[Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

[Carno]

I would never link my main checking account to PayPal.

Is the reason you would never link your main checking account to PayPal the security issue? How about 2-Factor Authentication?

I just don't want PayPal to have access to it, especially since I rarely use PayPal to send anyone money, and primarely use it to buy things online with CC as the payment source or Bill Pay, again with CC as the payment source. There is always a decent amount of money sitting in my main "checking" account (really a Fido CMA) since my mortgage is automatically paid from it. I just want to have that separation.

I also use Fido CMA for all my bill payments. However, someone on this thread replied to my question that a CC bill payment using a PayPal-linked CC is never allowed (can use PayPal cash balance, linked bank accounts or debit cards only for this purpose). A PayPal-linked CC can only pay for bills of utilities, property taxes, etc. Is this true?

[jeffyscott]

I’ve not had a bill pay transaction made with a credit card on PayPal charged as a cash advance. However, do some research on the order they will select funds to pay your bill. It may come out of PayPal balance and then ACH before your CC. There may be a way around this but I want bright enough to find out. So I just remove all other payment methods and leave the one that I want to use.

There is an order of payment, but I understand you can choose which source to select at the time of payment and thus bypass the default (preset) order. I also wonder if I can pay my PayPal Mastercard bill (balance) using the PayPal Mastercard itself (that is, charge my card to pay my card bill)?

Yes, you can choose but paypal reserves the right to use any of them. Someone above had a large property tax payment taken from checking when they had chosen a credit card. At least once or twice, paypal switched from my choice to another card (it didn't matter since both were 5% at the time).

So I don't trust them to use my choice. Most of the time I have only US Bank cash+ on there, since about all I use paypal for is paying utility bills. I switched to chase freedom in order to pay property tax, with 5% rebates, in December.

At least for automatic payments and bill pay, I saw an option to select or deselect available payment option. I deselected my linked checking accounts, but they have little money in them anyway. I would never link my main checking account to PayPal.

I went looking, but the things I found say: "Choose your preferred way to pay for your subscriptions and automatic payments." and "If your chosen payment method is unavailable, PayPal can use the other payment methods linked to your account..."

Those statements were at a couple of the links when I went to "manage automatic payments" from here: https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/preferences/payments

[anon_investor]

I would never link my main checking account to PayPal.

Is the reason you would never link your main checking account to PayPal the security issue? How about 2-Factor Authentication?

I just don't want PayPal to have access to it, especially since I rarely use PayPal to send anyone money, and primarely use it to buy things online with CC as the payment source or Bill Pay, again with CC as the payment source. There is always a decent amount of money sitting in my main "checking" account (really a Fido CMA) since my mortgage is automatically paid from it. I just want to have that separation.

I also use Fido CMA for all my bill payments. However, someone on this thread replied to my question that a CC bill payment using a PayPal-linked CC is never allowed (can use PayPal cash balance, linked bank accounts or debit cards only for this purpose). A PayPal-linked CC can only pay for bills of utilities, property taxes, etc. Is this true?

Not sure, I only use PayPal Bill Pay to pay for utility bills.

[anon_investor]

I’ve not had a bill pay transaction made with a credit card on PayPal charged as a cash advance. However, do some research on the order they will select funds to pay your bill. It may come out of PayPal balance and then ACH before your CC. There may be a way around this but I want bright enough to find out. So I just remove all other payment methods and leave the one that I want to use.

There is an order of payment, but I understand you can choose which source to select at the time of payment and thus bypass the default (preset) order. I also wonder if I can pay my PayPal Mastercard bill (balance) using the PayPal Mastercard itself (that is, charge my card to pay my card bill)?

Yes, you can choose but paypal reserves the right to use any of them. Someone above had a large property tax payment taken from checking when they had chosen a credit card. At least once or twice, paypal switched from my choice to another card (it didn't matter since both were 5% at the time).

So I don't trust them to use my choice. Most of the time I have only US Bank cash+ on there, since about all I use paypal for is paying utility bills. I switched to chase freedom in order to pay property tax, with 5% rebates, in December.

At least for automatic payments and bill pay, I saw an option to select or deselect available payment option. I deselected my linked checking accounts, but they have little money in them anyway. I would never link my main checking account to PayPal.

I went looking, but the things I found say: "Choose your preferred way to pay for your subscriptions and automatic payments." and "If your chosen payment method is unavailable, PayPal can use the other payment methods linked to your account..."

Those statements were at a couple of the links when I went to "manage automatic payments" from here: https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/preferences/payments

Darn sneaky language. Strengthens my position to not link my main checking account to PayPal.

[Carno]

There is an order of payment, but I understand you can choose which source to select at the time of payment and thus bypass the default (preset) order. I also wonder if I can pay my PayPal Mastercard bill (balance) using the PayPal Mastercard itself (that is, charge my card to pay my card bill)?

Yes, you can choose but paypal reserves the right to use any of them. Someone above had a large property tax payment taken from checking when they had chosen a credit card. At least once or twice, paypal switched from my choice to another card (it didn't matter since both were 5% at the time).

So I don't trust them to use my choice. Most of the time I have only US Bank cash+ on there, since about all I use paypal for is paying utility bills. I switched to chase freedom in order to pay property tax, with 5% rebates, in December.

At least for automatic payments and bill pay, I saw an option to select or deselect available payment option. I deselected my linked checking accounts, but they have little money in them anyway. I would never link my main checking account to PayPal.

I went looking, but the things I found say: "Choose your preferred way to pay for your subscriptions and automatic payments." and "If your chosen payment method is unavailable, PayPal can use the other payment methods linked to your account..."

Those statements were at a couple of the links when I went to "manage automatic payments" from here: https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/preferences/payments

Darn sneaky language. Strengthens my position to not link my main checking account to PayPal.

What is "unavailable"? A CC may be present and linked but may not be allowed to make a payment to pay the bill of another, certain CC. If this is not allowed then will the CC linked to PayPal becomes "unavailable"?

[LazerBeams]

Any way to make PayPal Bill Pay set automatically recurring payments?

Looking into this now for the first time.to make credit card payments where they otherwise wouldn't accept credit cards but it seems I'd have to schedule manually each month which adds a _ton_ of work.

Thanks

[Carno]

Any way to make PayPal Bill Pay set automatically recurring payments?

Looking into this now for the first time.to make credit card payments where they otherwise wouldn't accept credit cards but it seems I'd have to schedule manually each month which adds a _ton_ of work.

Thanks

Are you paying a credit card with another credit card?

[LazerBeams]

Any way to make PayPal Bill Pay set automatically recurring payments?

Looking into this now for the first time.to make credit card payments where they otherwise wouldn't accept credit cards but it seems I'd have to schedule manually each month which adds a _ton_ of work.

Thanks

Are you paying a credit card with another credit card?

No, this is term life insurance payments. Regular monthly payments. Previously direct debit with autopay but trying to get points by passing it through PayPal Bill Pay instead.

[jeffyscott]

Any way to make PayPal Bill Pay set automatically recurring payments?

Theoretically, they can do automatic payments, but I think that is only if the biller has made this arrangement with PayPal. Mine have not.

...it seems I'd have to schedule manually each month which adds a _ton_ of work.

I log on once per month to pay two utility bills manually via PayPal, they both would accept direct credit card payments but would charge me fees. I'd call it more like an ounce of work, though . Of course, it's also not really saving/earning me much either.

Also one of the utilities requires manual payment if using a credit card, so I would have to pay that manually to get my 5% rebate, whether or not I do it via paypal. I did leave the autopay from bank account active on both, so if I ever fail to make a manual payment, the bills will get paid that way.

[ZinCO]

I would never link my main checking account to PayPal.

Is the reason you would never link your main checking account to PayPal the security issue? How about 2-Factor Authentication?

I just don't want PayPal to have access to it, especially since I rarely use PayPal to send anyone money, and primarely use it to buy things online with CC as the payment source or Bill Pay, again with CC as the payment source. There is always a decent amount of money sitting in my main "checking" account (really a Fido CMA) since my mortgage is automatically paid from it. I just want to have that separation.

I also use Fido CMA for all my bill payments. However, someone on this thread replied to my question that a CC bill payment using a PayPal-linked CC is never allowed (can use PayPal cash balance, linked bank accounts or debit cards only for this purpose). A PayPal-linked CC can only pay for bills of utilities, property taxes, etc. Is this true?

Not sure, I only use PayPal Bill Pay to pay for utility bills.

This is definitely true, you cannot pay a CC bill from another CC and Paypal enforces that separation in the Bill Pay interface.

[MrJedi]

Yes, PayPal seems to understand when a credit card or other type of loan is being paid, as the credit cards on file will not even be selectable when paying those.

As for auto payments from PayPal, I have not seen that as an option. I pay my HOA with CC through PayPal. HOA has an online portal where I can setup auto payments but the CC payment option carries a fee. It ends up being roughly $15 on my monthly payment, so I made the decision that it's worth manually paying to save $15 each month. I have a monthly checklist reminder each month to do things like this (cash out rewards, pay manual bills, make bank transfers, verify requirements are met, etc.). Now that I have a system down I handle it very methodically and easily, but it did admittedly take some time to get organized enough to make it low effort and worth it.

As for a potential workaround for auto pay, I have seen that PayPal lets you schedule payments up to a year in advance. You could perhaps schedule out monthly payments up to a year ahead of time so you only need to sit down for 10 minutes and schedule out 12 manual payments once per year. I have not personally tried this since I'm not sure how much flexibility there is to change the payments once scheduled or if it's a pain, etc.

[Carno]

Yes, PayPal seems to understand when a credit card or other type of loan is being paid, as the credit cards on file will not even be selectable when paying those.

I go to a portal that allows me to pay rent that charges a big fee if paid with a credit card. I wonder if it is possible to pay my rent with a PayPal-linked credit card without paying any fees (that is, send a check to my lease office using a PayPal-linked CC)?

[frugalor]

Please retweet this 12/27 missing payment issue if you can. The same thing could happen to any of us in the future if PayPal doesn't take this seriously. https://twitter.com/frugalorguy/status/ ... 3568819201

Thanks!

[mangorunner]

I added a Citi credit card to my PayPal account and set it up as my Preferred Payment Method. I received two PayPal emails confirming that Citi credit card was added and that it was now my preferred payment method.

I used "Pay bills" to make a utility payment. I took screenshots throughout my payment set-up. (Link to screenshots, below.)

Under "Choose your bank or card", I selected my Citi card.

Next was a summary screen showing the payment amount, date and Citi card as the payment method. It was all correct, so I clicked "Send payment".

Despite every payment method selection and confirmation screen that PayPal had displayed, the payment was charged to a different card. It was charged to my Discover card which was neither my selected nor preferred payment method. Here are the 8 (eight) screenshots:

https://imgur.com/a/p5OLYpj

I don't know understand why it was charged incorrectly or what in the world happened. PayPal's response was nothing but push-back: I should contact the utility company and ask for a refund. Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

[need403bhelp]

I added a Citi credit card to my PayPal account and set it up as my Preferred Payment Method. I received two PayPal emails confirming that Citi credit card was added and that it was now my preferred payment method.

I used "Pay bills" to make a utility payment. I took screenshots throughout my payment set-up. (Link to screenshots, below.)

Under "Choose your bank or card", I selected my Citi card.

Next was a summary screen showing the payment amount, date and Citi card as the payment method. It was all correct, so I clicked "Send payment".

Despite every payment method selection and confirmation screen that PayPal had displayed, the payment was charged to a different card. It was charged to my Discover card which was neither my selected nor preferred payment method. Here are the 8 (eight) screenshots:

https://imgur.com/a/p5OLYpj

I don't know understand why it was charged incorrectly or what in the world happened. PayPal's response was nothing but push-back: I should contact the utility company and ask for a refund. Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

I think this is a not unusual occurrence and there is something in the fine print when you first set up a preferred payment method (or used to be) that says they can charge any payment method they wish.

[jeffyscott]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Yes, and the last few times I switched cards, there was an additional annoying step to take, removing "pay with points", which PayPal had automatically enabled.

I got an offer from Citi to get 5% via PayPal. I clicked to enable that, but then realized it'll require too much adding and removing of cards to be worth bothering with unless we have a large purchase (I already get 5% on utility payments with US Bank).

We're spending a few hundred at Home Depot and Lowes this quarter, but since Chase and Discover are 5% on groceries, Custom Cash is giving me 5% at home improvement stores, without the need to involve PayPal.

[ZinCO]

I added a Citi credit card to my PayPal account and set it up as my Preferred Payment Method. I received two PayPal emails confirming that Citi credit card was added and that it was now my preferred payment method.

I used "Pay bills" to make a utility payment. I took screenshots throughout my payment set-up. (Link to screenshots, below.)

Under "Choose your bank or card", I selected my Citi card.

Next was a summary screen showing the payment amount, date and Citi card as the payment method. It was all correct, so I clicked "Send payment".

Despite every payment method selection and confirmation screen that PayPal had displayed, the payment was charged to a different card. It was charged to my Discover card which was neither my selected nor preferred payment method. Here are the 8 (eight) screenshots:

https://imgur.com/a/p5OLYpj

I don't know understand why it was charged incorrectly or what in the world happened. PayPal's response was nothing but push-back: I should contact the utility company and ask for a refund. Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

I think this is a not unusual occurrence and there is something in the fine print when you first set up a preferred payment method (or used to be) that says they can charge any payment method they wish.

I suspect this is so they can choose the payment method with the lowest interchange fee, and I can't blame them. I've asked the question before (on this site even) why Paypal would choose to eat those fees to make it easier for us to pay bills with no customer-facing fee...

[JackoC]

New thing: for about a year I'd been paying PSEG (New Jersey) gas/electric bill with PayPal, generally using Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card (2.625% at 'platinum honors level'), Chase Freedom (5%) when PayPal is a 5% category. First payment of 2023, though 'something went wrong' when submitted. PSEG never answered my message on their site asking if this was a policy change, but PayPal and BOA both say it's not them and indeed the same card still works to pay another utility via PayPal. Anybody else see this? Seems I'll have to revert to paying $3.95 convenience fee on PSEG site or using bill pay in checking account (depending whether the month's bill is <>$3.95/.02625=$150.48, or as previously suggested I might pay a few months in advance with one $3.95 fee if I decided it worth bothering, 3%+ after tax interest on money market fund also now enters more noticeably into CC reward vs. payment timing issues).

[Pu239]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Based on your experience, I'm not even sure if I can trust Paypal with any payment method. It's a classic bait-and-switch protected by obscure fine print. Certainly, the partnering cc companies knew this was possible when they added Paypal to their rotation categories. Looks bad on them as well.

[H-Town]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Based on your experience, I'm not even sure if I can trust Paypal with any payment method. It's a classic bait-and-switch protected by obscure fine print. Certainly, the partnering cc companies knew this was possible when they added Paypal to their rotation categories. Looks bad on them as well.

Not sure what you made of it, but I never had that experience before. I have 4 cards on file with PayPal, and I frequently switch the card I want to do PayPal Bill pay. No hiccups so far. I use PayPal Bill pay to pay utilities bills, property taxes. No fees, and got plenty of points.

[czaj]

Also I believe PayPal MC gets 3% for PayPal transactions, so maybe even better than what you're hoping.

Is the PayPal MC possibly a solid option for paying taxes with payUSAtax or pay1040 via PayPal? Slightly better than BoA UCR, assuming there is no exclusions for taxes.

[mangorunner]

Not sure what you made of it, but I never had that experience before. I have 4 cards on file with PayPal, and I frequently switch the card I want to do PayPal Bill pay. No hiccups so far. I use PayPal Bill pay to pay utilities bills, property taxes. No fees, and got plenty of points.

I've used PayPal plenty, too. And I had not had any prior hiccups, either. But to quote Shakira, "Screenshots don't lie".
(Link to screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/p5OLYpj)

[mangorunner]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Yes, and the last few times I switched cards, there was an additional annoying step to take, removing "pay with points", which PayPal had automatically enabled.

I got an offer from Citi to get 5% via PayPal. I clicked to enable that, but then realized it'll require too much adding and removing of cards to be worth bothering with unless we have a large purchase (I already get 5% on utility payments with US Bank).

We're spending a few hundred at Home Depot and Lowes this quarter, but since Chase and Discover are 5% on groceries, Custom Cash is giving me 5% at home improvement stores, without the need to involve PayPal.

I received the same Citi offer. Thus, why I was messing around in PayPal's "Pay bills".
I also have the US Bank card, but I hate using it because they won't dole out rewards until you hit $25.
Regardless, I have already gone ahead and made a duplicate payment on my US Bank card because I don't trust the PayPal "Pay bills" payment to go through. (PayPal customer service representatives have been pawing through my account.)

[mangorunner]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Based on your experience, I'm not even sure if I can trust Paypal with any payment method. It's a classic bait-and-switch protected by obscure fine print. Certainly, the partnering cc companies knew this was possible when they added Paypal to their rotation categories. Looks bad on them as well.

Yeah, I'm completely done with Paypal's "Pay bills". I don't care what the cash-back offer. Between my experience with the bait-and-switch, and all of the many, many folks who encountered late and mising payments this past month, I'm not risking using PayPal's system any more.

[anon_investor]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Based on your experience, I'm not even sure if I can trust Paypal with any payment method. It's a classic bait-and-switch protected by obscure fine print. Certainly, the partnering cc companies knew this was possible when they added Paypal to their rotation categories. Looks bad on them as well.

Not sure what you made of it, but I never had that experience before. I have 4 cards on file with PayPal, and I frequently switch the card I want to do PayPal Bill pay. No hiccups so far. I use PayPal Bill pay to pay utilities bills, property taxes. No fees, and got plenty of points.

+1. But I do not have a Citi CC linked to PayPal, so maybe PayPal doesn't like Citi.

[jeffyscott]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Based on your experience, I'm not even sure if I can trust Paypal with any payment method. It's a classic bait-and-switch protected by obscure fine print. Certainly, the partnering cc companies knew this was possible when they added Paypal to their rotation categories. Looks bad on them as well.

Not sure what you made of it, but I never had that experience before. I have 4 cards on file with PayPal, and I frequently switch the card I want to do PayPal Bill pay. No hiccups so far. I use PayPal Bill pay to pay utilities bills, property taxes. No fees, and got plenty of points.

+1. But I do not have a Citi CC linked to PayPal, so maybe PayPal doesn't like Citi.

Or maybe they like Discover?

I had one or two incidents and at least one, if not both, was Discover being used instead of my chosen card.

[TravelGeek]

I got an offer from Citi to get 5% via PayPal. I clicked to enable that, but then realized it'll require too much adding and removing of cards to be worth bothering with unless we have a large purchase (I already get 5% on utility payments with US Bank).

I got the offer, too. I avoid PayPal as much as possible - why get another party (with a bad reputation) involved in the payment process when merchants accept credit cards directly? And none of my utilities that don’t accept credit cards or charge a surcharge will take PayPal.

So what I am planning to do with the 5% offer is pay estimated taxes. As far as I know, two of the three IRS payment processing companies accept PayPal.

For reference, the Citi 5% offer is described here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted ... t-75-back/

[Pu239]

For those qualify, perhaps Orlando Credit Union's Xtreme Rewards VISA earning 4x points when using Paypal is worth considering. Deal applies for a full year and appears to be uncapped. Point value is unknown.

[anon_investor]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Based on your experience, I'm not even sure if I can trust Paypal with any payment method. It's a classic bait-and-switch protected by obscure fine print. Certainly, the partnering cc companies knew this was possible when they added Paypal to their rotation categories. Looks bad on them as well.

Not sure what you made of it, but I never had that experience before. I have 4 cards on file with PayPal, and I frequently switch the card I want to do PayPal Bill pay. No hiccups so far. I use PayPal Bill pay to pay utilities bills, property taxes. No fees, and got plenty of points.

+1. But I do not have a Citi CC linked to PayPal, so maybe PayPal doesn't like Citi.

Or maybe they like Discover?

I had one or two incidents and at least one, if not both, was Discover being used instead of my chosen card.

Weird, never had a problem using Chase Freedom/Freedom Flex, Discover or US Bank Cash+ or BoA PR with PayPal Bill Pay. I have scheduled bill payments and made immediate payments too. But definitely something for me to monitor.

I am down to using PayPal bill pay for just one utility bill since I got the US Bank Cash+ as my other utilities have no CC fees.

[Nyc10036]

Keep an eye on what Citi does with this offer.

Last year I had the same offer on my Citi Double Cash.
Every purchase with Paypal gave me 4x points instead of 1x (purchase) + 4x (bonus).
I am guessing that Citi intended the Double Cash to earn 0x (purchase) + 4x (bonus) + 1x (payment).

Did anyone have this offer in 2022 on their Double Cash card?
What did Citi do on their statement?

[jeffyscott]

Did anyone have this offer in 2022 on their Double Cash card?
What did Citi do on their statement?

I got the same, they did not count the PayPal purchases on those statements and the bonus was 4X, not the 5X expected.

But checking just now, I do see that they had a bonus and and adjustment on my December bill, each of which is equal to 1X my PayPal purchases from last summer. So it looks like they fixed it, even though I had not bothered contacting them, since it was only a couple bucks for me.

[xerxes101]

I am having problems with paying one of my utility bills using the PayPal and linked USBank Cash+ account.
It is not going through at all. I tried it 4-5 times on different days.

Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

[Cheez-It Guy]

Trying to get PayPal to modify anything with this service is like slamming my head into the wall repeatedly. The agents don't seem to have even basic reading comprehension. I have an issue with a biller not accepting my account number in the current format. Unclear if PayPal or a third party integrator needs to fix it, but so far they're completely unhelpful. Been trying for 3 months now.

[anon_investor]

I am having problems with paying one of my utility bills using the PayPal and linked USBank Cash+ account.
It is not going through at all. I tried it 4-5 times on different days.

Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

Have you been able to pay this bill with PayPal bill pay previously?

[czaj]

Trying to get PayPal to modify anything with this service is like slamming my head into the wall repeatedly. The agents don't seem to have even basic reading comprehension. I have an issue with a biller not accepting my account number in the current format. Unclear if PayPal or a third party integrator needs to fix it, but so far they're completely unhelpful. Been trying for 3 months now.

Yes, it’s pretty much useless to inquire to customer support about PayPal bills as they have no knowledge or understanding of the service. Unless you need help with a transaction that has already processed, they’re not going to understand or be helpful. (I’m also not sure how helpful they would be about transactions either, but at least they’ll see what you’re talking about)

[xerxes101]

I am having problems with paying one of my utility bills using the PayPal and linked USBank Cash+ account.
It is not going through at all. I tried it 4-5 times on different days.

Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

Have you been able to pay this bill with PayPal bill pay previously?

Yes, many times using diff credit cards...and it is not accepting any of the credit cards now.

[anon_investor]

I am having problems with paying one of my utility bills using the PayPal and linked USBank Cash+ account.
It is not going through at all. I tried it 4-5 times on different days.

Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

Have you been able to pay this bill with PayPal bill pay previously?

Yes, many times using diff credit cards...and it is not accepting any of the credit cards now.

Weird. I was able to use USB Cash+ to pay a utility bill via PayPal Bill Pay on 1/18/2023. It was for an immediate payment (not a scheduled future payment).

[Cheez-It Guy]

Trying to get PayPal to modify anything with this service is like slamming my head into the wall repeatedly. The agents don't seem to have even basic reading comprehension. I have an issue with a biller not accepting my account number in the current format. Unclear if PayPal or a third party integrator needs to fix it, but so far they're completely unhelpful. Been trying for 3 months now.

Yes, it’s pretty much useless to inquire to customer support about PayPal bills as they have no knowledge or understanding of the service. Unless you need help with a transaction that has already processed, they’re not going to understand or be helpful. (I’m also not sure how helpful they would be about transactions either, but at least they’ll see what you’re talking about)

This probably won't help my chances at resolution:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64479649

[jeffyscott]

This probably won't help my chances at resolution:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64479649

I could see them cutting bill pay entirely or at least eliminating the ability to use credit cards for it. It seems to be a pretty obscure service for them, since even their employees don't appear to know it exists. While it doesn't cost banks much to ACH money using bill pay, PayPal is also paying credit card transaction fees for those who use a credit card.

[Cheez-It Guy]

True. We shall see. . .

[anon_investor]

This probably won't help my chances at resolution:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64479649

I could see them cutting bill pay entirely or at least eliminating the ability to use credit cards for it. It seems to be a pretty obscure service for them, since even their employees don't appear to know it exists. While it doesn't cost banks much to ACH money using bill pay, PayPal is also paying credit card transaction fees for those who use a credit card.

In anticipation of this service going away, I did open up a US Bank Cash+ Visa, since 2 of my utility bills allows for direct CC payment without a fee.

[ZinCO]

In spite of all the recent failure posts here, and maybe partly BECAUSE of the very real possibility that BP shortly gets the axe, I just pushed a $4500 property tax payment through. I did however remove all but one CC from my wallet first to make sure they charged the right one. I'll update this post once the payment is reflected at my county.

[bholden]

This probably won't help my chances at resolution:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64479649

I could see them cutting bill pay entirely or at least eliminating the ability to use credit cards for it. It seems to be a pretty obscure service for them, since even their employees don't appear to know it exists. While it doesn't cost banks much to ACH money using bill pay, PayPal is also paying credit card transaction fees for those who use a credit card.

Your assumption that PayPal is "paying credit card transaction fees" may or may not be correct.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/visas ... 1675205509

[ZinCO]

This probably won't help my chances at resolution:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64479649

I could see them cutting bill pay entirely or at least eliminating the ability to use credit cards for it. It seems to be a pretty obscure service for them, since even their employees don't appear to know it exists. While it doesn't cost banks much to ACH money using bill pay, PayPal is also paying credit card transaction fees for those who use a credit card.

Your assumption that PayPal is "paying credit card transaction fees" may or may not be correct.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/visas ... 1675205509

Not possible that Visa was letting them do that for free, there would be no reason to encourage that. And they would have had to have similar deals with Discover/Amex/MC as well. I don't doubt that they had agreements for discounted swipe fees though, and would have leveraged their right to choose whatever available payment method they wanted to steer business to the cheapest option.

[sd10101]

In spite of all the recent failure posts here, and maybe partly BECAUSE of the very real possibility that BP shortly gets the axe, I just pushed a $4500 property tax payment through. I did however remove all but one CC from my wallet first to make sure they charged the right one. I'll update this post once the payment is reflected at my county.

Did it work? Can you please update?

[ZinCO]

In spite of all the recent failure posts here, and maybe partly BECAUSE of the very real possibility that BP shortly gets the axe, I just pushed a $4500 property tax payment through. I did however remove all but one CC from my wallet first to make sure they charged the right one. I'll update this post once the payment is reflected at my county.

Did it work? Can you please update?

Sorry, forgot to come back to this. Yes, it worked perfectly, posted in two business days.

[jeffyscott]

Obviously, I have learned that in the future, remove ALL payment methods from PayPal except for the one you want to use.

Yes, and the last few times I switched cards, there was an additional annoying step to take, removing "pay with points", which PayPal had automatically enabled.

I got an offer from Citi to get 5% via PayPal. I clicked to enable that, but then realized it'll require too much adding and removing of cards to be worth bothering with unless we have a large purchase (I already get 5% on utility payments with US Bank).

We're spending a few hundred at Home Depot and Lowes this quarter, but since Chase and Discover are 5% on groceries, Custom Cash is giving me 5% at home improvement stores, without the need to involve PayPal.

I ended up attempting to get the 5% Citi offer, we had $800+ in medical bills that I paid via bill pay. I'll see if Citi gives me the bonus.

This time they did not automatically add pay with points (or else I had missed the option to just say no, when adding cards in the recent past).

[MrJedi]

Any tips for finding the correct biller on property taxes?

I searched the name of my municipality, nope.

My muni also manages taxes/payments through a fairly large processor, BS&A Online (https://bsaonline.com). I don't see them as a biller either.

Maybe I'm just out of luck?

[ZinCO]

Any tips for finding the correct biller on property taxes?

I searched the name of my municipality, nope.

My muni also manages taxes/payments through a fairly large processor, BS&A Online (https://bsaonline.com). I don't see them as a biller either.

Maybe I'm just out of luck?

Then yes, you are probably out of luck. You don't want to guess at this because you will get absolutely NO feedback as to where they are sending your check, and if it doesn't post, very little support on that either. I only do it with my county because I checked and it's the only county in the country with that name.

[arsenal_fan]

Any tips for finding the correct biller on property taxes?

I searched the name of my municipality, nope.

My muni also manages taxes/payments through a fairly large processor, BS&A Online (https://bsaonline.com). I don't see them as a biller either.

Maybe I'm just out of luck?

Then yes, you are probably out of luck. You don't want to guess at this because you will get absolutely NO feedback as to where they are sending your check, and if it doesn't post, very little support on that either. I only do it with my county because I checked and it's the only county in the country with that name.

If you're not sure about a biller and are confused between choices, you can send something like a dollar to figure it out. If it deducts a dollar from your account you're good else you're only out a dollar.