Evolve Imposes 3% Bill Pay Fee for Discover Credit Card Payments

Well, it was nice while it lasted.  For a short time, Evolve allowed payment of bills with Discover credit cards.  Then they narrowed the category of bills that could be paid without fee with Discover cards.

This morning, I received an email from Evolve announcing that there will no longer be any restrictions on the type of bills that can be paid with a Discover credit card, but Evolve will now charge a 3% bill pay fee for all such payments.

I now see no benefit to using my 2% cashback Discover Credit Card with Evolve.  If  the credit card pays 2% cashback, but you must pay 3% bill pay fee, is there a scenerio where the use of a Discover credit card with Evolve would be profitable?

Here’s the email:

An Important Message Regarding Your Account

Dear Evolve Money Customer,Late last year we introduced Discover credit cards as a payment option in Evolve Money. The response has been overwhelming and we appreciate your taking advantage of this newest means of paying your bills.Our introductory period has come to a close and we are implementing some changes to the use of Discover credit cards beginning Feb. 1, 2015. All restrictions on the types of bills you can pay have been eliminated. This means you can now pay loans, such as mortgages, auto, student and retail store cards along with your utilities and other bills. A new Bill Pay Fee of 3 percent is now being applied to all Discover credit card transactions. This fee is necessary to cover our processing costs. Note: In the payment summary you will see the new fee amount when using your Discover credit card. We waive this fee for major debit cards, so you will have the option to change your payment method before you complete a payment transaction. There are no changes to the use of your Discover debit card.