I read a thread on Reddit a while back where a guy did the same thing and his landlord freaked out because the check showed up late a couple times. The catch is that bill pay checks can take 5 to 7 business days to arrive since they still print and mail a real check, so timing matters a lot. Sounds like you got lucky with a landlord who doesn't care as long as it shows up. My old place wanted a money order only, no checks at all, so this trick wouldn't have worked there. Still, saving $25 a month adds up to $300 a year, not bad at all.

Read somewhere that most panels only talk to the central station anyway, never the homeowner.

Thought the price tag meant something when I first got into this. Paid $500 for a cert class thinking it would give me a leg up, and honestly the test was multiple choice and the practical part was easier than what I do on a random Tuesday. The kit they pushed was marked up so bad it still makes me mad. What actually made me better was drilling isolation on a mannequin for a week straight and watching free videos until the steps stuck in my head. A cert is just paper, the reps are what count. Save the money for good glue and practice time.