Has anyone paid for your Tesla through Plastiq?

[tiggerlily]

Curious if anyone has paid partial (or even full!) amount of your Tesla through a check sent by Plastiq?

I plan to apply for a few credit cards to get some bonus mileage points, and since my Tesla delivery is coming up soon, I wonder if I can pay part of my Tesla (~$8000) through Plastiq funded by my credit cards to meet the minimum spend earlier.

I know this sounds like a funny & potentially risky idea, but as a churner, it's hard to not at least entertain the idea of getting something out of a big purchase like this... :~

 

[hmmm]

That's an interesting question...since fees are actually charged to the payer and not the payee, that could be worth a try. Let me know what you find out from Tesla.

 

[wiredprairie]

I'm not sure that it's a funny idea.

Assuming you have the funds to immediately pay off the transaction amount, this seems like a potentially expensive way to get credit card points, but I don't see why Tesla would care how the total purchase amount was paid.

 

[ABC2D]

Applying for a few credit cards right before your loan application might trigger an uptick in the interest rate which could potentially devalue some or all points you collect.

 

[brkaus]

Plastiq fees appear to be around 2.5% paid by you, if I'm reading the terms correctly.

That's a lot of cost for a few points.

 

[TexLaw]

It doesn't sound like a few points. It sounds like OP is going for some bonus points that can more than make up for the fee hit.

You probably want to ask your DS about payment form. Obviously, there is no issue with putting the deposit, certain other fees (e.g., change fees, transportation fees on a CPO or inventory), and certain other purchases (e.g., service agreement) on a credit card, but it sounds like they want final car payment to come as a wire, certified check, lender's check, or through their financing. Your DS will be the best one to ask. It might be just fine.

All that said, paying that Plastiq fee really isn't worth it if you are just trying to hit that bonus point threshold early, only if you are concerned about hitting it at all.

 

[bennettbb]

My wife and I have used Plastiq for for both of our vehicles (one Tesla, the other another manufacturer). It was a pretty simple process. Just confirm with the showroom where Plastiq is supposed to send the check. They told us the wrong address so it delayed delivery. Not a big deal, but we would've preferred the correct information from the start. It's obviously not for everyone, but getting 300k points was definitely worth the fees. Our points are way more valuable since we travel a lot and it makes our hotel rooms a steal compared to the USD cost.

 

[tiggerlily]

My wife and I have used Plastiq for for both of our vehicles (one Tesla, the other another manufacturer). It was a pretty simple process. Just confirm with the showroom where Plastiq is supposed to send the check. They told us the wrong address so it delayed delivery. Not a big deal, but we would've preferred the correct information from the start. It's obviously not for everyone, but getting 300k points was definitely worth the fees. Our points are way more valuable since we travel a lot and it makes our hotel rooms a steal compared to the USD cost.

Thanks for sharing your experience @bennettbb! Knowing that it has been done before is definitely reassuring. We also travel a lot, and having >150k points to redeem round trip international tickets do seem worthwhile for the small fees we pay. (Like you said, it's definitely not for everyone. But for the purpose of not derailing this thread, I won't go into details here.)

I called Tesla today (a 650 local number, but not our showroom), the guy said that they accept payment through wire transfers, bank checks & cashier checks; Plastiq is not the "safest" way to pay. But my feeling was that he wasn't sure how Plastiq arranges payment so he just gave me the safest advice. I'm going to contact our local showroom to double check. It's obviously a non-trivial transaction, so I'm going to make sure it'll all work with our showroom before deciding to go this route. Thanks again for the prompt response!

 

[brkaus]

Agree there is value in points in specific instances. As long as your aware of the fees and making the decision with it in mind.

Silly question - couldn't you send the plastiq to yourself and deposit it in the bank? I haven't read all the terms and conditions. This is the first I heard of the company.

 

[tiggerlily]

Agree there is value in points in specific instances. As long as your aware of the fees and making the decision with it in mind.

Silly question - couldn't you send the plastiq to yourself and deposit it in the bank? I haven't read all the terms and conditions. This is the first I heard of the company.

Unfortunately, Plastiq can only send checks to the payee, not to the payer. (It certainly would be easier for the payer if I can personally deliver the check to the payee.)

I just called my local showroom, and the guy suggested me to contact our delivery specialist for any questions regarding final payment. I'll post updates later...

 

[TexLaw]

Good information, here. Thanks for the actual experience!

 

[SageBrush]

I know this sounds like a funny & potentially risky idea, but as a churner, it's hard to not at least entertain the idea of getting something out of a big purchase like this... :~

Ahh.. if only I had some more juicy credit cards to exploit ...

 

[tiggerlily]

I talked to both Plastiq and Tesla finance later today, here's the update -

To pay for your Tesla car purchase through Plastiq, use this payee link: tesla.plastiq.com (I believe there's a different link for Tesla lease payment).

Someone at Tesla finance said it's okay to pay through Plastiq, although they don't accept more than 2 checks for the same purchase.
Tesla will process the paperwork and request payment roughly only 7 days before the estimated delivery date (according to Tesla), but it normally takes 5-7 business days for Plastiq to deliver the check (according to Plastiq), which means if the check is not delivered before the delivery date, the delivery may have to be postponed.

The Plastiq link for Tesla does say "Guaranteed on-time payments", but having never used Plastiq before, I have no idea if the guarantee can be trusted.

At this point, I'm still on the fence about paying through Plastiq because I don't want to risk postponing delivery if the check isn't received on time. I've been waiting for the car eagerly for 2.5 months now, receiving it on time is probably worth more than tens of thousands of mileage points for me! (Again, very subjective and not rational )

 

[bennettbb]

I talked to both Plastiq and Tesla finance later today, here's the update -

To pay for your Tesla car purchase through Plastiq, use this payee link: tesla.plastiq.com (I believe there's a different link for Tesla lease payment).

Someone at Tesla finance said it's okay to pay through Plastiq, although they don't accept more than 2 checks for the same purchase.
Tesla will process the paperwork and request payment roughly only 7 days before the estimated delivery date (according to Tesla), but it normally takes 5-7 business days for Plastiq to deliver the check (according to Plastiq), which means if the check is not delivered before the delivery date, the delivery may have to be postponed.

The Plastiq link for Tesla does say "Guaranteed on-time payments", but having never used Plastiq before, I have no idea if the guarantee can be trusted.

At this point, I'm still on the fence about paying through Plastiq because I don't want to risk postponing delivery if the check isn't received on time. I've been waiting for the car eagerly for 2.5 months now, receiving it on time is probably worth more than tens of thousands of mileage points for me! (Again, very subjective and not rational )

You're right. Unlike our other Plastiq payments (which are sent electronically), our Tesla payment on Plastiq was issued by check because Tesla isn't signed up as a direct merchant (I think that's why?). We didn't have a problem, though. Just make sure you have Plastiq send the check to Tesla's address in Fremont and be sure to include information specific to your order (order number or vin or something specific). They have a few address options but I think their customer service said some are for other types of payments (i.e., leases). We ordered a Model 3 for our daughter and son-in-law as a surprise wedding gift so I'm crossing my fingers it gets here in time. We'll definitely be paying with Plastiq again since we use them for our mortgage and other bills.

 

[bennettbb]

I posted on this thread last yet, but Business Insider actually profiled someone (not me) who used a Visa credit card to buy a Tesla using Plastiq.

He did something smarter than my wife and I did, using a Chase Ink Biz Preferred card which earns 3x points on plastiq. More than $5,000 in free airfare/hotels earned in one purchase

 

[Richtig]

"He also scored 180,000 travel rewards points — equal to $1,800 in cash back or $2,250 in airfare."

This cost him $1,471 in fees. While he did end up ahead, its hardly a $5,000 slam dunk.

 

[Tam]

...Plastiq can only send checks to the payee, not to the payer...

Does that mean a spouse can use Plastiq and it will send a check to the other spouse or trusty adult children...?

 

[PhilDavid]

If you or your business has a Square POS, you can actually do the same with a 2.5% fee but the funds come directly to your bank account Without the POS, it is 2.75 but the funds are electronically deposited to your own bank account so you can then pay Tesla directly.

 

[bennettbb]

Does that mean a spouse can use Plastiq and it will send a check to the other spouse or trusty adult children...?

I've asked Plastiq's customer service the same question and the answer is no. Plastiq lets you pay basically any personal or business bill, so I pay my Supplier $65,000 per month in China using my credit card on Plastiq, but you have to provide an invoice or bill for bills

 

[drsaab]

How long did it actually take the checks to get to Tesla, can anyone comment?