Limited-Time: Convenient Way to Meet Minimum Spending on Citi Prestige, ThankYou Premier, Arrival Plus, & Citi Executive AAdvantage Cards

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Update:   One or more card offers in this post are no longer available.  Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.  Citi is an MMS advertising partner. Plastiq has a new promotion that can help you meet minimum spending requirements on MasterCards such as Citi Prestige and Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard.  Or, you can even profit using Citi® Double Cash Card! The information for the Citi Prestige card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Through September 30, 2015, the bill payment fee is reduced to 1.5% when you pay a new business.  I’ll show you why this promotion beats buying gift cards by saving you time AND money!

I’ll share the full details, and tips on how to make the most of this offer!

What’s the Deal?

Link:   Plastiq MasterCard Promotion

I’ve written about the best uses of Plastiq, a new bill payment service similar to Evolve Money.  Through Plastiq, you can use a credit card, debit card, or gift card to pay bills.

They normally charge a 2.5% service fee, but have had recent promotions to save money.

Now, they’re at it again!

When you add a new payee and use a MasterCard, the fee is only 1.5%.  Bills must be scheduled by September 30, 2015.  You can even schedule bills several years into the future!

To get the deal, use this special link to log-in or register (free to join!), and the promotion will automatically be added to your account.

To get started, follow the easy steps to add a new payee.

Many of the businesses listed on the Plastiq website are based in Canada, but you can add a new business.  Simply enter their details.

I added a payee and scheduled a $500 payment with a MasterCard.  The 1.5% service fee was already in my account.

A $7.50 fee to make a $500 payment is a good deal!  Most gift cards cost ~$4 to ~$7, which you can purchase and use to pay bills with other services like AMEX Prepaid REDcard.

But Plastiq removes the step of having to go out and buy the gift card.  You can set up the payment from your computer, and it’s very easy!  

For example, when you open Citi Prestige, you’ll earn 50,000 ThankYou points after $3,000 in purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account.  (EXPIRED.)

Instead of buying $3,000 worth of PIN-enabled gift cards and loading them to Bluebird, Serve, or Target Prepaid REDcard, you can save time and money by making $3,000 worth of payments with Plastiq.  Or you could even pre-pay certain bills, like utilities.

For comparison, I wanted to see how it would cost to pay the same $500 bill with an AMEX card.  There was a 2.39% fee.  So I’ll save ~$4 by paying with a MasterCard instead.

How Does It Work?

This promotion is only valid when you add a new business to your Plastiq account.  If you delete and re-add a payee, it could affect the promotional rate on your account.

That said, you can add multiple new businesses to your account!

Payments must be scheduled by September 30, 2015, to take advantage of the 1.5% rate.  You can pay bills like:

• Car payments
• Insurance
• Clubs
• Contractors
• Tuition
• Taxes
• Rent (to your landlord only)
• HOA/condo fees
• Utilities
• Professional services that charge invoices, but don’t take credit cards (lawyers, accountants, PR)

And if you have a small business credit card, you can use it to pay vendors or for payroll.

Gift cards and debit cards are also allowed to make payments.

This is also an option for paying quarterly estimated taxes with a credit card!  A 1.5% fee is less than other services.  Some payment processors charge 1.87%, so this promotion is an even cheaper way to pay.

And if you use Citi Double Cash, which earns  1% cash back when you make a purchase, and another 1% back when you pay it off, you’ll actually come out ahead.  That’s a great way to pay taxes and even get money back!

Keep in mind there are a few payments Plastiq does NOT allow, including:

• Peer-to-peer payments (you can only pay someone for exchange of goods or services)
• 529 Education Savings Programs
• Credit card bills
• Payments to self
• Savings accounts
• Trust accounts
• Escrow
• Retirement accounts
• Health savings accounts
• Alimony or child support
• Charitable donations

And your payee must be located in the US or Canada.

Should You Use Plastiq?

Plastiq’s 1.5% MasterCard offer is a good way to earn miles and points and meet minimum spending requirements for big credit card sign-up bonuses on MasterCards, like:

• Barclaycard Arrival Plus – 2X Barclays Arrival miles per $1 you spend (worth 2.1% back when you redeem for $100+ travel purchases) and 40,000 miles (~$420) after spending $3,000 within the 1st 3 months of opening your account
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® – 1X American Airlines mile per $1 you spend and 75,000 American Airlines miles after spending $7,500 within the 1st 3 months of opening your account
• Citi Prestige Card – 1X Citi ThankYou point per $1 you spend and 50,000 ThankYou points after $3,000 in purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account (EXPIRED)
• Citi ThankYou Premier Card – 1X Citi ThankYou point per $1 you spend and 50,000 bonus Citi ThankYou Points after spending $3,000 in purchases within the 1st 3 months of account opening (EXPIRED)

Or, you could use a MasterCard like Citi Double Cash to earn 1% back when you make a purchase, and another 1% back when you pay it off.  With this promotion, you’ll actually come out ahead because the fee is less than 2%.  So you can pay your bills that don’t accept credit cards and even earn a small amount of cash back!

Are There Drawbacks?

Any payments you schedule are subject to review.  And Plastiq may ask for additional information to complete the transaction.

Some folks report delays and hassles with their payments, so I recommend pre-paying your bills with this promotion instead of trying to pay by a due date.  If you’re on a deadline, don’t rely on Plastiq to make time-sensitive payments.

And commenters on Doctor of Credit and View From the Wing have mixed information regarding whether gift cards are accepted.

That said, this promotion is a great way to:

• Meet minimum spending requirements
• Pay bills that don’t accept credit cards
• Earn a small amount of cash back (if you have a cash back credit card)
• Earn points or miles to top off your account if you’re close to an award flight or hotel stay
• Pre-pay your bills

So it’s definitely useful to some folks!  Or, if you’ve had your eye on a new MasterCard, you could always apply and get the card shipped to you faster to take part!

Bottom Line

Until September 30, 2015, Plastiq has a promotion where you’ll pay a reduced service charge of 1.5% when you pay a new business with a MasterCard.

This is great for folks who need to meet minimum spending requirements on a new MasterCard such as Citi Prestige, ThankYou Premier, or Arrival Plus.  Or who want to pay bills that don’t accept credit cards.

You can even come out ahead when you pay with a cash back card like Citi Double Cash!

Some folks report delays with their payments.  And sometimes Plastiq asks for additional info about your payees.  But if you pay well in advance and want to earn extra miles, points, or cash back, this is a good promotion!