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dd63142288
Contributor ⭐
October 17, 2025

HARTFORD NOW CHARGING TO USE A CREDIT CARD?

  • October 17, 2025
  • 11 replies
  • 5031 views

I always pay my Hartford homeowner & auto bills annually with a credit card in order to earn reward points. This year there was a notice that they're using a third-party vendor to process CC payments, and when you select credit card as payment, it states there "may" be a 2.95% charge. Obviously this would negate any advantage of earning points. There has never been a credit charge surcharge in prior years. Anyone else notice this?  

      11 replies

      GailL1
      GailL1
      Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐
      October 17, 2025

      @dd63142288 wrote . . . . . I always pay my Hartford homeowner & auto bills annually with a credit card in order to earn reward points.

      —————————————

      That is exactly why they and numerous other companies are doing it - Your earning rewards cost them a higher % as the merchant.  

       

      Cost to merchant accepting credit cards as payment modes has really escalated.  Some of these merchants will give you an even bigger discount IF you sign up for them to auto-draft your checking account for their payment.  

       

      So if you want to save money - see if this alternative is offered if you do not mind them having access to to your checking account - I do, I like to control my bank accounts.  

       

      Or if you just pay them as billed using your own checking account; I use online bill pay - the credit care % will not be applied. 

       

      So win some and then lose some - 

      IT‘S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . . . .. . . . Roseanne Roseannadanna
        papawofboo
        papawofboo
        Community Champion ⭐
        October 19, 2025

        That bank's bill payment is the way to go. Using it also saves the cost of mailing.

        Papaw of Boo
        M
        MuktaS390247
        Contributor ⭐⭐
        October 31, 2025

        I saw that notice too. Guess it’s their way of covering processing costs, but still frustrating. The rewards don’t really offset the fee anymore, so I’ll probably just pay direct from my account next time.

          Tashkenta
          Tashkenta
          Contributor ⭐
          November 23, 2025

          That's exactly why they're doing it, but to them it's a business expense they can probably deduct on their corporate taxes each year, I'd think. 

          Tashkenta
          Tashkenta
          Contributor ⭐
          November 23, 2025

          Yes, I found out about this change yesterday when attempting to pay my auto insurance bill. I went far enough for The Hartford's website to show me the final screen for approval and immediately cancelled the transaction. I'm NOT going to pay a $14 surcharge for using my credit card, which is how I've paid them for the last 19 years! 

           

            Tashkenta
            Tashkenta
            Contributor ⭐
            November 24, 2025

            I saw the notice right away, but then tested their "iffy" statement of "may be charged a 2.95% surcharge" by going all the way to the last confirmation screen to see if it was added, and it was, of course. That's when I cancelled the transaction.

              D
              dc63507872
              Contributor ⭐
              February 10, 2026

              The least customer friendly insurance company I have ever done business with. And if you have  a problem with The Hartford, don't expect AARP to advocate on your behalf. All this to save a few bucks. I cancelled my auto with them today. I'll be cancelling my homeowners as well. 

              A
              AngleS694104
              Contributor ⭐⭐
              May 15, 2026

              Yep, got the same notice this year and was pretty annoyed lol. Worth checking if your card treats insurance payments differently too, some don’t even give full points on them anymore.

              R
              RosemaryG432956
              Contributor ⭐
              May 23, 2026

              Tried to pay my bill.  Noticed the same thing.  I am getting to the point where I believe that AARP hates seniors.  They are happy to sell EVERYTHING to you, but they do not advocate for older people when it comes to healthcare costs and social security where it really matters.

              GailL1
              GailL1
              Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐
              May 23, 2026

              @RosemaryG432956 

              What about if this was your, say, water bill - the choice would be to have the customer wanting to pay this way, pay the increase in the processing fee for this method OR make ALL the customers pay more to give you and other doing the same thing, the right to do it for free.

               

              Really - think about it - you want the rewards, pay the rewards fee - nobody else is getting any advantage from your rewards earnings.

               

              The merchant pays a higher % of cost on cost that earn rewards or whatever variety.  

               

              IT‘S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . . . .. . . . Roseanne Roseannadanna
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