Can you pay rent with a credit card?

Credit cards are a simple and secure means to pay for essentials like groceries and monthly bills. Plus, many rewards credit cards offer points, miles or cash back for your purchases. Although it may be appealing to charge your rent payment to your credit card, doing so may not be straightforward or cost-effective.

Here’s what you need to know about paying rent with a credit card, including potential fees and guidance on whether it’s the best option.

How to pay rent with a credit card

A primary motivation for some to pay their rent with a credit card is the opportunity to earn valuable credit card rewards back on a significant monthly expense.

There are several payment platforms that you can use to pay your rent with a credit card. It’s rare for landlords to accept credit cards for rent payments, so you’ll typically have to utilize a third-party payment platform. However, these services come with a cost, starting at 2.9% of the payment amount.

Third-party payment services

As an example, Plastiq, a third-party payment platform, permits individuals and businesses to use their debit or credit card for payments to vendors who do not typically accept those forms of payment. Plastiq applies a flat 2.9% fee for each transaction. If you used Plastiq to pay your monthly $2,000 rent, you would incur an extra $58 in fees.

Some services, like RentMoola (this one needs your landlord’s permission first), are designed to let you pay your rent with a credit card. Credit cards are accepted by this service, though there is a fee of 2.99% to 3.99%, depending on the specific card used.

Widely used payment services, like Venmo and PayPal, offer a convenient option to pay rent using a credit card, as long as your landlord has an account with either Venmo or PayPal. Using a credit card incurs a 3.0% or 2.99% fee, respectively, while paying with a debit card or prepaid card with these services is free of charge. 

Use the Bilt Mastercard to pay your rent without fees

With the revolutionary Bilt World Elite Mastercard®, you can use a credit card to pay your rent without incurring any fees. Instead of making rent payments directly to the private landlord, Bilt generates a unique account and checking number for each cardholder. You then use these account numbers (in place of your personal checking account) to pay in your landlord’s online portal and your monthly rent will get charged to your Bilt Mastercard. If your landlord/property doesn’t have an online portal, Bilt can send a physical check to your landlord. This makes it possible to accrue valuable Bilt Rewards to redeem for dining, travel or even future rent payments.

The card carries no annual fee and earns 1 point per $1 on rent payments without a transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each year), 2 points per $1 on travel (when booked through the Bilt Travel Portal or directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company), 3 points per $1 on dining and 1 point per $1 on other purchases. At least five transactions must be made per statement period to earn these rewards. There’s no fee for paying your rent with the card, making the Bilt Mastercard a cost-effective solution for those who want to earn credit card rewards for paying rent.

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Bilt World Elite Mastercard®

Rates & Fees / Terms Apply

Apply Now

On Bilt’s Secure Website

Welcome Bonus

N/A

N/A

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

See terms

Credit Score

Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.

(700 – 749) Good, Excellent

1x on rent payments without a transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each calendar year). 2x points on travel (when booked directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company). 3x points on dining. Plus, 1x points on other purchases. Use the card 5 times to earn points each statement period.

Editor’s Take

Pros

• Earns rewards on rent payments.
• No transaction fee for paying rent by credit card.
• No annual fee or foreign currency conversion fee.

Cons

• You must make five transactions per billing period to earn rewards.
• No welcome bonus or intro APR period.
• Restrictive definition of what counts as a travel purchase.

It’s almost unheard of for a credit card to offer specific rewards for paying rent, but the Bilt Mastercard does. Not only that, but the card also allows you to avoid the transaction fee that most landlords tack on for paying rent by credit card. The no-annual-fee card also earns elevated rewards rates on dining and travel, lets you transfer points 1:1 to airline and hotel partners and provides an auto rental collision damage waiver, too.

Card Details

• $0 annual fee
• Earn 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel (when booked directly with an airline, hotels, car rental agencies, and cruise lines), 1x points on rent payments without a transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each calendar year) and 1x points on other purchases
• Earn double points on the first of the month (i.e. 6X points on dining, 4X on travel and 2X on other purchases; except rent)
• Earn points when you make 5 transactions that post each statement period
• Cell Phone Protection
• Purchase Security (theft and damage protection)
• World Elite Concierge
• Lyft Credits
• No foreign currency conversion fee
• Rewards & benefits terms
• Select ‘Apply Now’ to learn more about the product features, terms, and conditions.

Pros and cons of paying rent with a credit card

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a credit card to pay rent which we’ll outline below.

Pros

• Earn credit card rewards. Putting big rent payments on your credit card each month can be an easy way to accrue valuable travel rewards. For many people, rent is one of their largest expenditures, so this could be an ideal means to earn plenty of points annually. 
• Welcome bonus potential on a new card. New cards often offer a points bonanza if you put a lot of spending on your card within a certain time period after opening the account. Paying your rent on a new credit card can help you meet that spending goal.
• Improve your credit score. Using credit cards and other loans responsibly, by paying them in a timely manner and not carrying too high of a balance relative to what you owe is a recipe for building a strong credit profile.

Cons

• Potential to accrue too much debt. Credit cards can help you make purchases when money is tight, but they also come with the risk of amassing sizable debt if you revolve a balance month to month.
• There may be fees. In most cases, there will be processing fees to use a third-party payment service to pay your rent with a card. These costs can negate any rewards you earn by using the card.
• Potential harm to your credit. Paying your rent using a credit card can increase your credit utilization ratio, which matters because it accounts for 30% of your credit score. Individuals with high credit scores keep their credit utilization ratio low, generally under 30%. 

What to do when you can’t pay rent

If you’re having difficulty paying your rent, it’s important to contact your landlord promptly. Explain the situation and ask for help. They might be open to working with you if you have a good rapport with them and a history of timely rent payments. Taking a proactive approach can significantly increase your chances of reaching a fair settlement. Landlords prefer keeping tenants in place rather than dealing with vacancies or eviction proceedings. 

It may also benefit you to explore options for help with your rent. Explore the Internet for rental assistance resources specific to your town, city, county and state to discover eligibility criteria. In addition, you can reach out to local government offices such as your town hall, city council or representative’s office for help. Additionally, some social service agencies or houses or worship may offer relief funds for short-term assistance.

Alternatives to paying rent with a credit card

If you don’t have a Bilt Mastercard and don’t want to pay a third-party fee to use a credit card, or your landlord doesn’t accept credit card payments for rent, you can pay with a debit card or by ACH bank transfers.

Some third-party service providers, for example, will let you pay your rent using a debit card. Some will tack on a fixed charge percentage or dollar amount, but if your landlord is fine with it, you can pay your rent fee-free with a debit card via Venmo, as long as your landlord has a Venmo account.

In addition, ACH transfers, which allow for direct deposit into your landlord’s bank account, are typically the most efficient method for sending rent payments since there is no need to wait for a check. ACH transfers are usually free or come at a low cost.

As a last option, you can mail a check to your landlord to cover your monthly rent. None of these options, however, will allow you to earn travel rewards or cash back on your rent payment.