PayRewards Can Turn A $10,000 Business Bill Into 40,000 Points—Even If The Vendor Doesn’t Accept Credit Cards

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Be aware that websites may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Capital One, and others. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all offers that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.A $10,000 business bill can generate 20,000 credit card rewards points plus another 20,000 points transferable to Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific, even when the vendor doesn’t accept credit cards. That’s the interesting proposition behind PayRewards. Using a card that earns 2 points per dollar and their highest earning option, you’d pay $615 in fees to generate those 40,000 combined points. There’s no charge to open an account and no monthly platform fee. It’s a bill payment service like Plastiq, but on steroids. For a business with substantial expenses that otherwise earn nothing, this creates a potentially valuable way to accumulate miles for premium cabin travel. Qualifying business payment expenses may also receive deductible expense treatment, which significantly improves the economics. (Deductibility of the optional charge for additional points needs to be considered separately, I think.) PayRewards is the new U.S. arm of Australia’s pay.com.au. The company announced its U.S. launch and $28 million in new funding on August 24. I saw its U.S. chief commercial officer explain the service in this Geobreeze interview. You fund a business payment with an eligible American Express, Visa or Mastercard, or from your bank account. PayRewards then pays the recipient by bank transfer, wire or check. Your supplier doesn’t have to start accepting cards for you to put the expense on yours. There are two separate charges when you use a credit card: the cost of processing the card payment, and an optional charge to earn PayRewards points. Payment Option Total Percentage Fee PayRewards Points Per $1 Card, without additional PayRewards points 2.9% 0 Card + Core 4.65% 1 Card + Plus 6.15% 2 Bank account + Core 1.75% 1 Bank account + Plus 3.25% 2 Credit card rewards are additional to the PayRewards points shown in the table. With bank funding, there’s no credit card earning and no extra 2.9% card processing charge. Wire delivery costs $16, and paper checks cost $5. Here’s the $10,000 example using a card that earns 2 transferable points per dollar: $290 to process the card payment. $325 for the Plus option, earning 20,000 PayRewards points. 20,000 points from the credit card, assuming the payment qualifies for its normal 2 point earning rate. $615 total fees for 40,000 combined points. That’s about <1.54 cents per point. They’re separate currencies, with their own transfer options. This calculation counts rewards on the $10,000 bill itself and doesn’t count additional card points you'd earn on the fees. The optional PayRewards points cost 1.75 cents each with Core, or 1.625 cents each with Plus. Moving from Core to Plus costs another $150 on a $10,000 bill and produces another 10,000 points — 1.5 cents apiece for that additional tranche. Plus earns the most PayRewards points and has the lower average acquisition cost. You can also choose it with bank funding: $325 generates 20,000 PayRewards points, without involving a credit card. This is most interesting for bills that otherwise earn nothing, particularly when the card spending also helps complete an initial bonus offer. Competitors include Melio and BILL, which has 2.9% card payment fees, and Plastiq at 2.99%. PayRewards’ additional attraction is the option to earn its own transferable currency on top of card rewards. Deductible business processing expenses can lower the effective cost further. For example, a $290 expense that qualifies for a deduction costs $188.50 at a 35% marginal tax rate. However, business expenses must be ordinary and necessary. An optional payment to acquire points for personal travel doesn’t obviously qualify. In its 2025 American Express settlement, the Justice Department specifically rejected the claim that inflated wire fees incurred to generate personal rewards were fully deductible. Singapore And Cathay Are Useful Transfer Partners Their partner page advertises “6 partners,” but that includes entries marked “coming soon.” PayRewards currently names two live transfer partners: Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 1 PayRewards point becomes 1 KrisFlyer mile. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 1 PayRewards point becomes 1 Asia Mile. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can access Cathay business and first class awards that aren’t available through partner programs. Cathay first class has just six seats on its Boeing 777s. The enormous seat becomes an especially comfortable bed, and the small cabin is a wonderful way to spend a long flight to Hong Kong. And Asia Miles are also useful for British Airways redemptions with the extortionate fuel surcharges. You can often spend fewer Avios and save as much as three quarters off the cash costs of the redemption. (Asia Miles generally has similar availability to AAdvantage and Atmos Rewards – BA itself will its initial ‘guarantee seats’ available to members booking with Avios.) Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is particularly valuable because Singapore generally reserves its long haul first class and Suites awards for members of its own program. It also offers business class award availability that partner programs don’t receive. The Airbus A380 Suites product I’ve covered has a separate chair and bed, with selected adjoining suites capable of being combined into a double bed. Generating more KrisFlyer miles creates another way to work toward those awards when seats are available. Opening An Account Is Free There’s no registration, onboarding charge or monthly fee – only costs per use. The terms require business verification and tax ID information. Paying yourself, family members and related businesses are against their rules. And the company’s August launch announcement listed Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. as ineligible. I think it’s worth opening a free account to have this in place for use and getting familiar with the service if you have business bills. That way it’s available as an option when you’ve got a large invoice and a big spend offer on the table. PayRewards Topics on this page Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.