestor718 »

Does the Paypal bill pay strategy work with National Grid and Con Ed, for any NYers in the thread? Must the credit card's category be selected as Utility Bill?
Judge Learned Hand: "Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury".
glades
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by glades »

I set up Con Edison with Paypal Bill Pay but for some reason they won't recognize my National Grid account. I sent test deposits on my Con Edison accounts, see if they show up.
JackoC
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by JackoC »

glades wrote: Tue Jul 04, 2023 2:08 pm I set up Con Edison with Paypal Bill Pay but for some reason they won't recognize my National Grid account. I sent test deposits on my Con Edison accounts, see if they show up.
I pay both via PayPal, just for reference.
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Cheez-It Guy
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by Cheez-It Guy »

After many months, the account number format for my municipal water bill has been updated and is now accepted by PayPal Billpay, so that other than annual property taxes, that was the last thing I had previously been unable to put on credit card without fees. I kept trying it at least monthly, but I wasn't really optimistic it would be updated. Nonetheless, I'm glad it has been!
Shih Tsu man
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by Shih Tsu man »

I currently receive discounts from Travelers insurance for using auto-draft from my bank and pay-in-full to pay my car insurance. Does anyone know if the 5% reward using the paypal bill pay method would result in a higher net savings compared to just keeping the auto-bank draft discount from Travelers? I have no idea how much the auto-draft discount is worth, only that I am getting one.
MrJedi
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by MrJedi »

Shih Tsu man wrote: Wed Jul 26, 2023 12:18 pm I currently receive discounts from Travelers insurance for using auto-draft from my bank and pay-in-full to pay my car insurance. Does anyone know if the 5% reward using the paypal bill pay method would result in a higher net savings compared to just keeping the auto-bank draft discount from Travelers? I have no idea how much the auto-draft discount is worth, only that I am getting one.
Do you get a bill before the auto payment and can you pay it manually before the auto payment? If so, you may still get the discount. Not familiar with Travelers but I've seen that work for other billers that give auto pay discount.
frugalor
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by frugalor »

Just got this error 2 tries in a row: Image
patrick
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by patrick »

frugalor wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 11:29 am Just got this error 2 tries in a row: Image
Hmmmm. I tried it a few minute ago and it worked for three payments, but then gave me that error when I attempted more. I hope this means it is just an intermittent error.
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by jeffyscott »

I got that error message nearly two years ago in my first attempts to use this, so it's nothing new:
viewtopic.php?p=6364423#p6364423
Shih Tsu man
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by Shih Tsu man »

This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
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anon_investor
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by anon_investor »

Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
I use the US Bank Cash+ Visa to pay my utility bills via PayPal Bill Pay. I have utilities selected as one of my quarterly 5% catagories for my US Bank Cash+ Visa.
MrJedi
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by MrJedi »

Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
From my experience PayPal is smart enough to know if a bill pay account is for a loan and in that case will only let you use debit card, bank account, or cash balance for those (mortgage, credit card bills, etc.).

There used to be some pretty good rewards debit cards that would work great for paying credit card bills and mortgages, but those have either mostly died or nerfed down significantly.

I do still use it for some billers that don't take credit card or charge a fee for it. PayPal method bypasses those restrictions since it just looks like a bank's online bill pay to them. The notable one for me is my HOA that normally charges a 3% fee for credit card payment but I can send it through PayPal for free.
patrick
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by patrick »

Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
I doubt you can use any credit cards for mortgage payments. However, debit cards should still work with any biller. Affinity FCU gives a flat 1% back on purchases, with a limit of $10 per month (corresponding to $1000 in purchases). You might also be able to use Kasasa Cash Back accounts. Several small financial institutions offer these, giving debit cash back rates up to 4% (depending on the issuer) on limited amounts if you make a minimum number of purchases (and usually meet other minor requirements) each month.
Fennec
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by Fennec »

Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
I have not been able to pay mortgage with PPBillPay. When I have tried, I get prompted to provide a debit card rather than a credit card.

As an alternative, I have had success paying mortgage with Plastiq on a BoA Cash Rewards card (back when it was issued as a MC, now it's issued as a VISA and Plastiq will not accept VI for mortgage payments). My servicer posts as travel (YMMV), so for a while I was getting 5.25% back from the 3% travel category plus Platinum Honors tier, for a net 2.35% cash back. My BoA balance has dipped below $100K though, so I haven't used this method for a while.
frugalor
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by frugalor »

Finally seeing Chase Freedom Flex having 5% back in Q4.
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by H-Town »

Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
Chase Q4 2023 has 5% paypal.
Time is the ultimate currency.
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anon_investor
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by anon_investor »

H-Town wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 11:36 am
Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
Chase Q4 2023 has 5% paypal.
Will using a Chase Freedom Visa or Freedom Flex Master Card via PayPal Bill Pay still get 5% cash back next quarter? I remember reading a rumor that Chase might nix that.
stilllurking
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by stilllurking »

anon_investor wrote: Tue Sep 19, 2023 11:02 am
H-Town wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 11:36 am
Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
Chase Q4 2023 has 5% paypal.
Will using a Chase Freedom Visa or Freedom Flex Master Card via PayPal Bill Pay still get 5% cash back next quarter? I remember reading a rumor that Chase might nix that.
I hope that they do not remove it. I will need to make a small test in October before paying some insurance bills.
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by jeffyscott »

anon_investor wrote: Tue Sep 19, 2023 11:02 am
H-Town wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 11:36 am
Shih Tsu man wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:52 pm This thread is a little old. What are the cards that work for 5% nowadays?
I see that using BOA preferred rewards can still yield 2.625%
Is anyone successfully using this to pay mortgage?
Chase Q4 2023 has 5% paypal.
Will using a Chase Freedom Visa or Freedom Flex Master Card via PayPal Bill Pay still get 5% cash back next quarter? I remember reading a rumor that Chase might nix that.
Maybe do a test with a small bill next month?

My water and sewer bill is around $70, I normally use US Bank Cash+ for 5% on utilities, but maybe I will try using Chase next month.
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beyou
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by beyou »

glades wrote: Tue Jul 04, 2023 2:08 pm I set up Con Edison with Paypal Bill Pay but for some reason they won't recognize my National Grid account. I sent test deposits on my Con Edison accounts, see if they show up.
I tried National Grid and PSEG, both failed with unrecognized acct #s.
I did previously have them on "ebill" at my bank, which might cause the issue.
I turned off ebill at my bank, hoping eventually I can add these to paypal bills.
Think I read that one must wait a week and try again, which I shall do.
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beyou
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by beyou »

JackoC wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:23 pm New thing: for about a year I'd been paying PSEG (New Jersey) gas/electric bill with PayPal, generally using Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card (2.625% at 'platinum honors level'), Chase Freedom (5%) when PayPal is a 5% category. First payment of 2023, though 'something went wrong' when submitted. PSEG never answered my message on their site asking if this was a policy change, but PayPal and BOA both say it's not them and indeed the same card still works to pay another utility via PayPal. Anybody else see this? Seems I'll have to revert to paying $3.95 convenience fee on PSEG site or using bill pay in checking account (depending whether the month's bill is <>$3.95/.02625=$150.48, or as previously suggested I might pay a few months in advance with one $3.95 fee if I decided it worth bothering, 3%+ after tax interest on money market fund also now enters more noticeably into CC reward vs. payment timing issues).
Was this ever fixed with PSEG ?
I was just trying to add PSEG for the first time and could not.
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by JackoC »

beyou wrote: Wed Sep 20, 2023 12:14 am
JackoC wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:23 pm New thing: for about a year I'd been paying PSEG (New Jersey) gas/electric bill with PayPal, generally using Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card (2.625% at 'platinum honors level'), Chase Freedom (5%) when PayPal is a 5% category. First payment of 2023, though 'something went wrong' when submitted. PSEG never answered my message on their site asking if this was a policy change, but PayPal and BOA both say it's not them and indeed the same card still works to pay another utility via PayPal. Anybody else see this? Seems I'll have to revert to paying $3.95 convenience fee on PSEG site or using bill pay in checking account (depending whether the month's bill is <>$3.95/.02625=$150.48, or as previously suggested I might pay a few months in advance with one $3.95 fee if I decided it worth bothering, 3%+ after tax interest on money market fund also now enters more noticeably into CC reward vs. payment timing issues).
Was this ever fixed with PSEG ?
I was just trying to add PSEG for the first time and could not.
For me yes, it was just the one month it didn't work and has worked since without me doing anything else.
Shih Tsu man
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by Shih Tsu man »

Apparently my PayPal account was set up as a business account a long time ago and business accounts can't use Bill Pay. I don't use the business features anymore, and PayPal says they will only let you convert a business account back into a personal account once, but you can go the other direction as many times as you want. Is there any reason to keep the business account?
czaj
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by czaj »

Shih Tsu man wrote: Wed Sep 20, 2023 4:24 pm Apparently my PayPal account was set up as a business account a long time ago and business accounts can't use Bill Pay. I don't use the business features anymore, and PayPal says they will only let you convert a business account back into a personal account once, but you can go the other direction as many times as you want. Is there any reason to keep the business account?
You are allowed to have 1 personal and 1 business account, so I’d create a personal account in your situation.

And either keep or delete your business one. Just make sure you’ve removed all your payment cards from the business one before deleting.
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AllMostThere
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by AllMostThere »

AllMostThere wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 3:34 am Success! I received our Winter 2022 Property Tax Bill this month. I checked Paypal Bill Pay one last time. Low and behold, there is a new line item for my city, and it had a " ** City - Property Tax" associated with it! I used that entry and included my Parcel ID as account number with all the dashes and it was accepted. Then came the waiting game. Did it go thru? Did I just pay property tax for someone else? Ugh! :shock: Just as instructed by Paypal, I waited 2 business days. As of this AM, my online access with the city shows the full amount as paid! This is awesome. I now can pay my property taxes with my Fidelity 2% Reward card with no service fee. When allowed, I always try to pick up free money and this is easy free money (well sort of after a few days of white knuckles). Thanks.
For some reason when I went to pay my summer property taxes, the line item for my city property taxes was no longer listed !! I had to write a check for summer property taxes. :oops: Being that Chase Q4 will be 5% Paypal category, I thought I would look again for my property taxes. Low and behold, it is now showing up. For some reason it was not there in June/July timeframe, but now it's there. Looks like I will be able to max out 5% Paypal category ($1,500) for Q4 with my winter property tax and Q4 water bill. :beer Anybody else have the "there one day, gone the next" with Paypal payees? All very weird.......
It is not about how much you make; it is about how much you keep and how well you invest it. - Author Unknown | Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. - Author James Dean
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anon_investor
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by anon_investor »

Just confirming that my utlity bill paid via PayPal Bill Pay with my Chase Freedom Flex this week did receive the PayPal bonus to boost the cash back to 5%.
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jeffyscott
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by jeffyscott »

^ Thanks for verifying that. I'll have one to pay in a few days and was planning to use a chase freedom card, instead of my US bank card, as a test also.
MrJedi
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by MrJedi »

My natural gas provider is pushing for payments directly from bank accounts and has implemented a flat $2.99 fee for every credit card and debit card transaction. I started thinking about prepaying my bill a bit for a few months at a time to spread out the fee, but then I remembered this PPBP trick. Sure enough, my utility does show up in the system.

I really wonder how long this is going to last...I imagine PayPal is the one eating the costs and I don't understand the incentive to provide this service for free unless it's maybe a loss leader or data source for them in some way.
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AllMostThere
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by AllMostThere »

MrJedi wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:20 am My natural gas provider is pushing for payments directly from bank accounts and has implemented a flat $2.99 fee for every credit card and debit card transaction. I started thinking about prepaying my bill a bit for a few months at a time to spread out the fee, but then I remembered this PPBP trick. Sure enough, my utility does show up in the system.

I really wonder how long this is going to last...I imagine PayPal is the one eating the costs and I don't understand the incentive to provide this service for free unless it's maybe a loss leader or data source for them in some way.
Ditto here is SE Michigan with my natural gas supplier. They will no longer accept CC's without the added fee. I paid via PayPal last month and again this month without issue using my Chase card. 5% bonus is just the icing on the cake. I will be maxing out the 5% bonus this quarter then jumping back to my 2% Fidelity Card moving forward. :beer
It is not about how much you make; it is about how much you keep and how well you invest it. - Author Unknown | Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. - Author James Dean
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beyou
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by beyou »

JackoC wrote: Wed Sep 20, 2023 10:12 am
beyou wrote: Wed Sep 20, 2023 12:14 am
JackoC wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:23 pm New thing: for about a year I'd been paying PSEG (New Jersey) gas/electric bill with PayPal, generally using Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card (2.625% at 'platinum honors level'), Chase Freedom (5%) when PayPal is a 5% category. First payment of 2023, though 'something went wrong' when submitted. PSEG never answered my message on their site asking if this was a policy change, but PayPal and BOA both say it's not them and indeed the same card still works to pay another utility via PayPal. Anybody else see this? Seems I'll have to revert to paying $3.95 convenience fee on PSEG site or using bill pay in checking account (depending whether the month's bill is <>$3.95/.02625=$150.48, or as previously suggested I might pay a few months in advance with one $3.95 fee if I decided it worth bothering, 3%+ after tax interest on money market fund also now enters more noticeably into CC reward vs. payment timing issues).
Was this ever fixed with PSEG ?
I was just trying to add PSEG for the first time and could not.
For me yes, it was just the one month it didn't work and has worked since without me doing anything else.
For me, I was able to pay my 1st bill to another local utility this week from PayPal using a cc.
But for some reason PSEG and National Grid tell me they do not recognize my account # when I try to setup.
Only my local water utility is working. So I know it's not PayPal that is the problem, but rather something with PSEG and NatGrid.
I had them on ebill with a bank so this may make them unavailable for other bill payment systems. While I canceled ebill, did not resolve after weeks.
Had something like that occur with a cc once, used for ebill, canceled but then could never select ebill at another bank.
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cowdogman
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by cowdogman »

MrJedi wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:20 am
I really wonder how long this is going to last...I imagine PayPal is the one eating the costs and I don't understand the incentive to provide this service for free unless it's maybe a loss leader or data source for them in some way.
I paid two $17,500+ real property tax bills this year (April and October) using PPBP linked to my PayPal MasterCard and got 3% back--over $1,000. The county charges 2.35% for credit card payments but no credit card fee was charged for my payments. It's weird (and nice).
frugalor
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by frugalor »

I am trying to use my US bank cash+ card to pay my electric bill (pg&e) on paypal and got an authorization error.

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NYGiantsFan
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by NYGiantsFan »

frugalor wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 10:39 am I am trying to use my US bank cash+ card to pay my electric bill (pg&e) on paypal and got an authorization error.

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I have similar issue. For some reason, BOFA credit card is not going through. I had my bank as a backup earlier and Paypal took money out from the bank account!. I removed bank as a backup and added AmEx as a second card. Paypal is taking money out from AmEx now.
HereToLearn
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by HereToLearn »

cowdogman wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 8:31 pm
MrJedi wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:20 am
I really wonder how long this is going to last...I imagine PayPal is the one eating the costs and I don't understand the incentive to provide this service for free unless it's maybe a loss leader or data source for them in some way.
I paid two $17,500+ real property tax bills this year (April and October) using PPBP linked to my PayPal MasterCard and got 3% back--over $1,000. The county charges 2.35% for credit card payments but no credit card fee was charged for my payments. It's weird (and nice).
I would love to be able to do this but unfortunately my town's payment system only offers Credit Card, Debit Card, or Electronic Check options.

CC payments incur a 2.5% processing fee. Debit cards are charged a flat $3.50 and ACH fee is $1.50.

Do you know if the PayPal Bill Pay processes as a debit or ACH?

Thanks!
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anon_investor
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by anon_investor »

HereToLearn wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 3:29 pm
cowdogman wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 8:31 pm
MrJedi wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:20 am
I really wonder how long this is going to last...I imagine PayPal is the one eating the costs and I don't understand the incentive to provide this service for free unless it's maybe a loss leader or data source for them in some way.
I paid two $17,500+ real property tax bills this year (April and October) using PPBP linked to my PayPal MasterCard and got 3% back--over $1,000. The county charges 2.35% for credit card payments but no credit card fee was charged for my payments. It's weird (and nice).
I would love to be able to do this but unfortunately my town's payment system only offers Credit Card, Debit Card, or Electronic Check options.

CC payments incur a 2.5% processing fee. Debit cards are charged a flat $3.50 and ACH fee is $1.50.

Do you know if the PayPal Bill Pay processes as a debit or ACH?

Thanks!
For my utility bills its ACH
LuckyInLife
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by LuckyInLife »

HereToLearn wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 3:29 pm
cowdogman wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 8:31 pm
MrJedi wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:20 am
I really wonder how long this is going to last...I imagine PayPal is the one eating the costs and I don't understand the incentive to provide this service for free unless it's maybe a loss leader or data source for them in some way.
I paid two $17,500+ real property tax bills this year (April and October) using PPBP linked to my PayPal MasterCard and got 3% back--over $1,000. The county charges 2.35% for credit card payments but no credit card fee was charged for my payments. It's weird (and nice).
I would love to be able to do this but unfortunately my town's payment system only offers Credit Card, Debit Card, or Electronic Check options.

CC payments incur a 2.5% processing fee. Debit cards are charged a flat $3.50 and ACH fee is $1.50.

Do you know if the PayPal Bill Pay processes as a debit or ACH?

Thanks!
If this is the case, your town's payment system might not even be on PayPal Bill Pay. That is the first step to using this, is making sure the vendor is in PayPal's list. I pay my utilities and insurance through PPBP to avoid credit card fees, and they go through as ACH.
HereToLearn
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Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Post by HereToLearn »

LuckyInLife wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 3:36 pm
HereToLearn wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 3:29 pm
cowdogman wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2023 8:31 pm
MrJedi wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:20 am
I really wonder how long this is going to last...I imagine PayPal is the one eating the costs and I don't understand the incentive to provide this service for free unless it's maybe a loss leader or data source for them in some way.
I paid two $17,500+ real property tax bills this year (April and October) using PPBP linked to my PayPal MasterCard and got 3% back--over $1,000. The county charges 2.35% for credit card payments but no credit card fee was charged for my payments. It's weird (and nice).
I would love to be able to do this but unfortunately my town's payment system only offers Credit Card, Debit Card, or Electronic Check options.

CC payments incur a 2.5% processing fee. Debit cards are charged a flat $3.50 and ACH fee is $1.50.

Do you know if the PayPal Bill Pay processes as a debit or ACH?

Thanks!
If this is the case, your town's payment system might not even be on PayPal Bill Pay. That is the first step to using this, is making sure the vendor is in PayPal's list. I pay my utilities and insurance through PPBP to avoid credit card fees, and they go through as ACH.
Ah, thank you. I was going at this the wrong way by starting with the town's site. It sounds as though I need to start on PayPal and see if they list my town?
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