Pay your mortgage with your credit card: Evolve your payments with Evolve Money

Evolve Money is one of my favorite new payment services.  And until April 21, you can get $5 added to any payment you make using the service by using promo code Save5april (expires April 21 at midnight PDT).  Evolve Money accepts debit cards only (and a certain brand of reload card), so you might be wondering how this could possibly be a money earning opportunity.  Well, those Visa and Mastercard gift cards you see on the racks of grocery stores and drug stores are debit cards, which--in many stores--you can buy with a credit card!

What.  Is there some catch?  Isn't this complicated?  And don't those debit cards come with fees?  Yes, yes, and yes.  It does take a couple of steps, and those debit fees can add up to about 1%.  But here are reasons why it might be worth your while:

• Earn a 1% spread: if you have a 2% cash back credit card like the Fidelity Amex or the Barclay Arrival, you can earn a 1% spread.  Pay 1% to your grocer or drug store, get 2% back from your credit card company.
• Buy miles a 1 cent per mile: Practically any ol' credit card will give you one mile per dollar spent, so if you can redeem for value of upwards of 1 cent per mile (not hard to do if your dates are flexible), this is an opportunity to fly cheaply.
• Earn a 4% or greater spread: This is the real money.  If you have a credit card that earns a 5x bonus on spending categories like groceries (the Amex Blue Cash Preferred, for example or the many Wells Fargo cards offering 5% cash back on groceries, drugstores, and gas) where gift cards are sold, you can earn an even bigger spread (4% back on whatever you spend, including your mortgage!)