Dividend checks continue to get fatter in corporate America, as more companies jack up their distribution rates.

Readers of the Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher these past few days.

We can start with MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE). The natural car and crude oil transporter fueled up its quarterly distributions last week. Investors will now be receiving $0.81 a share every three months. The new rate may be just a 1% increase from where MarkWest was last quarter, but it's a healthy 11% advance over the past year. The move pushes MarkWest's yield to nearly 6%.

Six Flags (SIX -1.22%) is also clicking its payouts up the chain lift. The regional amusement park operator may have had a disappointing summer season -- even though it was its 10th consecutive record quarter -- but it's going to give yield-chasing coaster fans a thrill in their pocketbooks. Six Flags is boosting its quarterly dividend 50% to $0.90 a share. The move pushes Six Flags' yield up to 6.4%, thrusting it well ahead of rival Cedar Fair (FUN -0.50%) and its current yield of 4.5%.

Visa (V -0.04%) is also charging higher. The credit card marketer doesn't report earnings until this Wednesday, but it gave its swipe-happy stakeholders a treat in also increasing its quarterly rate 50% to $0.33 a share. Visa has now come through with four consecutive years of substantial increases.

Finally we have Paychex (PAYX -0.09%) printing out bigger checks. The payroll provider is improving its quarterly distributions by 3% to $0.33 a share. Paychex will also be returning money to its stakeholders by authorizing a $350 million share buyback plan.

Checks and balances
Subscribers to the Income Investor newsletter can appreciate the companies sending more and more money to their investors. The newsletter singles out companies that are committed to growing their distributions with market-thumping results. A 30-day trial subscription will let you see if it's right for you.