Going to look into Plastique for my mortgage for the next couple of months as soon as I get that Citi card in the mail. It is a MasterCard so that should be OK, as far as I can tell.
I've seen some of you talk about a 'deal' (or maybe it's a sale?) where the Plastique fee is less than the regular 2.5%. Is this something you're getting for being a past customer, or how is that working? I'll probably go ahead and do it regardless, but I figured I should save every bit I can.
There was a 1.5% Plastiq promotion on three payments, but that has ended. Hopefully, something else will come along soon. If you purchase MCGCs and use them, the fee would be lower. That's a good option when you can get them without paying a fee. It may still make sense with the fee, but you'd have to run the numbers.
Oh, interesting; that would never have occurred to me.
I don't usually buy Visa (or MC) gift cards specifically BECAUSE there's a fee. I'll have to check that out! Thanks!
The first thing you can do to score some savings on Plastiq is to sign up for it using a support link on DISchurners. Signing up via a support link will get you $500 "Fee Free Dollars" ("FFDs") after you make your first $500+ in payments. You can apply FFDs to a payment, which means Plastiq will not charge you a fee on the amount of your FFDs and then charge you the prevailing % fee on whatever balance isn't covered by the FFDs.
If you can get P2 to sign up for Plastiq and make some payments, you can have him use your support link so that he gets $500 FFDs and you get the support bonus of $1,000 FFDs after P2 makes $500+ in payments.
$500 FFDs = $12.50. $1,000 FFDs = $25.00.
Next, Plastiq occasionally runs promos, like the 1.5% fee on 3 payments up to $10k on any kind of card that just ended on 6/31. We keep good tabs on these promos and share them on this thread and on DISchurners.
Lastly, MCGCs work well with Plastiq because MetaBank-issued MCGCs (the kind you usually find in the supermarket) are
currently coding like debit cards on Plastiq, which means they process with only a 1% fee (vs. the regular 2.5% fee for credit cards). The max value MCGC you can buy at a supermarket is $500, which maximizes the use of the $5.95 activation fee, and minimizes the % of that fee vs. the value of the MCGC (1.19%). So you're buying a MCGC with a 1.19% fee in store and running it through Plastiq for a 1% fee, which is less than the usual 2.5% fee that Plastiq charges on credit card payments. People who have credit cards that earn a high bonus at supermarkets can do even better. The Amex Gold earns 4x MR at supermarkets, the Amex Everyday Preferred earns 6% cash back at at supermarkets, and some cards like the Chase Freedom or Discover have rotating bonus categories that include supermarkets (not this quarter, however). These cards earn more in rewards off the purchase at a supermarket than the total fees for the whole transaction, start to finish. Even the Chase Freedom Unlimited at 1.5x UR, Amex Blue Business Plus at 2x MR, or Citi Double Cash at 2% cash back will help you negate some of the fees.
However, if you're thinking of paying your mortgage company $495.05 (accounting for a 1% fee) at a time, you need to contact them and ask how they process partial payments that are less than the monthly statement amount (e.g., will it go towards the statement balance, applied to the principle, go into a suspension account that you can call in to direct payment? Can you put a memo line on the check that says apply to statement?).
First world problems in a BIG way lol.... I got both Amazon MR deals last week(so excited!) and instantly got my whole foods gc to use for groceries..... and now this week I "need" more Amazon discounts for a large baby gift for a fam member! I should have waited and used the deal on this! I'm Really hoping for more deals from either Amazon or Walmart in the next week or so....
We tend to get bored being on the ship all day. 
Kudos to ones who can enjoy longer cruises.
