We have covered the online bill paying service Plastiq several times here at Points With a Crew as a way to increase spend on credit cards. While generally I would not recommend paying Plastiq’s 2.5% fee in order to spend on cards, there are a few times where it can make sense. Plus, Plastiq is often running various promotions which bring your total cost down under 2.5%.
I believe the current promo if you sign up through my Plastiq link is that you get 500 fee-free dollars (FFDs) after paying $500. So in effect, you get $1000 in spend for $12.50 in fees. Again, that may not be the best option, but there are some scenarios where it could make sense.
Updates to using Plastiq with Visa cards
One of the common questions I get about Plastiq is what cards can be used for different types of transactions on Plastiq. To be fair, this has changed a bit over time, with some cards being supported (and then not supported) for transactions like rent, mortgage, etc. We wrote a few weeks ago about what cards you can use (for what) at Plastiq.
I have just received word that Plastiq has updated the list of what can be paid with a Visa card – you can now pay
- Residential Rent & HOA Fees
- Commercial Rent
- Taxes & Government Fees
- Utilities (Electricity, Cable, Internet, Telecom)
- Tuition (including daycare and camp)
with personal Visa cards. You can read more on the Plastiq blog.
Hopefully that clears things up a bit.
Again, the current promo if you sign up through my Plastiq link is that you get 500 fee-free dollars (FFDs) after paying $500. Good luck and happy spending!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
All my Canadian Banks have announced changes to their terms and conditions regarding “cash like transactions”.
It is unclear which cards will treat Plastiq and other bill paying services as a “cash like transaction”. I checked out the web sites and was given a list of the American Banks that will treat this like a cash advance which is a really bad outcome for using Plastiq.
The new rules come into effect Aug 1 for most Canadian cards so I hope to find out that it is not as bad as it seems. The worst appears to be that Taxes (federal income tax and property tax) might be treated as cash thus eliminating this form of payment.