Using Credit Card Convenience Checks: A Comprehensive Guide

Convenience checks are an option to the use of plastic.

Credit card issuers often send convenience checks in the mail for cardholders to use in place of their credit cards. Convenience checks look similar to bank checks but are issued by the credit card company instead of the bank. The main difference between using a credit card company check and a bank check is that credit card check amount is added to your credit card balance, which you pay interest on if you do not pay off your credit card balance in full by the due date.

Step 1

Acquire credit card convenience checks. Credit card companies periodically send convenience checks to cardholders. If you do not have checks from your credit card issuer, contact the credit card company at the toll-free number listed on the back of your credit card or on the credit card statement to request a set of convenience checks.

Step 2

Write the check. Once you have the convenience check, fill it out as you would a bank check. Write in the date the check is written, whom the check is payable to, the amount of the check and your signature.

Step 3

Mail the check. Once you have completed the check, slip it into the bill payment or other envelope to send the check or hand it to the institution or person you are paying in person.

Warning

Some credit card companies charge transaction fees for using convenience checks. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the transaction fee is typically five percent of the check amount. For example, if you write a $1,000 check off your credit card account, then expect to pay a $50 fee.

Consumer protection often offered by credit card purchases does not apply to checks written from your credit card account. If you pay for a product or service with a credit card check and the product or service does not meet your standards and the seller won’t issue you a credit or a return, you cannot dispute the charge with a credit card check the same way you can with a credit card.

Credit card limits still apply with checks, so you cannot write a check for an amount that exceeds your credit card limit, minus any existing balance you hold on the account.