Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
& Kellie Jez
Kellie’s professional experience has led her to a deep passion for compliance, data reporting, and process improvement. Kellie’s learned the ins and outs of the points and miles world and leads UP’s c...
69 comments
Christian
September 08, 2018
Nice article. I was thinking about paying my business rent with my Hyatt Visa next year to maintain Globalist status. The rent is over $5,000 a month, so that would help a lot with 2 nights elite credit per $5,000 put on the card. The thing is, I remember reading somewhere that using a personal Visa card with Plastiq is difficult, because Plastiq needs to authorize 5 times the amount being charged. Are you familiar with this, and if so, any suggestions? I have an awful lot of Chase cards, with credit spread all over the place, so getting my credit limit bumped up to $30,000 or so is not gonna happen.
Alex Miller
September 10, 2018
Hey Christian – I personally have never had that issue and I’ve Plastiq used the service a LOT with Personal VISA Cards. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it, perhaps it was just a blip for that reader or an anomaly.
Tim
October 21, 2018
I’ve had this recently. It went through on the plastiq side, but then chase declined, citing it as a cash advance. I tried again and plastiq declined it saying it would go through as a cash advance and then revert to a purchase. So, I’ll need raise my cash advance limit from the minimum ($100) back up the the standard. The chase rep said another approach would be to make multiple smaller transactions. I’m wondering if I’ll still incur the CA fees.
Shane
July 06, 2019
Hi Tim,
I am dealing with this issue right now. I raised my cash advance limit back up and then made the payment, but am not sure if it was classified as a cash advance or not. Plastiq said it was a success (no CA warnings) but I called Chase and they said it was a cash advance.
How did it turn out for you?
Dan c
April 09, 2019
I would like to pay a travel vendor who does not accept credit cards with my chase sapphire reserve. Will that charge code as a regular purchase or a travel purchase (qualifying for 3x points)?
Alex Miller
April 13, 2019
Hi Dan – if they are classified as a travel vendor then yes, they should technically be coded as 3x.
erin Cheng
September 11, 2018
I used to use chase ink prefer card to pay tax and get 3x reward points on plastiq but last week after I paid my tax I didn’t get 3x. Any suggestion what credit card to use on plastiq to get 3x reward points?
Stephen Au
September 12, 2018
Hi Erin, you can use the Citi DoubleCash, AmEx BBP, or Capital One Spark for 2% cash back, or 2x MR, or 2% cash back.
ink prefer card
September 18, 2018
Ink Preferred card no longer earns 3x? Can someone confirm again?
Christine Krzyszton
September 18, 2018
Yes, that is correct. My last payment with the Ink Preferred card using Plastiq did not earn 3X and others have reported the same.
Stephen Au
September 18, 2018
Yes. Chase Ink Preferred no longer earns 3X on Plastiq.
Hsn
October 07, 2018
Hi there.
I have a question regarding $500 referral. If i make a payment of $2500, will i still get $500 fee off of my $2500? For example, plastiq will only charge me 2.5% based on $2000 not $2500. Please correct me if i am wrong. Thanks
Stephen Au
October 08, 2018
Yes, HSN.
This is correct.
Brian
November 27, 2018
Does it still require landlord verification? I asked my landlord one time and he doesn’t like Plastiq due to BBB reviews.
Laim
February 23, 2019
If I use my Cashback Discover Card to pay my mortgage for 12 months (which is $900/month) can I expect to get that cash back matched in its entirety at the end of the first year? And about how much approximately?
Christine Krzyszton
February 23, 2019
Hello, Laim. If you use your Discover card to make your mortgage payment via Plastiq, you will be charged a 2.5% fee ($22.50 on $900). The cash back you would receive from Discover would be 1% or $9.00 per $900 payment. When Discover matches the cash back at the end of your first year, you would receive all of your cash back matched, in this case another $9.00 per $900 payment. You would be paying 2.5% and getting cash back of 2.0% total. Unless you were able to make the payments fee free from referral credits, it would not make sense to do this.
Laim
February 23, 2019
Thanks for the response. But if we’re talking for a year/12 mos wouldnt that be at least $9×12=108 total cashback for the year. Sorry this is confusing. And if still not a good deal, what cc would you recommend for this. Thanks
Christine Krzyszton
February 23, 2019
No problem, Laim. Happy to explain further. If you charge (12) $900 payments, you will pay fees of $270 to Plastiq. You would receive total cash back from Discover, including the cash-back match at the end of the first year you have your card, of $180. You would be spending $270 to receive $180 cash back. You would need a credit card that earns more than 2.5% cash back. Plastiq works well if you need to meet minimum spending requirements for a credit card to receive a large sign up bonus. It also works well if you have referral credits and do not have to pay the 2.5% fee but can still earn rewards. Hope this helps.
Laim
February 23, 2019
Very helpful. I think I will just go for a Barclays or Citi for the mortgage payments. Hopefully those are good choices.
Christine Krzyszton
February 23, 2019
If you need to complete the minimum spending to receive a sign up bonus on a card, you can use any credit card that has a generous sign up bonus. Before you use Plastiq, however, you should answer two questions. 1) How much will I spend on Plastiq fees? 2) What is the value of the rewards I will receive? If you are just earning 2% on the card, and paying Plastiq 2.5%, it is not a good deal.
Gina
December 02, 2019
Hi Christine,
If Lain’s mortgage interest is more than 0.5% considering the 2.0% out of 2.5% charge from Plastiq, would it then be a good idea to pay his/her mortgage using Plastiq?
Christine Krzyszton
December 03, 2019
Hi Gina. The mortgage interest rate is not a factor here. The issue is that since Plastiq charges a 2.5% processing fee, you would need to receive value that exceeds the cost of this fee to make it worthwhile to use a credit card (via Plastiq) to make your mortgage payment.
Ashley
March 01, 2019
I read the terms, but just want to get confirmation and clarity from some of you who may have done this. I am wanting to use this to reach the minimum sign on bonus to pay for bills, etc. My rent gets paid to my buddy who owns the house, though, and from what I read only American Express has a restriction on this. Can I pay my buddy with my Chase VISA through Plastiq and will Chase recognize this charge and accept for the points? Thanks in advance!
Adam
March 07, 2019
It seems like a very bad and risky deal for anyone. With 2.5% charge fee, how many ppl will be able to make money at the end of the day really. To beat that fee, you will have to work harder to get referral fee. Not really very easy process.
Christine Krzyszton
March 08, 2019
Hello Adam. You are correct in that you must earn rewards than exceed the 2.5% fee in value or it is not a good deal. However, Plastiq can work well to meet minimum credit card spending requirements and as a result, you earn a significant sign up bonus. Using Plastiq can also be productive if you have fee free dollars available from referrals. Thanks for your comment.
Harry Goldman
March 09, 2019
I have been using Plastiq for a while now. Out of curiosity, I was just reviewing the cookies Plastiq places on my machine when I log in. Apparently they activate a Facebook cookie! I do not use Facebook, I do not want to be tracked by Facebook and I have deleted my Facebook account because I do not want them to sell my information.
I will no longer be using Plastiq.
Christine Krzyszton
March 11, 2019
Thanks for your comment, Harry. I have been using Plastiq for years without any issue but do understand your concern.
Erik
April 26, 2019
I just got a chase business united credit card and wanted to pay my rent ($3100)… can I put the whole amount in one transaction and get my full reward points/miles or will they count it as a cash advance? Or will I get penalized?
Erin Miller
May 04, 2019
Hi Erik – I’ve checked with our author that wrote this piece. She contacted Plastiq and they reported that they’ve seen some “cash advance” issues with personal VISA cards, but with business VISA cards, no problems at all.
Not sure if this exactly answers your questions… Any other readers out there with any advice?
PR
April 28, 2019
Anyone know how a Plastiq transaction codes? Example ~ would a Plastiq transaction be considered a ‘business’ transaction as a bonus category for BoA, or Chase Ink?
Erin Miller
May 04, 2019
Hey PR – I reached out to our author that wrote this article and here’s what she had to say:
“Merchant codes and are actually decided by the card issuers themselves but all payments through Plastiq are charged as regular charges. For the specifics for which code, the card holder would have to reach out to the specific card issuer. (Although in most cases, these come out as a regular charge on the card).”
Hope this helps… maybe some other readers may have some additional advice for you!
Shalisha
July 11, 2019
What if you are using this to pay rent and landlord only takes a Moneygram?
Christine Krzyszton
July 11, 2019
Hi Shalisha. Could you clarify your question, please. Are you saying that you want to use Plastiq to pay your landlord but your landlord only takes a Moneygram money order?
Anthony Anderson
August 03, 2019
Any data points on using chase freedom unlimited to pay my refinanced student loans through Earnest LLC?
Jarrod West
August 03, 2019
Hi Anthony,
Have you contacted Earnest LLC to see if they accept Visa card payments? Here is their contact number: (888) 601-2801
Diane
October 27, 2019
I have a quick question. I’ve been able in the past to pay a condo payment (second home) via Visa, even though it’s not supposed to work. It has always worked perhaps because the lender is not a great big institution? But, I’m trying for a minimum spend on SWA Business card and the mortgage payment said they ‘may require more documents as this might look like a mortgage payment’, it went through with no questions. Wondering if this might kick back at me and Chase decide not to count it towards the minimum spend? Any thoughts? Thanks!
Jarrod West
October 27, 2019
Hi Diane,
Just to clarify, you made the payment through Plastiq and it went through perfectly fine? If so, then you should not have anything to worry about and it should count towards your minimum spend requirement.
Thanks for reading!
Diane
October 27, 2019
Thanks then! And yes, I’ve had several mortgage payments go through with Visas….the lender is just not a big name bank. Assuming that is why? 🙂
Jarrod West
October 28, 2019
Yes, that is likely why. You should be perfectly fine!
Jason
December 17, 2019
Are there any Mastercard credit cards out there that offer at least 2.5% back in cash or rewards? Doesn’t seem like it’s worth it if not.
Jarrod West
December 18, 2019
Hi Jason,
The Citi Double Cash card earns 2% back on all purchases, which when paired with a ThankYou point earning card like the Citi Premier or Citi Prestige, you can turn the 2% into 2x ThankYou points per $1. At Upgraded Points, we value Citi ThankYou points at 1.6 cents per point. Which would make 2x ThankYou points per $1 equivalent to 3.2% back.
Sang
January 20, 2020
What do you mean by paring Citi Double Cash Card to Citi Premier or Prestige?
Jarrod West
January 20, 2020
Hi Sang,
By pairing I mean using two of those cards in conjunction with each other. E.g. Using both the Citi Double Cash and Citi Premier card and pooling the Citi ThankYou points together.
RB
December 30, 2019
An interesting use case – I own a shopping center with 3 partners (we are 25% each in the corporation), and was trying to pay my 25% of the property taxes to the corporation to pay the State. Plastiq declined the payment, as they claim you cannot pay a company you are a part of.
Has anyone seen this before, and are there any safe alternatives to Plastiq?
Thanks
Orion
December 31, 2019
how about Bank of America credit card with Platinum or the top honor status, does it make sense?
Jarrod West
January 02, 2020
Hi Orion,
Which Bank of America credit card are you referring to?
VC
January 05, 2020
“Plastiq will also support direct debit payments, where the recipient would prefer to debit a Plastiq bank account instead of receiving payments via a bank transfer or a physical check.”
How does this work? I can’t find any way of doing this from the website. It would be really helpful! Thanks.
Jarrod West
January 17, 2020
Hi VC,
Here is a page from the Plastiq website on how this would work! https://help.plastiq.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000917433-Send-Payments-via-ACH
Kevin L
February 05, 2020
I look at Plastiq as a great way to buy points, nothing more. 41 points per dollar beats zero per dollar.
Sandra Hernandez
May 26, 2020
Hi, I am new here and am trying to use my credit card to pay all my monthly bills so we can get the miles. I know Plastiq charges a fee. My question is if I pay off my credit card every month would it make sense to use Plastiq and still get the fees charged? Can I pay a credit card bill through Plastiq?
Jarrod West
May 29, 2020
Hi Sandra,
That depends entirely on the type of points you are earning, and what value you place on those points. If you feel the value you are receiving from the points is greater than the fee, or you are working towards meeting a minimum spend requirement, then using Plastiq us a great option. You cannot pay your credit card bill via Plastiq though.
Greg C Bieg
September 18, 2020
Used Plastiq for several years, no problem until recently. They started submitting the charges to my credit card as Cash Advances, which cost over $20.00 in fees in addition to Plastiq’s. In addition, they have neglected to send scheduled payments to creditors, as a result, constant late fees. I have just canceled all my accounts with them. Most interesting, no phone number available to call, just online chat, why?
CJ
November 22, 2020
Does anyone have insight on the MCC that gets assigned to Plastiq purchases? I’m trying to figure out what card to use. Is it an “online shopping” code for instance or does it change depending on the recipient?
Stephen Au
November 22, 2020
Hi CJ,
A quick search on Visa’s supplier locator website here (https://www.visa.com/supplierlocator-app/app/#/home/supplier-locator) shows that Plastiq is MCC 9399 (MISC FEE SERVICES).
It might be different depending on the payment network you use (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), so just be aware of that.
It almost certainly will not code under any retail-related categories.
Justin Goodwin
July 22, 2021
A little confused about negative experiences, I have been using plastiq for personal purposes for four years now and have not had an issue, my credit has never been charged as “cash advance”. If you enroll dont forget to use the Code: 1515156 to the get 100 fee free on your payments, it works every time.
Dave
August 04, 2021
Same here, however recent experience of them not fulfilling Promotions (that surely is a negative experience, they shouldn’t be promoting offers if they can’t fulfill).
KJ
July 28, 2021
After several years of using Plastiq I have come to realize that I can buy “Miles” from Alaska Airlines and American Airlines directly for the same cost as Plastiq’s fees, or even much less.
Recently they double-billed me for a $3,600+ payment. It’s been over a month since this happened. No communication, no refund, no resolution. They don’t take phone calls so I have spent hours “Chatting” online to them, writing emails, and filing complaints with my credit card company and the BBB in an effort to get a refund posted to my credit card.
Dave
August 04, 2021
Their service has degraded, the email promotions for amazon gift cards were not automatically fulfilled and customers have to reach to customer service to resolve it and keep waiting for a number of days to get it resolved is too much of a hassle (and don’t know if they will honor their promotions). I would have expected an immediate resolution on the first contact and not wait for escalation and further wait for them to further figure out why they didn’t fulfill the promotion.
They are now unreliable to use!
Rudy
August 07, 2021
Anybody have any issues using their American Express Gold or Platinum to pay rent? Hoping to earn the 125,000 point bonus. Does Plastiq code it as a purchase or cash advance?
I think if it’s a cash advance with American Express, it might not qualify towards the bonus points.
Thanks in advance.
Jarrod West
August 10, 2021
Hi Rudy,
Rent payments through Plastiq should as a purchase, and thus would qualify towards your minimum spend requirement.
Daniel
September 16, 2021
I recently applied and was approved for a Chase Visa Sapphire Preferred. I want to be able to meet the minimum spend to receive the very generous bonus. If I were to do a bill pay towards my car note or my student loans, would this be labeled as a cash advance? I read some of the disclosures for the credit card and it specifically mentioned that “making a payment to using a third party service including bill payment transactions not made directly with the merchant or service provider” are considered cash-like transactions. Thank you in advance.
Jarrod West
September 16, 2021
Hi Daniel,
Paying your car loan or student loan should both count towards the minimum spend requirement for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Thanks for reading!
Ryan
September 20, 2021
How about a mortgage payment via Plastiq using CSP?
Jarrod West
September 21, 2021
Hi Ryan,
If your mortgage provider allows Plastiq payments, then yes that should count towards your minimum spend as well.
Ryan
September 29, 2021
But, does chase count this as a cash advance?
Jarrod West
October 01, 2021
Hi Ryan,
Your mileage may vary, but Chase should not count this as a cash advance.
David
September 30, 2021
Personal Visa has restrictions. It won’t work for mortgage payment, you should update.
alcwj
February 25, 2023
Time to update this, they no longer accept AMEX. Adios Plastiq.
Keri Stooksbury
February 25, 2023
Thanks for the tip – we’ve updated our article!
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