Considering applying for an AMEX card with a big welcome bonus, like the AMEX Business Platinum or AMEX Business Gold Rewards card, but unsure about meeting the minimum spending requirements?
Good news! With Plastiq’s latest promotion, you can pay bills with a credit card for a reduced fee. Which could be a great way meet a card’s minimum spending requirements and earn a big welcome bonus!
Here are 5 AMEX cards whose welcome bonuses are now easier to unlock.
An Easier Way to Meet AMEX Minimum Spending
Link: Use AMEX With Plastiq for 2% Fee
Link: Sign-Up for Plastiq
Yesterday, I let you know about a limited-time promotion from Plastiq. That will help make meeting minimum spending requirements on American Express cards easier!
Million Mile Secrets team member Harlan has had success using Plastiq for things like rent, electricity, and student loan payments.
You can use the service to pay big bills that normally don’t accept a credit card. This can be a huge help towards unlocking welcome bonuses!
Here’s my full review of Plastiq.Remember, AMEX only allows folks to get the welcome bonus ONCE per person, per lifetime on ALL their cards.
That said, AMEX small business cards are relatively easy to get. And they will NOT hurt your chances of being approved for Chase cards.
So if you’re wondering which AMEX card to use with this deal, here’s my list of 5 AMEX cards currently offering great welcome bonuses and perks!
1. The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN
Link: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express
With the AMEX Business Platinum card, you can earn up to 100,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements, when you apply by January 25, 2017. But you’ll have to spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account to earn the full bonus.
That’s where Plastiq comes in handy! Do you have a tax bill coming up, or maybe a college tuition bill? Use Plastiq with your AMEX Business Platinum card to pay these bills, and put a dent in the card’s minimum spending requirement.
For example, say you owe $5,000 for your child’s college tuition. You could use Plastiq to make the payment with your AMEX Business Platinum card, and meet a third of the card’s minimum spending requirement ($5,000 / $15,000).
Because Plastiq has lowered their fee for AMEX cards to 2% through February 28, 2017, you’ll pay $100 (2% X $5,000). But I’d say paying $100 is worth it if it means you’ll be able to earn the 100,000 AMEX Membership Rewards point bonus (along with other great perks). That’s worth $2,300 in paid airfare through the AMEX travel portal!
2. The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
Link: The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
Link: My Review of the Business Gold Rewards Card 50,000 Point Offer
The AMEX Business Gold Rewards card is currently offering 50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
As in the example above, you could use Plastiq to pay large bills that normally don’t accept credit cards, to help meet the minimum spending requirements on your AMEX Business Gold Rewards card.
Emily recently applied for this card and was instantly approved! She’ll have lots of flexibility in using the points she earns, because she can transfer the points to terrific airline partners like Air Canada or Delta!3 and 4. AMEX Starwood Cards (Personal & Small Business)
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express
With both the personal and small business version of the AMEX Starwood cards you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points after meeting minimum spending requirements.
You’ll need to spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of account opening with the personal version of the AMEX Starwood card. Or $5,000 within the same timeframe to earn the bonus on the small business version of the card.
Let’s say you have a $2,000 tax bill. You could use the personal AMEX Starwood card along with Plastiq to pay it. Plastiq would charge a $40 fee under their current deal (2% X $2,000). But that’s certainly worth it if it means you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points!
That’s because you can transfer 20,000 Starwood points to lots of airlines at a 1:1 ratio. And for every 20,000 Starwood points transferred you’ll get a 5,000-mile bonus (when the transfer ratio is 1:1). 25,000 airline miles (20,000 + 5,000) is good for a round-trip domestic ticket on both Delta and American Airlines!
Also, the $95 annual fee for both of these cards is waived the first year. You can read my series on using Starwood points here.
5. AMEX SimplyCash Plus Business Card
Link: AMEX SimplyCash Plus Card
Link: My Review of the AMEX SimplyCash Plus Card
Through January 25, 2017, you can earn up to $500 in statement credits with the AMEX SimplyCash Plus small business card after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements.
You’ll earn a $250 statement credit after spending $5,000 within the first 6 months of card membership. And an additional $250 statement credit after spending an additional $10,000 on your card within the first year of card membership.
Using Plastiq to pay big bills with your AMEX SimplyCash Plus card would make meeting those higher minimum spending requirements much easier!
Check out this post about 7 types of folks who might consider the AMEX SimplyCash Plus card.
Bottom Line
Through February 28, 2017, Plastiq will charge a reduced fee of 2% (normally 2.5%) when you pay bills with your American Express card. So you can use your AMEX to pay bills that don’t normally accept credit cards, like mortgages, rent, and car payments!
This can be a great way to meet minimum spending requirements at a lower cost. And earn fantastic welcome bonuses from cards like the AMEX Business Platinum, AMEX Business Gold Rewards, and AMEX SimplyCash Plus.