How to earn points and cash back with Plastiq.com

How to earn points and miles with Plastiq.com
Before going any further, we can confirm that this is a legitimate service recognized by the government. We’ve used it several times, and the Canada Revenue Agency lists this service on its website as a service provider that offers credit card payment for taxes.
What payments are authorized on Plastiq?
As an individual, you can pay many suppliers by credit card, via Plastiq.com:
- Taxes (provincial and federal)
- Municipal and school taxes
- Condo fees
- School fees
- Hydro Quebec
- Professional services (accountants, lawyers…)
- Private schools
- Professional associations (annual registration to an order for example…)
However, you cannot pay your credit card balances via Plastiq or send cheques to yourself or relatives (except in exchange for services).
As a business or professional, you can pay vendors or suppliers, even your contractors!
Table of authorized suppliers by card type
On Plastiq, you’ll find an English-language table summarizing the credit and charge cards that can be used with different suppliers, in both Canada and the U.S.!
Plastiq.com service fees
Of course, it’s not a miraculous service: there are fees for every transaction made on Plastiq.com. However, it is the Canada Revenue Agency’s lowest-cost credit card payment provider.
These fees are:
- 2.9% for all credit cards
- 2.49% to make a payment to the Canada Revenue Agency (electronic transfer)

Example of a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) payment
Here’s a step-by-step guide to paying the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) via Plastiq. You’ll see that Plastiq is accepted as a payment method by the CRA.
First of all, you’ll need to add the CRA as a beneficiary, if you use your profile. It is also possible to pay without creating a file with Plastiq and pay ARC.

Then check the information carefully. You can see that payments to the CRA are made by EFT (electronic funds transfer). Your CRA file will be updated within 2-3 business days of receiving payment from Plastiq.

You are now ready to make your payment to the CRA. As the ARC is already registered with Plastiq, you will be asked to fill in a number of fields (including the type of taxes you will be paying). You indicate on the calendar the date you want the payment to arrive at the CRA. Plastiq then automatically calculates the payment date for you.

You’ll be asked for other details, such as your SIN (which allows us to issue your payment to your CRA account) and your tax date.

Finally Plastiq will show you a summary before payment.
There you go! By clicking on the confirmation, your payment to the CRA is gone. We’ll keep you informed by e-mail of our progress. You will also be able to view it in the Plastiq management interface.
When to use the Plastiq.com service
In our opinion, it is advantageous to use the Plastiq.com service under 3 conditions.
The gain in points or cash rebates must be worth it
However, few cards offer more than a 2% return on your spend. Here, the charge is 2.49%.
That’s why you’ll need to have in your wallet one of the cards offering a 2% discount on all your expenses, or even more. Or a card whose points provide a sufficient return like the one shown below.
To unlock a welcome bonus
Many cards offer generous welcome bonuses (notably the National Bank World Elite Mastercard and Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +), provided you have made a minimum expenditure over a period of several months.
In some cases, the amount to spend can be several thousand dollars!
In this case, it may be worthwhile to use the Plastiq.com service. In this case, it’s worth the cost to avoid losing the opportunity to earn thousands of points!
To obtain the missing points for a trip
Are you a few hundred or thousands of points short for your next trip or on your Aeroplan account? Plastiq.com could be the solution to your problem.
Instead of buying gift cards for different businesses, you could, for example, pay your electricity, municipal taxes or income taxes in advance.
List of providers milesopedia members can vouch for
The milesopedia community, on the facebook group « milesopedia – Credit Cards and Rewards », has validated the use of these suppliers via Plastiq(discussion topic here).
| City / Country | Type | Name | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer / Cheque |
| ALMA | School taxes | COMMISSION SCOLAIRE DU LAC-SAINT-JEAN – DAYCARE SERVICES | Amex – Mastercard | TRANSFER |
| Alma | Municipal taxes | City of Alma – Tax | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| Boucherville | Municipal taxes | City Of Boucherville | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Services | Energir – Gaz Metro | Amex – Mastercard | |
| CANADA | Services | Hydro-Quebec | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Services | SAAQ | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| CANADA | Food Pension | Income Quebec | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| CANADA | Professional Order | Order of Pharmacists | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| CANADA | Professional Order | Ordre Des Ingenieurs Du Quebec | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Professional Order | Ordre des Ergothérapeutes du Quebec | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Professional Order | CPA Quebec | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Taxation | Canada Revenue Agency | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Taxes | Income Quebec | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| CANADA | Condominium fees | Condo fees | Amex – Mastercard | Check |
| CANADA | Insurance | National Bank Insurance | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Insurance | Co-Operators | ||
| CANADA | Insurance | La Capitale | ||
| CANADA | Insurance | Intact Insurance | Amex – Mastercard | Cheques |
| CANADA | Insurance | Canada Life Assurance | Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Insurance | SSQ (Group) | Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| CANADA | Insurance | UV Mutuelle (Life Insurance) | Mastercard | Check |
| Affluents School Board | School taxes | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque | |
| Duberger | Daycare / School | Everest elementary school (daycare fees and school supplies) | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| Gatineau | Municipal taxes | Ville De Gatineau | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| Mirabel | School taxes | CSSMI | Amex – Mastercard | |
| Mirabel | Municipal taxes | Ville de Mirabel – Tax | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| Montreal | School taxes | School Board of Montreal | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| Montreal | Municipal taxes | City of montreal | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| Montreal | Daycare / School | Kids & Company | Amex – Mastercard | |
| Morin-Heights | Municipal Taxes | Municipalité de Morin-Heights – Tax | Amex – Mastercard | Transfer |
| Quebec | School taxes | Commission Scolaire Premiere Seigneurie | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| Quebec | School taxes | Commission Scolaire des Découvreurs | Amex – Mastercard | Cheque |
| Quebec | Municipal taxes | City of Quebec – Tax | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| Repentigny | Municipal taxes | Amex – Mastercard | ||
| Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville | School taxes | Commission Scolaire des Patriotes | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville | Municipal taxes | City of St. Bruno De Montarville | Amex – Mastercard | Transfer |
| Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts | School taxes | Commission Scolaire Des Laurentides | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts | Municipal taxes | Ville de Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts – Tax | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
| Town of l’Assomption | Municipal taxes | Amex – Mastercard | Bank transfer |
Bottom Line
Please note that Plastiq purchases charged to a BMO card do not earn rewards points.
For example, the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard allows you to charge a single card. However, this expense will not count as an eligible expense for a welcome offer or earn BMO Rewards points.
Plastiq is a handy service that allows you to unlock welcome bonuses and earn points for payments you’ve made by cheque or via your bank account!
Just a reminder: don’t use this service if you can’t pay off your credit card balance! The interest charged (16 to 30%) far outweighs any rewards you might have earned!
How to pay a transfer tax with a credit card
The first thing to do is to check if your city accepts credit card payments. Some do. Alternatively, you can use a third party such as PLASTIQ or PAYSIMPLY, who will accept your credit card payment and forward the amount to the recipient by cheque or electronic transfer.
However, since there is a fee for this service, Milesopedia recommends using this strategy to unlock the bonus on a new credit card.
How to pay municipal or school taxes with a credit card ?
The first thing to do is to check if your city accepts credit card payments. Some do. Alternatively, you can use a third party such as PLASTIQ or PAYSIMPLY, who will accept your credit card payment and forward the amount to the recipient by cheque or electronic transfer.
However, since there is a fee for this service, Milesopedia recommends using this strategy to unlock the bonus on a new credit card.
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