In the world of spending to earn loyalty rewards, bill payments have always been a bit of an outlier. Many bill payment companies no longer allow you to use a rewards credit card to pay your monthly bill, citing processing costs, or security concerns. And your bank certainly isn’t giving you points when you pay bills online.
Well, as they say, there’s an app for that. Paytm will not only reward you for paying bills through their app, but they also allow you to keep track of all of your bill payments in one place, and even send you reminders as that monthly due date approaches. In this article, I’ll show you exactly how to get started with Paytm, and how you can get rewarded for completing a task that isn’t usually much fun.
Introducing Paytm: A New Way to Pay Bills
Paytm is an international fintech company, with a Canadian office located in Toronto. Their mobile app enables customers to pay all of their bills in one place, and in return, earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards and cash (bill payment credits). Paytm syncs securely to your primary bank account, so that you can pay your bills directly through the app. This makes for a handy way to stay on top of your payments while earning some rewards at the same time.
Oh, and here’s another cool feature of Paytm. You can now make bill payments directly from your Visa, Mastercard, or AmEx credit card, for specific bill payment categories. I’ll get into this in more detail a bit further down, but the big advantage is that it gives customers the ability to stack rewards.
Opening Your Paytm Account
Paytm makes it easy to open an account. Simply download the app on your iPhone or Android device, and complete the signup process within minutes. From there, you can add any bills that you want to pay. According to the Paytm website, they have more than 5,000 bill payees to choose from. Just like your online banking, Paytm will keep your bill payment info on file, making it easy to access whenever you need to make a payment. Because Paytm is dedicated to bill payments, there’s no need to sort through all of your other banking accounts and transactions. Just log on, make a payment, and get rewarded.
Staying Organized With Paytm
The benefits of paying bills through the PayTM app go beyond earning reward points. It’s also a great way to stay organized and make sure all of your bills are up to date. After all, if you’re anything like me, there’s no shortage of bills to pay. Whether it’s property taxes, utilities, or your monthly mobile phone bill, PayTM makes it easy, by keeping all of your payment information in one place. Not only that, but PayTM will remind you when you have an upcoming payment to make, and save you from falling behind.
Open a Paytm Account
How Do I Earn Points With Paytm?
When you pay a bill, you earn 1 Paytm point for each dollar you spend. For example, if you have a $200 utility bill, you’ll earn 200 points when you pay your bill with the Paytm app. I should point out that each month, Paytm does cap the number of points that can be earned in the different bill payment categories. No worries if you hit the limit, it will be reset as soon as a new month begins.
Maximum monthly rewards
- Property tax payment: 1000 points
- Tuition payment: 1000 points
- Credit card payments: 2000 points
- Utility bills: 500 points
- Other bill payments: 500 points
Earning Bonus Points With Paytm
In addition to earning points when you pay bills, Paytm makes it possible to earn bonus points in a variety of ways. This makes it easier to accumulate points quickly. Here is a list of 5 bonus offers Paytm customers can take advantage of:
- Welcome bonus of 10,000 points ($10 value)
- When you pay a bill for the first time, you’ll earn a 250 point bonus
- Pay the same bill for 12 consecutive months, and Paytm will reward your loyalty with a 10% bonus.
- Refer a friend and receive 5000 bonus points.
- Earn up to 1000 bonus points when you pay multiple bills in any given month ($25 minimum)
Refer a Friend and Earn
Refer friends to Paytm and watch your points accumulate very quickly. When you sign up for Paytm, you’ll receive a referral code, which is worth 5000 points, or $5, every time a friend signs up. To qualify, they’ll need to make their first bill payment of at least $50. Aside from the one-time welcome bonus of 10,000 points, this is perhaps the best way to earn rewards fast through Paytm.
How Much Is a Paytm Rewards Point Worth?
Like so many loyalty rewards programs, the point values vary depending on how you choose to redeem them. You’ll get the most value for your Paytm rewards when you redeem them for gift cards to your favourite stores. For example, 10,000 points will get you a $10 gift card. You can also redeem points towards bill payment credits, at a slightly lower redemption rate. In this case, you would need 15,000 points to get that same $10 value. In my summary at the end of this article, I’ll explain whether or not I feel Paytm is worth the effort, when you consider the dollar value of the points earned.
Using Paytm With Your Credit Card
Many companies no longer allow customers to pay bills using a credit card, claiming security issues, and costly processing fees. With PayTM, you can make payments under several bill payment categories using your Visa, Mastercard, or American Express credit card. This is great, as it allows you to increase your points earning potential if you use a rewards credit card. Not only will you earn Paytm reward points, but you also benefit from the rewards earned on by your credit cards. It’s a way of stacking rewards using Paytm.
How Do I Redeem Paytm Points?
As I mentioned a bit earlier, you can redeem your Paytm points for gift cards at popular retail partners, or you can choose to redeem points for cash that can be applied against bill payments you make with the Paytm app. The following is a list of some of the Paytm retail partners:
- Uber
- Starbucks
- The Apple Store
- Netflix
- Tim Hortons
- Sephora
- Indigo Books
- Cineplex
- Lululemon
- Amazon
- Esso
Will Paytm Charge Me a Fee to Pay My Bills?
This is an important question, especially after an announcement yesterday that Paytm will now charge convenience fees. At best, the fees charged will now negate any credit card rewards, which was one of the bigger perks to using this service to be able to pay bills with your credit card.
Below are the convenience fees that Paytm charges for their service:
- American Express 3%
- Visa debit & Mastercard debit 1.25%
- Visa credit & Mastercard credit 1.75%
You also need to be careful, as some credit cards will charge your card as a cash advance when you use it to pay a bill through Paytm. You definitely don’t want that to happen. So, before setting up a credit card for payment, check to make sure a fee will not be applied. The BMO Mastercard and RBC Westjet World Elite Mastercard are examples of credit cards that don’t charge a fee for a Paytm transaction, but there are others as well.
With the right card (at least 1.75% cashback and not treated as a cash advance), this could still be useful in meeting minimum spends for welcome bonuses. Plus new cards with higher introductory cashback rates might also be worthwhile.
Is Paytm Worth the Effort?
When I first did my research on Paytm, which included opening an account, I questioned whether or not it was worth the effort, to redirect bill payments through a new app, just to earn a few extra rewards. After all, at a 10,000 to $10 conversion rate, the point value for regular spending isn’t great when compared to other loyalty rewards programs.
However, by taking advantage of the bonus points that are available, and paying with a rewards credit card to offset the fees, the program could still be useful. Not only that, the ease and convenience of having all of your bill payments stored in one place can save time, and money too. I would conclude that while Paytm is not for everyone (what rewards program truly is) if used properly, it can be worth the effort as an additional layer of discount and reward stacking.
