I have written several times before about how I use Plastiq to pay my mortgage(s). I have my own mortgage and a couple of rental properties, and I use Plastiq to pay the mortgage on all of them
(SEE ALSO: Using Plastiq to pay my mortgage for “free” money)
(SEE ALSO: Update on Plastiq paying my mortgage… they eventually did)
A little bit about Plastiq
Plastiq is one of a variety of services that allow you to use a credit card to pay bills and other things that you would not normally be able to pay with a credit card. Some examples are things like mortgages, utilities and payments to other people.
(SEE ALSO: How I use Plastiq for “free” money paying my mortgage)
Typically there is a fee charged. Plastiq typically charges about 2.5% of the payment amount, depending on the card. They also do offer various promotions – I believe currently if you schedule 6 mortgage / rent payments, your first one is free. There is also as of the time of this writing a promotion for a 1.75% fee if you are paying a business associate of over $20,000
Whether using Plastiq will be worth it to you or not is up to you, of course. The main reasons it might be worth it to me would be if
- I were trying to meet minimum spend on a card that I was having trouble meeting organically
- I was paying with a card whose points were worth it enough to me. I typically pay with the AT&T Access More card which gives 3x ThankYou points on online merchants. Since ThankYou points are worth AT LEAST 1 cent per point, you’d come out ahead even if you just used your extra TYP as a statement credit to cover the Plastiq fee (I don’t personally do that)
I’ve had mostly good experiences with Plastiq in the times that I’ve used them. They had some problems one month paying my mortgage (they eventually got it figured out).
Why I’m paying my mortgage(s) early
The reason I am paying my August AND September mortgages early is due to changes in the Citi AT&T Access More card that were announced a few weeks ago.
As of July 22, online purchases to places like Plastiq will only receive 1x ThankYou point, whereas now they receive 3x points. While this change is not entirely unexpected, it is disappointing, and drastically reduces my odds of keeping this card long-term or paying its $95 annual fee.
(SEE ALSO: 4 cards I will pay the annual fee on)
So I have already made my August mortgage payments and plan to make my September mortgage payments before the 22nd. The change goes into effect on the 22nd (Saturday) so I’d imagine payments must post by Friday, though I’m not sure how Citi will handle pending payments.
And, before anyone says anything, I am aware that I am giving Citi or Plastiq or my mortgage company (or someone!) an “interest free loan” by paying early. All I have to say is that if that’s a factor that is holding you back, then you must be getting a lot more interest in your bank account than I am in mine 🙂
If you sign up for Plastiq with my link, you will get 500 Fee free dollars after you make a payment of at least $500 and I will also receive a commission.
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It shouldn’t be an interest free loan. The early payment should post to your account on the day the bank receives it, which will result in the balance being lower for longer and you paying slightly less interest over time. You just need to make sure that it codes as your regular monthly payment, not a voluntary early prepayment to principal.
Cool – thanks for the clarification and you’re right it makes sense. I had planned to double check about it posting as a monthly payment since I’ve been bit by that before
This post made me laugh, as I JUST finished paying our September mortgage payment with my husband’s new Arrival+ card 😀 It was exactly the amount I needed to meet the minimum spending and get the bonus points.
I liked Jim’s perspective on how early payments reduce interest, too — a win/win!
Hoping my mortgage payment gets through next month – it currently codes as “misc govt services”.according to CITI