Someone with no ties to MBNA or FIA or anything can apply for a Schwab Invest First Visa and start enjoying Bill Pay Choice as soon as they get it, no questions asked. Just register on fiacardservices.com

Worked for me, anyway Thanks guys!

Unfortunately, though, not many lenders have it set up so you can make mortgage payments with your credit card (without using Bill Pay Choice, anyway). However, a lot of other kinds of payments, like utility bills, can be set up just fine. It sure sounds nice getting 2% off on stuff like that

Justin

Unfortunately, no, a FIA Card Services credit card doesn’t automatically grant you access to Bill Pay Choice. If I signed up and got a Schwab Invest First card tomorrow I wouldn’t have access to the special billpay. Most people who have this feature were grandfathered in years ago through their old MBNA cards. What’s nice, though, is that once you’re in on one card, all your FIA cards get access… usually.

Oddly enough, though, if I signed up for the Fidelity Visa card serviced through FIA tomorrow I -would- have access to Bill Pay Choice (probably–it worked for someone last year). It seems that the Fido Visa is the only option for newcomers to get access to this awesome feature. Fortunately, though, like I said before, once you get billpay on the Fido Visa you can extend it to any other FIA cards (like the Schwab or Merrill ones).

Also, fyi, I’ve read that FIA Card Services -is- Bank of America–FIA is what card issuers use when they don’t want their customers to know that their cards are being services by BoA.

Thanks for the blog, by the way! If it weren’t for this post I’d have had no idea that this feature even existed Take care~

As I understand it you need to be grandfathered in to use MBNA’s Bill Pay Choice.

I think the only people who can get this feature are the ones who set up Bill Pay Choice years ago, before MBNA was purchased by Bank of America. Also, I guess people who are authorized users on MBNA cards that have Bill Pay Choice already set up can get it too (at least that’s what I read on some fatwallet post).

I guess that this is still an assumption, though–it’s just something that I’ve sort of pieced together through a lot of internet research (I don’t have this billpay but I want it badly). If anyone knows otherwise please shoot me an email at [removed by editor]… this feature is awesome and as far as I know I’m ineligible because I never had an MBNA card (I’m only 20 years old). If there’s a way, though, I’d love to hear about it.

Justin