Melio Review: Earn Points by Paying Your Business Bills

Business expenses can be a good way to earn credit card rewards points, but many vendors, contractors, and landlords prefer ACH transfers or checks instead of credit card payments. Melio is a business payment platform that lets you use credit cards for qualifying business payments and earn rewards. The catch is a 2.9% card processing fee.

Here’s how Melio works, what it costs, and which cards and payments are eligible, so you can understand whether it’s worth using.

What Is Melio?

Melio is a business payment platform for accounts payable and receivable. Businesses can use it to pay eligible expenses using a bank account, credit card, or debit card, and vendors can receive ACH payments or checks without accepting cards or signing up for Melio.

The platform also offers payment scheduling, invoicing, and contractor management, and it integrates with business finance software, including QuickBooks and Xero.

How To Pay Bills by Credit Card With Melio

You can pay a vendor invoice with a credit card using Melio by following these steps:

1. In your Melio account, add a vendor or bill.
2. Choose your funding method: a credit card.
3. Choose how the vendor should receive payment, such as via ACH or check.
4. Review the payment details, including the applicable fees and delivery date.
5. Confirm the payment and track its progress.

Melio charges your business credit card and then delivers funds to the vendor using the method you’ve selected. For example, if you need to pay a contractor $2,000 but they only accept bank transfers, you can use Melio to make the payment with a credit card. You’d pay a $58 credit card processing fee on top of the $2,000 payment to the contractor, and they would receive the payment via ACH without needing to accept credit cards or have a Melio account.

Payment isn’t necessarily immediate. For a standard ACH transfer, the typical delivery time is 3 business days, and checks are 5 to 7 business days. However, ACH delivery via credit or debit card is typically processed the same day.

What Does Melio Cost?

Melio has 5 subscription plan levels, ranging from a free tier to an unlimited plan. Annual subscription prices typically offer lower monthly rates. Melio offers a 90-day free trial for paid features, and the Platinum plan is customized.

Although every Melio plan offers at least 5 included ACH transfers, there’s still a standard credit card payment fee of 2.9%. ACH payments beyond each plan’s included allowance are $0.50 each. Additional fees may apply for expedited payments, international transfers, or paper checks. Melio’s free Go plan is limited to 1 user, so a paid plan is necessary if your business needs to accommodate multiple users.

In addition to ACH payment allowances, the paid tiers offer accounting integrations, workflows, and administrative features. Businesses with a credit line of $100,000 or more may qualify for special card rates.

If your main concern is earning credit card rewards on occasional business payments, the free Go plan may be all you need. You get up to 5 ACH transfers included, though the 2.9% standard processing fee still applies. Upgrading to a paid plan may make sense if you need additional included ACH transfers, accounting integrations, and other features — but even paid plans still pay the credit card processing fee.

Is Melio’s Credit Card Fee Worth It?

Melio’s standard credit card payment fee is 2.9%. That’s higher than the typical rewards rate on business credit cards, but you could still come out ahead with valuable transferable rewards points. Let’s compare the fee on a $5,000 transaction with what you could earn.

For example, you could use the Capital One Venture X Business Card to earn 2x miles when paying vendors on Melio. We currently value Capital One miles at 1.8 cents each, so a $5,000 expense payment would earn about $180 in miles — $35 more than Melio’s standard credit card payment fee.

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express earns 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent annually (then 1x), and we value Amex points at 2.2 cents each. That means the same $5,000 payment could be worth $220, or $75 after accounting for the Melio credit card payment fee.

Using Melio could be especially helpful if you’re working toward meeting the minimum spending requirement on a credit card welcome offer. For example, if you need to spend $5,000 to meet your offer and you have $5,000 in upcoming vendor payments, you could use Melio to pay for those expenses with a credit card. It would cost $145 in fees, but it could be worth it if the welcome offer bonus is worth much more than that.

When Paying Melio’s Credit Card Fee Is Worth It

Paying Melio’s credit card fee makes sense if you’re working toward a welcome offer, your card’s rewards are valuable enough to cover it, or you need more time to pay:

• Meeting a welcome offer: Spending enough to earn a credit card welcome offer can yield rewards that far exceed the cost of the payment.
• Earning transferable points: Earning transferable points or miles can offset some or all of the credit card payment fee, depending on your card’s rewards earning rate.
• Managing cash flow: Paying with a credit card can give you more time to pay, but interest charges can quickly wipe out the value of rewards.

Credit Cards You Can Use With Melio

Melio supports all 4 major payment networks: American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa, but acceptance varies by card type and payment category. American Express payments are limited to vendors in approved industries, but the list is long and includes professional services, general contractors, accounting, utilities, and tax payments.

You can use a Visa, Mastercard, or other payment method instead if your vendor isn’t within an approved Amex industry. Businesses can use Melio to make common business-to-business payments, such as rent, taxes, utilities, and software. Personal payments, balance transfers, cash advances, and payroll are not supported.

Melio vs. Plastiq

Melio and Plastiq both allow you to make ACH or check payments, but pay with a credit card. Here’s how they compare.

You can use either service to earn credit card rewards on expenses you’d otherwise have to pay with an ACH or check. Melio’s standard credit card payment fee is slightly lower, and it includes 5 free ACH transfers. Plastiq charges $0.99 for electronic delivery and $1.49 for checks.

Is Melio Legit?

Melio is a legitimate business payment platform acquired by the accounting software company Xero in October 2025, and it is used by major companies, including Capital One, Shopify, and Fiserv.

Security measures that protect business payments on Melio include multifactor authentication, encryption, and continuous monitoring; it also uses a Level 1 PCI-compliant third-party payment processor and doesn’t store sensitive card information on its servers. The Melio risk and compliance team reviews transactions and verifies user information when necessary to help prevent fraud.

Melio Pros and Cons

How To Get a $200 Gift Card With Melio

If you sign up as a new Melio user with the Upgraded Points referral link, you can receive a $200 gift card after you make your first payment of at least $500 using any payment method.

Accountants’ clients and businesses managed by accounting firms are ineligible to earn the gift card. Qualifying payments can use any payment method, so you could earn the gift card without paying a credit card processing fee.

Final Thoughts

It’s possible that with the 2.9% processing fee for credit cards, you’d pay more than you earn with standard cash-back cards. That said, Melio is a useful payment tool for business owners with expenses that otherwise wouldn’t earn rewards, especially if you’re working toward a welcome offer or earning valuable transferable rewards.