Our contact at Plastiq sent over a nifty graph which charts out which credit cards can be used for which types of payments. It even drills down the differences between credit cards and prepaid/debit cards.
For the unfamiliar, Plastiq is a bill payment service who allows payment with credit or prepaid cards for a fee of 2.5%, see our full review here. Each card issuer has individual rules about which cards can be used where, and it gets a bit confusing. Hopefully this chart simplifies things. I circled a few of the more commonly used categories which people often ask about.
You can also access a pdf version for easier viewing/saving here.
As you can see, use of an Amex card is highly restricted whereas Visa, Mastercard, and Discover work for most bills. The one big exclusion that Visa has over the others is the mortgage exclusion, that’s a biggie. Mastercard and Discover do allow mortgage payments.
Separately, not addressed in this graph, some consumer Visa cards come through as a cash advance – check out this thorough list from Plastiq for more information on that. (Plastiq will always tell you with a popup if there is a cash advance issue.)
Overall, Mastercard, Discover, and prepaid Visa cards are the most versatile and can be used for most bills. Visa business cards can be used for most things, but not for mortgage payments. Amex can only be used for a few things like taxes, rent, and utilities.
[The biggest surprise for me from this chart is that, apparently, prepaid Visa and Mastercards can be used to pay down credit card bills and personal loans. Update: judging from the comments of this post, this may not work in practice.]
Plastiq also put out an easy infographic to show which payments can be used (click on the graphic to enlarge):
My thanks if you signup for Plastiq with our referral link – you’ll get $500 in free processing ($12.50 savings) after you spend $500 on Plastiq. More details on the Plastiq referral program here, and check out our full Plastiq review here. Plastiq is also running a special on business signups to get a bonus of $10,000 in free processing ($250 savings) – details on that can be found in this post.
