Pay bills with a credit card?
In short, you may look like you’re in a debt situation that you’re not really in. Credit reports don’t typically do a good job of showing “this person pays 100% of their balance every month”. Unless you pay off as much as of your balance BEFORE the end of the billing period. That’s where they take the snapshot for your credit report. I pay my credit card online right after payday, so I’m usually paid up before the billing period has even ended.
Citibank has a card with “Thank You” points that are redeemable for just about anything (via gift cards). If you always fly with one of the major air carriers, you could use the miles for tickets (sometimes difficult on popular routes, you’ll get bumped first) or upgrades (easier, and in this travelers humble opinion, a better use of miles if you’re traveling 3+ hours).
If a bill is variable (eg electricity), an automatic deduction of the full amount from your card may cause you to become lazy in checking the reasonableness of the bill. When you have to manually write a cheque or pay the card (eg by phone / internet) you are more likely to pay attention & notice if a bill seems over the top.
Seconding what StD said: According to your credit report, you’re using 50% of your available credit at all times, which is viewed as bad. In short, you may look like you’re in a debt situation that you’re not really in. Credit reports don’t typically do a good job of showing “this person pays 100% of their balance every month”. This could be moot, of course, since you’ve already used your credit to qualify for your car and house loans. On the other hand, insurance companies use your credit report when issuing policies (which could hurt you in premiums). Additionally, if you need to adjust your mortgage, they’ll take a look at your report. Indeed. Other credit card companies will probably love you. Mortgage lenders might want you to provide proof that the “debts” on the report have been paid off, bit of a hassle, particularly since the “debts” will keep reappearing. It might make a difference in the size or terms of a mortgage that you would qualify for. In this situation, you could jus
