AGR Credit Cards "Checks"

[TraneMan]

I used to get a check from them to write to pay bills, and I used it for our house payment, and my truck, so it was nice to get a few extra points.

The last couple of months, I haven't gotten one.. I went online to see if I can find anything on it, and I don't..

Anyone of you still get them?

 

[the_traveler]

I haven't, since I told them to stop sending them! Even though you may earn points, you do not get the "lag time" of interest. Charges for interest start on the 1st day the "convenience check" is cashed until it is paid in full!

 

[me_little_me]

Has anyone "prepaid" using them just to get the points and not pay the interest?

Lets say you charge $300 in items then you want to pay your $1000 mortgage with he check. You first send a $1300 check from your bank to cover charge card charges plus mortgage and when they get it, you write one of their checks for the $1K mortgage. 1K of points with no fees?

 

[the_traveler]

You always pay interest from the first day those checks are cashed. And you can not "pay off" a balance in excess of the current balance. (It must first post to the account - and thus the interest has already begun!) If your current balance on the account is $527.11, you can not make a payment of $767.11 to include that check for $240.00 unless it has already posted. And if so, interest is already owed!

 

[PRR 60]

If you earned points using the "convenience checks", you get a bonus. The checks are considered cash advances, and cash advances are not eligible for points.

From Chase:

Earning Points
You will earn 2 points for each $1 of Net Purchases made through Amtrak. You will earn 1 point for each $1 of all other Net Purchases. ("Net Purchases" are purchases of goods and services made by you or any authorized user on your account minus any returns or refunds, and do not include balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that access your account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.) There is no maximum number of points that you can accumulate in the program. See Rewards Program Rules and Regulations which will be mailed after your account is established.

 

[me_little_me]

You always pay interest from the first day those checks are cashed. And you can not "pay off" a balance in excess of the current balance. (It must first post to the account - and thus the interest has already begun!) If your current balance on the account is $527.11, you can not make a payment of $767.11 to include that check for $240.00 unless it has already posted. And if so, interest is already owed!

Totally untrue about not paying off more than what is owed. I've done it quite often on all sorts of bills including Chase card when I am going on a trip before a bill comes and it will be inconvenient to find out what it will be and/or to pay it when it is due. I simply send enough money to cover the bill and allow extra just in case. All it costs me is the interest I would have earned by holding on to the money until the last minute but nowadays, that interest is generally zero or too little to care. I have even sent enough to cover not only the due bill but the next month's bill.

With e-bill paying (I NEVER allow ANY company to suck money from my accounts), it is often not necessary to pay in advance as the bill can be scheduled but with a CC card or utility bill which varies from month to month, I simply include enough in the e-check to cover the bill even if it is unexpectedly high so a utility bill that I would expect to be $50 or so would get a $75 payment from me.

The overage shows up on the account as a credit. I believe the law requires an overage over 60-90 days old to be refunded by check but that's never been an issue. It simply lowers my next bill.

The only real question is - If there is an overage in the CC account that covers the amount of the check when the check is cashed, does Chase charge any interest or fee?

 

[me_little_me]

If you earned points using the "convenience checks", you get a bonus. The checks are considered cash advances, and cash advances are not eligible for points.

From Chase:

Earning PointsYou will earn 2 points for each $1 of Net Purchases made through Amtrak. You will earn 1 point for each $1 of all other Net Purchases. ("Net Purchases" are purchases of goods and services made by you or any authorized user on your account minus any returns or refunds, and do not include balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that access your account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.) There is no maximum number of points that you can accumulate in the program. See Rewards Program Rules and Regulations which will be mailed after your account is established.

Thanks. That answers my question. My way of getting points by pre-paying the check wouldn't work.

 

[the_traveler]

You always pay interest from the first day those checks are cashed. And you can not "pay off" a balance in excess of the current balance. (It must first post to the account - and thus the interest has already begun!) If your current balance on the account is $527.11, you can not make a payment of $767.11 to include that check for $240.00 unless it has already posted. And if so, interest is already owed!

Totally untrue about not paying off more than what is owed. I've done it quite often on all sorts of bills including Chase card when I am going on a trip before a bill comes and it will be inconvenient to find out what it will be and/or to pay it when it is due. I simply send enough money to cover the bill and allow extra just in case. All it costs me is the interest I would have earned by holding on to the money until the last minute but nowadays, that interest is generally zero or too little to care. I have even sent enough to cover not only the due bill but the next month's bill.

Maybe that is true if you mail a check - I can't confirm that. I always pay online, and it says that the amount paid can not be more than the current balance.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

There are methods of getting past the website's maximum payment restrictions. However, I would not expect Chase (or anyone else) to allow a payment process that prevented interest from being charged for a cash advance or check. The credit card companies state in the contract that those actions will accrue interest instantaneously and I would expect them to program their systems in such a way as to prevent any form of advance from sidestepping that process. It's easy to get confused on how to maximize points cards but you need to remember that the credit card issuers write the contracts. They also write the programs that process your payment. The number one rule when it comes to earning points is avoid every optional fee and expense. Otherwise the fees will outweigh the value of the points several fold and you'll end up far worse off than you started. When it comes to points be conservative and don't try to outsmart the credit issuer.

 

[me_little_me]

You always pay interest from the first day those checks are cashed. And you can not "pay off" a balance in excess of the current balance. (It must first post to the account - and thus the interest has already begun!) If your current balance on the account is $527.11, you can not make a payment of $767.11 to include that check for $240.00 unless it has already posted. And if so, interest is already owed!

Totally untrue about not paying off more than what is owed. I've done it quite often on all sorts of bills including Chase card when I am going on a trip before a bill comes and it will be inconvenient to find out what it will be and/or to pay it when it is due. I simply send enough money to cover the bill and allow extra just in case. All it costs me is the interest I would have earned by holding on to the money until the last minute but nowadays, that interest is generally zero or too little to care. I have even sent enough to cover not only the due bill but the next month's bill.

Maybe that is true if you mail a check - I can't confirm that. I always pay online, and it says that the amount paid can not be more than the current balance.

They can't suck more than what you owe from your bank. That would be illegal. But you can send them what you want. Note that I go to my bank site to electronically pay and you can pay any amount and it gets there within a few days and is credited the day it "arrives". I normally tell the bank to pay it on the due date and have never had a problem with a business claiming it "arrived" too late. When I opened my Chase account and e-sent the first check, I set it up to arrive a few days early "just in case" as I don't trust most banks. I then verified that it was credited on the date I had set. It was and ever since it is scheduled for the due date like all my other e-checks.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah, Chase's site won't let you pay more.

But if I tell my USAA bill pay to send Chase more than I owe, they'll gladly send it and I'll end up with a credit balance.

 

[sechs]

The key to prepaying is to "push" payments to the account, rather than have Chase (or whoever) pull the payment from your bank. Just use another institution's bill pay.

Since these credit card checks rarely earn any kind of rewards, it's a bit of a moot point.