Can You Pay Your Wells Fargo Mortgage With a Credit Card?

Many homeowners with a Wells Fargo mortgage wonder if they can pay their mortgage using a credit card.

So can you pay your Wells Fargo mortgage with a credit card? Wells Fargo does not allow direct mortgage payments with a credit card. However, indirect methods like transferring money from a credit card to a checking or savings account, using prepaid cards, or utilizing services like PayPal or Cash App can be used. These methods may incur high fees and potentially impact your credit score negatively.

While you cannot directly charge your mortgage payment to a credit card, there are some workarounds that allow you to pay your Wells Fargo mortgage with funds accessed through a credit card.

The real question is whether this kind of transaction is good for you in terms of fees. To learn more about how to make payments on a mortgage using your credit card, keep reading.

How Can I Pay My Wells Fargo Mortgage With a Credit Card?

Unfortunately, you cannot directly pay your Wells Fargo mortgage with a credit card. Wells Fargo does not accept credit card payments for mortgage accounts.

However, there are some indirect workarounds where you can use funds from a credit card to pay your Wells Fargo mortgage:

• You can take a cash advance from your credit card and use the cash to make the mortgage payment. However, this incurs high fees and interest rates on the cash advance.
• You can use a third party payment service like Plastiq to pay your mortgage with a credit card for a 2.5% fee. But this is costly.
• You could do a balance transfer from your credit card to a 0% APR card, then use the funds from that card to pay the mortgage. But balance transfers have a fee too.
• You can pay your mortgage by first paying your credit card bill using a debit card, bank account, etc. But this involves multiple steps.

The best option is to set up automatic mortgage payments directly from your bank account to Wells Fargo. Only use a credit card as a last resort if you cannot pay on time, but expect to pay high fees and interest. I would not recommend paying a Wells Fargo mortgage with a credit card on an ongoing basis due to the costs involved.

What Are the Fees Associated With Paying a Mortgage With a Credit Card?

If you want to pay your mortgage with a credit card, you’ll have to go through a third-party service like Plastiq. This service allows you to use your credit card to make payments to companies or individuals that don’t normally accept credit cards. However, Plastiq charges a 2.5% fee for this service.

You can also take out a cash advance from your credit card and use that to pay your mortgage. However, cash advances typically have much higher interest rates and fees compared to normal credit card transactions. The cash advance fee is usually around 5% of the amount advanced, with an interest rate over 25%.

Another option is to do a balance transfer to another card that offers a 0% introductory period. However, balance transfers usually incur a balance transfer fee around 3-5% of the amount transferred.

So while it’s possible to use a credit card to pay your Wells Fargo mortgage, you’ll have to pay convenience fees ranging from 2.5% to 5% on the mortgage payment amount. The exact fee depends on the specific payment method you use.

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

The main potential benefits of paying your mortgage with a credit card include:

• Earning reward points or cash back, if your credit card offers a rewards program on purchases. This could offset some of the fees.
• Taking advantage of an intro 0% APR balance transfer offer, to temporarily get interest-free money to pay the mortgage.
• Accessing funds quickly in an emergency to avoid a late fee or other penalty.
• Building your credit history and score by making large payments and keeping utilization low.
• Utilizing a new credit card’s welcome bonus by meeting the spending requirement with the mortgage payment.

However, the benefits really depend on your specific financial situation and credit profile. For some, the fees and risks may outweigh the potential rewards.

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

There are also some significant drawbacks to making mortgage payments with a credit card:

• The fees charged by services like Plastiq or cash advance fees can eat into any rewards earned.
• It can increase your debt, as you’ll have to pay off the credit card bill in addition to the mortgage.
• Using a large portion of your credit limit for the mortgage payment can negatively impact your credit utilization.
• You risk accruing interest on the credit card balance if you can’t pay it off in full each month.
• Most credit card issuers and mortgage lenders frown upon this practice and may shut down your accounts.
• Violates the card network rules (e.g. Visa, Mastercard), so the transaction could be declined when attempted.

So carefully weigh the pros and cons for your situation before using a credit card for the mortgage. Also evaluate other payment methods that may work better.

What Should I Consider Before Paying My Mortgage With a Credit Card?

If you decide to pay your Wells Fargo mortgage with a credit card, here are some key things to consider beforehand:

• Will the rewards earned exceed the fees charged by the third-party processor? Do the math.
• How will this impact your credit utilization ratio and scores? Keep it low.
• Can you comfortably pay off the card statement balance in full each month? If not, avoid this.
• Does the card have high interest rates or fees (e.g. cash advance fee) that offset any rewards?
• Are you willing to risk the credit card issuer shutting down your account? Some may.
• Check your mortgage contract for any clauses restricting alternative payment methods.
• Ask the credit card company and Wells Fargo if they allow this type of transactionbeforehand.

Evaluating these factors will help you make an informed decision before using your credit card to pay the mortgage. Proceed with caution and understand all the risks involved.

What Credit Cards Can Be Used to Pay a Wells Fargo Mortgage?

You’ll have the most success using a major credit card network brand like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover to pay your Wells Fargo mortgage. Visa and Mastercard are accepted nearly universally.

Cards that offer robust rewards on all spending are ideal, such as:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve – 3x points on all purchases
• Citi Premier Card – 3x points
• Capital One Venture Rewards – 2x miles
• Wells Fargo Propel Card – 3x points on many purchases

Avoid prepaid debit cards or secured credit cards, as these often can’t be used for large or recurring payments. Check your card’s terms or call the issuer to confirm.

Why Paying Off the Mortgage With a Credit Card Is Not Possible?

As you already know, a mortgage is a lien, and a credit card is also a loan. This means that if you pay your mortgage with a credit card, you will pay a debt by creating more debt. Most lenders will not allow this transaction for this reason.

Another reason why lenders don’t accept this kind of transaction is the high fees they will have to pay to the card issuer.

The same rule applies to down payments, application fees, closing costs, mortgage insurance, and other costs.

However, if you have a HELOC, in essence, you will be able to use this money to pay your mortgage rate.

Here are the pros and cons of paying a mortgage with a credit card.

What Are Some Alternatives to Paying a Mortgage With a Credit Card?

Some other options to consider rather than using a credit card for the mortgage include:

• Enrolling in Wells Fargo’s automatic mortgage payment program from your checking or savings account.
• Utilizing a HELOC or second mortgage to access funds if you have enough home equity.
• Asking Wells Fargo about a forbearance or modification program if undergoing financial hardship.
• Setting up bi-weekly or semi-monthly mortgage payments to pay down the principal faster.
• Re-financing your mortgage at a lower interest rate to reduce monthly payments.
• Consolidating other high-rate debts through a personal loan or balance transfer card.
• Tapping into emergency savings or having a garage sale to come up with extra funds.

What Other Payment Options Does Wells Fargo Offer for Mortgages?

You Can Use the Online Payment Option at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo allows you to make online payments from any checking or savings account. All you have to do is to sign up for Wells Fargo online and follow the steps. Make sure you transfer money from the credit card to another checking account, and you are good to go. Also, if you have automatic payments at Wells Fargo, make sure you cancel recurring mortgage payments on time.

Pay in Person Or Use a Phone

Another option is to withdraw money from an ATM, go to the nearest Wells Fargo branch, and make payments in person with cash. Also, no matter if you have a reverse mortgage or a conventional one, you can make payments via phone. Just call 1-800-357-6675 and follow the instructions from the automated service. And just like with online payments, you will have to have close a routing number or the checking account where you transfer money

Use Prepaid Cards

Using prepaid cards is another option you can turn to. These cards are usually connected to a checking or savings account, so if you transfer money on these cards, it will go to these accounts. You can then use these accounts when paying for a mortgage online. However, before you transfer money, make sure these cards can actually pay your mortgage rate because some of them have canceled that option. 

You Can Transfer Money to PayPal or the Cash App

Last but not least, you can transfer money from a credit card to a checking account using PayPal. But keep in mind that this will not lower your mortgage payments but increase them. As you know, you can link your PayPal account to your credit card directly, so all you have to do is to deposit money in your PayPal account and use that money to pay a mortgage. However, use this option only if it’s necessary because the fees will be pretty high.

You can also link your credit card to some cash app and send this money to a friend or family member and ask them to send you the money back to your checking account. Then you will be able to pay the mortgage. But you can imagine how many fees you will pay by making these transactions.

Things to Consider When Paying With a Credit Card

As I’ve stated before, it’s not possible to make a Wells Fargo mortgage payment with your card, but even if you find a way to do it, there are some things to consider. The whole ordeal might not be worth your credit score or your budget. The things you should take into account include the fees and rewards, the cost of interest, and the effect it might have on your credit score.

Consider the Fees and Rewards

It is appealing to pay for your mortgage using a credit card if doing so will allow you to earn rewards on such a generally substantial expense. However, the expense of a third-party service fee may wipe out your profits. If your mortgage payment is $2,500 and the processing fee is 2.9%, keep in mind that you will pay $72.50 per payment.

It is uncommon for credit card issuers’ rewards to exceed the expense of such a fee. A notable exception is the credit card’s welcome bonus. If placing a one-time monthly mortgage on the credit card would assist you to fulfill a minimum purchase requirement for a generous bonus that significantly outweighs the cost, it might make sense.

The Interest Cost

If you do not settle your credit card bill in full each month, placing a mortgage payment on your credit card can result in expensive interest costs. Carrying huge continuous sums would easily cancel out any rewards you may get over the long term.

Effect on the Credit Score

Placing a mortgage payment using a credit card will certainly consume a sizeable portion of the credit limit and raise your credit usage ratio. It will also affect the ratio of your entire debt to the available total credit limits. This number has a big impact on your overall credit ratings, and you should strive to maintain a ratio of 30% or below. So making a  mortgage payment in the thousands of dollars is pretty much ineffective.

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

Paying your Wells Fargo mortgage with a credit card can affect your credit score in a few key ways:

• It will likely increase your credit utilization ratio, assuming you have to carry a balance. This can lower scores if it exceeds 30% of the limit.
• Making large payments responsibly shows lenders you can manage substantial credit lines, helping scores.
• Too many hard inquiries from opening new cards could temporarily ding the score by a few points.
• You’ll be taking on more debt, which negatively impacts the credit-to-debt ratio factor in scoring models.

Overall, the impact depends on your specific credit situation. Pay off balances quickly, maintain low utilization, and minimize hard credit inquiries to get the most score benefit. Check your credit report frequently to understand changes.

Should You Pay the Mortgage With a Credit Card?

As you can see, it is not impossible to pay your mortgage with a credit card (though indirectly,) but there is a reason why most lenders don’t allow this transaction. You will create more debt that will affect your credit score. Also, you will pay high fees no matter which option you decide to do. For example, to make transactions using cash apps or PayPal, you will pay around 3% for the fee, and a similar fee or even higher will be with other options as well.

On the other hand, when you make a mortgage loan agreement with the lender, you have committed to making monthly payments, and the late fees can be higher than those you will pay when using a credit card. So when deciding whether to use credit cards to make these payments make sure you calculate all the fees and pros and cons of both options. In the end, if you have to avoid late fees and foreclosure for a couple of months until you get on your feet again, using this option is acceptable. Just make sure, before you get into more debt, to consult a financial advisor.

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