Paying a Chase Mortgage With a Credit Card: Options and Considerations

For many homeowners, keeping up with mortgage payments can be a struggle, especially in times of financial hardship. Some may consider turning to credit cards to help make those payments if money is tight.

Can you pay a Chase mortgage with a credit card? No, you cannot directly pay a Chase mortgage with a credit card as Chase does not accept credit card payments for mortgages. However, you can use third-party payment services like Plastiq, which charges your credit card and then pays the bill on your behalf, albeit with processing fees.

Most lenders, including major banks like Chase, do not allow borrowers to directly pay their mortgage with a credit card. 

In this article, we’ll look at why you can’t directly use a credit card for Chase mortgage payments, your options for still leveraging card benefits, and key considerations around how paying a mortgage with a credit card could impact your finances and credit score.

Why Can’t You Directly Pay a Chase Mortgage With a Credit Card?

Chase does not accept credit card payments directly for mortgage installments. This policy is common among most lenders, big and small.

There are a few reasons for this:

• Interest rates on credit cards are much higher than mortgage rates. If borrowers could pay their low-rate mortgages with high-rate cards, they’d essentially be arbitraging interest rates. This would quickly become unprofitable for the lender.
• It can signal risky financial behavior. If a borrower can only afford to pay their mortgage with a credit card, it may indicate they are overextended. The lender is less likely to get repaid.
• Processing fees eat into profits. Credit card transactions involve processing fees, which are typically around 2-3%. Mortgage payments are large, so those percentage fees can be sizable.

So in short, directly accepting credit card payments for mortgages creates risk and complexity for lenders like Chase. That’s why they don’t allow it.

What Are Third-Party Payment Services Like Plastiq?

Third-party payment services like Plastiq provide an intriguing option for homeowners who want to pay their mortgage with a credit card, even when the lender does not directly accept credit card payments. Plastiq acts as an intermediary between you and the mortgage lender – you supply your credit card details and payment amount to Plastiq, and they in turn send a payment to the lender on your behalf through check, ACH transfer, or wire transfer. This allows you to pay bills with your credit card that would not normally accept credit card payments directly.

However, Plastiq does charge a processing fee for providing this service. Currently, the fee is 2.9% of the total payment amount for credit cards. So for a $2,000 mortgage installment, you would pay $58 in fees to Plastiq. While this may seem small, fees can add up substantially over time, especially for large recurring payments. Using a rewards credit card can potentially offset some of the processing costs through earned rewards, but likely not all of it.

The main benefit Plastiq provides is the ability to pay your mortgage with a credit card, even when the lender does not accept cards directly. This can give you some short term flexibility if you need breathing room in a pinch. However, the risks come if you cannot pay off the credit card charge within the billing cycle. Revolving a balance on your card would lead to high interest charges, eliminating any benefit. So Plastiq is generally best used selectively and strategically, only if you have a plan to pay off the card balance very quickly. Otherwise, the fees and interest costs can escalate rapidly.

Plastiq opens up the possibility of paying your mortgage with a credit card, for a fee. This convenience can be useful in certain circumstances, but also carries substantial risk if used improperly or to pay bills you cannot otherwise afford. Careful planning is essential.

How Does Using Plastiq to Pay Your Chase Mortgage Work?

With Plastiq, you can use your credit card to pay pretty much any bill – rent, tuition, or mortgages. 

Here’s how it works:

• You register and link the bill you want to pay. For a Chase mortgage, you’d provide details like your loan account number.
• Plastiq charges your credit card for the payment amount plus their processing fee.
• Plastiq then pays the bill on your behalf by sending a bank check or wire to the recipient.

So essentially, they act as a middleman and enable you to pay bills with a credit card that don’t normally accept them.

What Are the Fees Associated With Using Plastiq?

The main catch is that Plastiq charges a processing fee for this service, which is:

• 2.5% for Mastercard, Discover, and American Express cards
• 2.85% for Visa cards

These fees can add up, especially for large recurring payments like a mortgage. You’ll need to run the numbers to see if the rewards you earn from using a credit card ultimately outweigh the fees.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Credit Card to Pay Your Mortgage?

Assuming you can offset the processing costs, here are some potential benefits of paying a mortgage with a credit card:

• Rewards: Many credit cards offer generous cashback or travel rewards, so you can rack up points on your mortgage payment. Over time, this can add up to thousands in rewards.
• Buy time in a pinch: Making at least the minimum payment with a credit card ensures your mortgage stays current. This can buy you a bit more time if you’re temporarily short on cash.
• Improve credit utilization: A higher credit limit lowers your overall utilization ratio, which can boost your credit score.
• Avoid late fees: Since credit cards deduct autopayments on the due date, mortgage payments won’t risk being late. Late fees typically run 2-5% of the monthly payment.

However, some of these benefits are temporary or contingent on paying off the card balance quickly.

What Are the Risks of Paying a Mortgage With a Credit Card?

There are also quite a few drawbacks to consider:

• It can damage your credit score if not managed properly. Missed credit card payments will hurt your score.
• Higher interest costs if you revolve a balance. Most credit cards have rates of 15-25%, significantly higher than mortgage rates.
• Risk of foreclosure still exists. Even if the mortgage payment is made, you’ll need to pay off the credit card balance to avoid foreclosure. 
• Additional fees for cash advances. Some credit cards classify Plastiq payments as cash advances and charge extra fees.
• Rewards could be forfeited. Making mortgage payments is sometimes considered “gaming the system”, which may violate card agreements.
• Debt consolidation more difficult. It’s harder to consolidate or refinance when your home equity is tied up in credit card debt.

To mitigate the risks, it’s critical to have a plan for rapidly paying off the card balance each month. The costs can spiral out of control otherwise.

How Will Paying My Mortgage With a Credit Card Affect My Credit Score?

Paying your mortgage with a credit card shouldn’t directly help or harm your credit score in itself. 

However, it can indirectly impact your score in a few ways:

• If you miss a credit card payment, your score will suffer significantly. Payment history is the biggest scoring factor.
• High credit card balances will hurt your credit utilization ratio. This measures how much of your total credit limit is used.
• Applying for new cards lowers your average account age, though with less impact.
• Making at least the minimum payments keeps your mortgage current, avoiding harm to your payment history. 

So in summary, paying with a credit card is something of a double-edged sword when it comes to your credit score. Proper management of the card account is crucial to avoiding damage.

Are There Other Ways to Use Credit Cards for Mortgage Payments?

Aside from using a third-party processor like Plastiq, a couple other options could allow you to pay a mortgage with a credit card:

• Balance transfers – Transferring your mortgage balance to a new credit card at 0% APR for a period of time. This pause on interest charges buys you time to pay down the balance.
• Cash-out refinance – Refinancing your mortgage for more than you owe, then using the excess cash to pay off credit cards. This consolidates balances into the lower-rate mortgage. 

Both options come with their own pros, cons, and qualification barriers. In particular, you’ll still need solid enough credit to qualify for either one.

Conclusion

Paying a Chase mortgage directly with a credit card isn’t possible, but alternatives like Plastiq provide workarounds at the cost of fees. This route can make sense to earn rewards and benefits, but caution is warranted.

Mismanaging this strategy can lead to higher interest costs, damaged credit, and increased risk of foreclosure. As such, you need ample income and a rock-solid plan to pay off the card balance each month. Otherwise, explore options like balance transfers or cash-out refinancing as alternatives before tapping credit cards.

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