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For a while now the Plastiq bill payment service has been unable to process Amex cards. Plastiq has now reached out to let us know that Amex payment processing has been restored. As a reminder, Plastiq is a bill payment service that lets you use a credit card to pay bills that can’t usually be paid that way. Plastiq usually charges 2.5% for credit card processing.
For more about Plastiq, please see: Complete Guide to Plastiq. Note that you still can’t use Amex cards to pay your mortgage and they have added new restrictions as well. See below for details.
* In rare cases with lesser known banks, mortgage payments have been known to process despite this rule.
** You can avoid cash advance warnings by making an initial payment to this recipient with a different type of credit card. Future Visa payments will then be OK. For more details see: How to dodge Plastiq cash advance fees.
*** Amex payments are limited to the following industries:
- For Recipients in the United States, the use of American Express cards is permitted for the following industries: Government, Utilities, Education, Residential Rent and Club Fees and Memberships.
- For Recipients in Canada, the use of American Express cards is permitted for the following industries: Government, Utilities, School, School K-12 and Residential Rent.
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What about escrow shortages? I believe this is not a mortgage. Can i pay using spg biz?
Only if you can make a case for it being in one of these categories: Government, Utilities, Education, Residential Rent and Club Fees and Memberships.
Greg can you clarify whether you can use Amex for HOA and Condo dues if they are for a business? I would think they fall under club fees but wasn’t sure whether the residential rent and club fees and membership category is only allowed on personal cards or if it is allowed on business Amex cards.
Thanks!
That should work. Plastiq won’t differentiate the type of Amex card you are using (business vs consumer). They will only look at who you are trying to pay in order to determine if it is allowed. Note that you might have to contact support if the site says that the payment isn’t allowed (sometimes the site gets it wrong)
[…] Can’t use Amex for car payments […]
Greg- Why the changes? Do you think it’s card companies applying pressure or something else? Are there other similar services? Venmo? Paypal?
the payment networks have imposed limits on the types of bills that Plastiq can pay.
I don’t know of any currently operating similar services
Why would the payment networks limit what can be paid? As long as they get their fee, why would they care?
My understanding is that some people use services like this to indirectly pay their credit card bills or other loans. As a result, they can make their overall debt grow and grow without really paying it down. These people are obviously then big risks for creditors.
Wow, this pretty much kills Plastiq for me. I was using to reach thresholds on Delta and SPG Amex Cards. Government (taxes) can usually be paid at a lower rate directly, so I was using Plastiq for other things like business expenses, HOA dues, etc.
Maybe HOA dues will be considered a club? Also, real estate taxes can still be paid through Plastiq
Which card works for taxes?
All of them.
Where do you get the information regarding “investments”?
That was probably from conversations with Plastiq. Why?
I have been using rentrack.com for few months now to pay rent. Seems like a decent service. 3% fee but I get 2% cashback using citi double cash back card. The rest 1% is worth the cost of their service which includes mailing the check to landlord and reporting rental payments to all the 3 credit reporting agencies
Successfully scheduled my rent payment last night using Amex.
Just tried to pay my monthly car bill to Honda using Plastiq. Amex *not* allowed.
Quick question, can you pay mortgage bills with Visa gift cards? I had been using my AmEx up until now.
No. You could with MC GC but they will process as credit not debit at 2.5% fee
I just talked to Plastiq as I have 5 locations paying rent. No go anymore according to the chat person. Only personal rent. No business bills either, other than utilities.
[…] Check this Frequentmiler post for a handy chart of what works and what doesn’t now. […]
I’ve been paying my business rent with Plastiq with my business American Express, since I like the 1.5 points for over $5,000 charges. When I tried to pay rent last night, the system wouldn’t allow it. The Plastiq web site said that Amex was not permitted. I ran it through my Alaska card, but really miss the extra points through Amex. On the above table, you list that residential is ok with Amex. Any idea what differentiates commercial and residential?
I don’t know how they differentiate commercial and residential rent. If I were you I’d try paying the next rent payment with Amex to see what happens. Maybe pay early if you can in case it gets held up.