Free rewards: More fee-free dollars from Plastiq with new referral bonuses

We have written extensively about Plastiq.com, a website that allows you to use a credit card to pay bills that must normally be paid by check. Typically, the Plastiq charges a 2.5% fee for US-based credit cards — but the new referral structure awards $500 in fee-free payments for new users and $1,000 in fee-free payments to the person making the referral. Read our Complete Guide to Plastiq credit card payments for more information about using this service to earn rewards.

The Deal

• $500 in fee-free payments for new users after making $500 in cumulative payments
• $1,000 in fee-free payments for the person making the referral after the new user has made $500 in cumulative payments

Key Terms

• New user must make $500 in total payments before they earn the fee-free dollars (in other words, you will need to make $500 in payments with a 2.5% fee for credit cards or 1% for debit cards)

Quick Thoughts

Plastiq is a great way to rack up rewards and meet minimum spend (or big spend bonuses) without spending more than you normally budget. Some Plastiq payments earn 3X with certain credit cards. For example, I have a monthly biller that only accepts checks or money orders. I pay with Plastiq and earn 3X on my Citi AT&T Access More card (no longer available to new applicants, but it may be possible to product change). I not only earn rewards that outweigh the fee, but I don’t have to remember to send a check each month — the process is automated. Some people are reporting that rent and mortgage payments may code as travel for bonus categories on other cards. With fee-free dollars, you’re earning rewards for free. It’s a no-brainer way to pay bills like mortgage, utilities, student loans, taxes, etc.

A few months ago, there was a highly targeted promotion for business card users that offered $2500 in fee-free payments per referral. However, that promotion did not go smoothly — so it was replaced with a promotion that earned $400 in fee-free payments for new users and $800 for the person making the referral. That previous offer was for “double fee-free dollars” (as standard referrals have been for $200/$400) and it awarded fewer fee-free dollars, but it only required the new user to make $20 in payments to earn the referral credit for both users.

Note with this new promotion, the new Plastiq user must make $500 in total payments before either person will earn a referral bonus. This means that the first $500 in payments will be subject to a fee. The terms clearly state that this does not need to be one payment. Interestingly, the terms do not seem to stipulate that you must make that initial $500 in payments via credit card — meaning that I believe you could make the first $500 in payments via debit card (at a 1% fee) rather than via credit card (at a 2.5% fee). I see neither an expiration date nor a time limit on making the first $500 in payments, though I suspect it isn’t an unlimited amount of time.

If you are a new user and would like to sign up for Plastiq, you can use my referral link here with my thanks (the code is 357874) – or check the comments for referrals from other readers.

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