UPDATE - it works! Using Plastiq for rent now doesn't code as a purchase for Amex?

[mkhan1093]

Hi all,
So I'm not sure when this change happened, but up until last month I've used Plastiq to pay my rent through Amex cards to meet signup bonuses. The type of transaction has always been "Residential rent and condo fees" and I've had no issue meeting the minimum spends this way. All of a sudden a few days ago, I used Plastiq again to do the same to complete the spend on my Green card, and I didn't get the points within a few days. I chatted with a rep who told me the vendor coded it as rent and therefore it doesn't count toward spend because it's not a purchase. When did this start happening? Really frustrated because I don't have enough organic spend outside of rent to make up for this in time Any ideas on what can be done? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Sounds to me like "Amex" caught onto what people were doing and decided it was time to put a stop to it. If people didn't "only" use it for SUBs, but continued the use afterwords creating revenue for them. Then they might not have had an issue. 

I can see this starting to happen more on other CCs too, in an attempt to stop the churning. 

Now that you bring this up it does alter my plans of a possible Amex app. Only because it is tough to meet SUBs with them due to acceptance issues. I normally have no issues because I time it around Insurance renewal and other big expenses, but I kind of wanted to cash in on that 45K Green offer. But I have none of that comin up within the time allotted. 

Guess I'll have to watch this thread closely to see how it shakes out for everyone else.

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sounds to me like "Amex" caught onto what people were doing and decided it was time to put a stop to it. If people didn't "only" use it for SUBs, but continued the use afterwords creating revenue for them. Then they might not have had an issue. 

I can see this starting to happen more on other CCs too, in an attempt to stop the churning. 

Now that you bring this up it does alter my plans of a possible Amex app. Only because it is tough to meet SUBs with them due to acceptance issues. I normally have no issues because I time it around Insurance renewal and other big expenses, but I kind of wanted to cash in on that 45K Green offer. But I have none of that comin up within the time allotted. 

Guess I'll have to watch this thread closely to see how it shakes out for everyone else.

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That's funny. I often use my amex card to pay rent and I am not using it only for signup bonus spend. Amex didn't suddenly catch on to anything. They made specific changes to what they would and would not allow to be paid via plastiq a year ago. They made it so you could not pay mortgages and student loans etc. They specifically allowed people to pay residential rents, so Amex didn't suddenly become aware of anything. For what its worth as of last month I was also getting points for these rent transactions. My charge simply lists as PLASTIQ-RENT. I also don't see how this has anything to do with churning. Amex cards are once in a lifetime so that is their anti-churning method. They also cap the number of cards you can have at once and if you are someone who opens a card gets the SUB and closes it they will sometimes deny you new cards. Amex makes their profit off plastiq just like other transactions. 

[NRB525]

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@mkhan1093 wrote:

Hi all,

So I'm not sure when this change happened, but up until last month I've used Plastiq to pay my rent through Amex cards to meet signup bonuses. The type of transaction has always been "Residential rent and condo fees" and I've had no issue meeting the minimum spends this way. All of a sudden a few days ago, I used Plastiq again to do the same to complete the spend on my Green card, and I didn't get the points within a few days. I chatted with a rep who told me the vendor coded it as rent and therefore it doesn't count toward spend because it's not a purchase. When did this start happening? Really frustrated because I don't have enough organic spend outside of rent to make up for this in time Any ideas on what can be done? Thanks!

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Congrats on getting the Green card.  

How much more spend do you have to make, to reach the $2k requirement? As AMEX SUB go, $2k is on the light side. 

[mkhan1093]

So just want to update: I chatted again with someone who said my spend was in fact met, and that the previous chat rep provided false information. He also issued my signup bonus so everything is good to go! Sorry for alarming anyone before. Happy Plastiq-ing

[Anonymous]

Good to hear it worked out for your spend!  And thanks for the clarification.

I was simply speculating that they might have eneded this feature due to what's going on recently.

[red259]

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@mkhan1093 wrote:

So just want to update: I chatted again with someone who said my spend was in fact met, and that the previous chat rep provided false information. He also issued my signup bonus so everything is good to go! Sorry for alarming anyone before. Happy Plastiq-ing

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Thanks for coming back and updating!

[NimbusIII]

Thanks for the update! I was just about to do the same thing and had a minor panic attack. I have done this with 2 cards now and had never had an issue. 

[randomguy1]

In the future, try to meet your spend earlier. Paying utilities, cell phone, and car insurance (pay entire year)  are a few things you might possibility do early. 

[Anonymous]

In theory it sounds good. Up until you need to figure out how meet another SUB! lol

$2-3K is fairly simple, especially if it's a Visa/MC. It gets more difficult if we're talking $4K and above, and it happens to be Amex.

Because I don't come anywhere close to spending $4K without Rent and Car payments. My bills and food combined only run about $600.

So i generally time it with my annual costs like insurance and Taxes. 

The only reason i use Plastiq is to boost it with a few car payments if the above two options aren't available.