Billhop?

[SteelyDan]

Anyone used this at all?
Colleague I know pays his C/Tax & VAT using his personal 0% credit card to get points/miles. Never heard of it myself but having taken a look it seems legit. Seems HMRC stopped allowing use of psnl credit cards to pay taxes c.Jan 2018, but this is a way around that, apparently?

[DaveB]

Anyone used this at all?
Colleague I know pays his C/Tax & VAT using his personal 0% credit card to get points/miles. Never heard of it myself but having taken a look it seems legit. Seems HMRC stopped allowing use of psnl credit cards to pay taxes c.Jan 2018, but this is a way around that, apparently?

Had a quick look and it seems they charge a 2.95% fee per transaction based on the value. Paying a £10,000 tax bill would cost you £295. Probably way more than you might get in points or cash back.

[northernladuk]

Anyone used this at all?
Colleague I know pays his C/Tax & VAT using his personal 0% credit card to get points/miles. Never heard of it myself but having taken a look it seems legit. Seems HMRC stopped allowing use of psnl credit cards to pay taxes c.Jan 2018, but this is a way around that, apparently?

Doesn't really seem worth it does it? It will have to be a bloody good points card to make up a 2.95% charge for using the Billhop service wouldn't it?

It seems more focused on liquidity than benefits of the cards. If you don't need that it looks like an expensive way to gain points.

[SteelyDan]

Had a quick look and it seems they charge a 2.95% fee per transaction based on the value. Paying a £10,000 tax bill would cost you £295. Probably way more than you might get in points or cash back.

Ahh, maybe more to the story than meets the eye...

[northernladuk]

Ahh, maybe more to the story than meets the eye...

Indeed. The charges pre Jan were like this...

VISA Personal Credit Card 0.415%
MasterCard Personal Credit Card 0.386%
MasterCard World Premium Credit Card 0.374%
MasterCard Signia Premium Credit Card 0.606%
MasterCard Elite Premium Credit Card 0.606%

So compare that to 2.95%. That's a hefty hike. It's also twice what the corporate cards get charged as well.

This page has a lot of information on the cost per pound of the points so you can do some quick sums yourself to see if it's worth it for your preferred card.

HMRC to stop personal credit card payments in January

[ladymuck]

I've used it but you may find the fees outweigh the benefits.

Handy for points earning, as you say, but you have to consider the points are worth the fee...

[SteelyDan]

I've used it but you may find the fees outweigh the benefits.

Handy for points earning, as you say, but you have to consider the points are worth the fee...

I'm not planning on using it myself, it just cropped up in conversation recently...but despite the costs it might be useful as a way around the change in HMRC approach (can't pay by psnl card) for those with short term liquidity issues. I didn't know Billhop facility even existed so wondered if others were aware of it.

[ladymuck]

I'm not planning on using it myself, it just cropped up in conversation recently...but despite the costs it might be useful as a way around the change in HMRC approach (can't pay by psnl card) for those with short term liquidity issues. I didn't know Billhop facility even existed so wondered if others were aware of it.

I used it for liquidity - put a large tax bill onto a 0% purchases card via Billhop that gave me the couple of months needed to juggle a few bits around. It was useful while switching between contracts and that fun period when pay dates change. I wouldn't use it on a regular basis as it's too costly.