Can I Pay My Mortgage With A Credit Card? By Ryan J Bell

Yes you can. There are two ways to make a mortgage payment with your credit card.

The first way is to use the convenience checks that credit card companies send out every so often. These checks work like those you would write from a checking account, but they draw against your credit rather than available bank funds. You can write, sign and mail these off to mortgage companies.

The second way is to use an online billpay feature (such as the type available at MBNA). This allows you to pay a certain amount to the specified company. The amount will be drawn out of your available credit and paid to the mortgage company similar to a check.

The downside to these two methods?

You won’t receive any cashback, miles, points or other credit card rewards for these transactions; which is the main reason for paying with a credit card anyway.

So, is there a way to pay with a credit card and still get the bonuses?

Yes there is. Well, there was.

There was a time when you could purchase Charter One gift cards using your credit card. These worked just like ATM/Debit cards and could be loaded with up to $500 each.

Basically you just needed to purchase these gift cards, take them to an ATM and pay the withdrawal fee (around $3) and pocket the $497 cash, while still receiving your credit card bonuses. You could then deposit enough cash to pay your mortgage and write a check to cover the payment.

Of course, this all required a lot of planning, but being able to get cash from a credit card without paying huge cash-advance fees AND still getting your bonus rewards is a huge plus.

Naturally, this program was abused in this way, and when they realized they weren’t going to make much money from it, the program was cancelled.

But be on the lookout for another loophole like this, because they come up all the time!

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=53967&ca=Finances

The 'How To' of Credit Card Debt Settlement By Ted Batron

Credit card debt settlement is a major concern for credit card holders. It appears that when we are piled up with the statement of accounts delivered to us by credit card companies, we wonder how we could pay all the debt with a very humble income.

Sometimes, it really is a puzzle why credit card companies would still offer their products despite the fact that there could be problems with credit card debt settlement. Needless to say, that we as consumers would give in to the offers despite knowing that our income will not compensate with the fees of having to maintain several credit cards.

Credit card debt settlement is quite relative with credit card debt relief. The former however, has a more tedious process than that of the latter since in this area, we need experts to advise us on how to do so. Credit card debt relief starts within us, while credit card debt settlement is something we cry for help for.

Steps in Credit Card Debt Settlement

Here are some of the things to consider in our wanting to settle the debt we have. Follow these steps and everything will just turn out fine.
Seek the help of a credit counselor. A credit counselor is someone who could help us negotiate our debt with our creditors. They make credit card debt settlement easier for us to handle.

Propose debt reduction settlement. Reduction of the debt will depend upon the circumstances we are undergoing. Our counselors could make a proposal with our creditors on our desire to reduce the amount we should pay. Creditors would agree to this proposal provided that we offer guarantee for credit card debt settlement.

Managing Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt settlement is accompanied by the so-called Debt Management Program (DMP). The concept of having a DMP is to ensure payment of your debts on time. This is applicable only to credit card and other unsecured debts. We can also learn to do these things for ourselves with programs like the one offered at http://www.no-debt.net/NoMoreDebt.html

When we are given the chance to qualify for a DMP, it is not only the interest and monthly dues of our credit card debt settlement that will be reduced but there is also a chance of waiving late fees and other corresponding penalties. In return, we agree on the non-use of our credit cards and any other application for a credit line should be stopped. This is a matter of securing our debt negotiators that we will ably pay our debt.

The system under DMP includes paying monthly amortizations to the counseling firm that will be in-charge of paying the debt to the credit card company. From our payment, they will also get their share of the monthly fees.

The Need to Choose the Right Counselor

We must carefully choose our counselor since we will entrust security of our credit card debt settlement to them. Picking the right person or firm will definitely increase our chances of qualifying for a debt reduction.
We have to make sure that we opt for the reputable counselor. There are a number of counselors that would promise us anything under the sun only for us to find out that later on we are left hanging with nothing.

We should monitor our credit card balance with our credit card company to make sure that the credit card debt settlement is in full force. Take note that under the debt reduction settlement there is a possibility that the debt would be settled in one to three years time. We should take responsibility in our actions in order to achieve our aim for credit card debt settlement.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=286670&ca=Finances