Kind of Makes you Go Hmm…

I got my American Express statement recently (along with my Costco rebate check, yay for rewards cards!) As I was getting ready to shred the ads that come with it, one of them caught my eye. “Earn cashback while paying your taxes”, it said.

The idea of getting cash back for paying my taxes sounded good to me, so I went to the web address given for more information. There was a note in the ad stating that the authorized IRS payment processors would charge a “convenience fee”, but I figured maybe it was a flat fee. Wrong! The processors charge 2.49%. And I get 1% cashback from American Express for the “everything else” category, which I’m assuming taxes would fall under. I don’t think I want to pay 2.49% to get 1% back. Somehow, I’m not seeing the benefit.