Can You Pay Rent With a Credit Card?
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Rent is often the most important — and the largest — payment people have to worry about. And if you’re in a bind with a looming rent bill, you may be looking toward your credit card for a way out. However, it’s not always possible to pay your rent with a credit card.
Many landlords will not allow you to use a credit card for rent. And if they do, there are typically extra fees tacked on to your rent. Using credit cards for your rent bill can help if you’re in a pinch, but evaluate your other options first.
How to pay rent with a credit card
- Find out if you’re allowed to pay rent with a credit card: Not all apartments or rentals will let you use a credit card to pay rent. Either check with your payment platform or your landlord to see if credit cards are acceptable. Software like Plastiq or PlacePay may allow you to pay rent for a fee with a credit card if your landlord doesn’t accept credit cards.
- Choose which credit card you want to pay with: If you can pay with a credit card and you’ve decided that’s the best option, then review which credit cards will fit your rent purchase the best. If you can, pay it off quickly, and then use a rewards credit card. But if you can’t, then try a balance transfer credit card or other low-interest credit card.
- Submit your payment and come up with a plan to pay off your credit card balance in full and on time: It’s OK to use a credit card for rent to buy yourself some time. But since rent is costly, you should have a plan or savings to help you pay your card off and avoid accruing interest on a large balance.
- Find an alternative method of paying rent if you’re not able to use a card: There are other options if you can’t pull together rent on time, like applying for an emergency loan or requesting a cash advance. Keep in mind that each option also has downsides and should only be used for emergencies.
What’s the best credit card for paying rent?
The Bilt World Elite MasterCard® is an excellent choice for paying rent. It’s one of the very few cards that allows you to earn rewards from paying rent. You’ll earn Earn 1X points on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year; up to 5X Bilt points on Lyft rides when you link your Bilt account and pay with your Bilt card; 2X points on travel, 3X points on dining, 1X points on other purchases. Use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points..
It has a $0 annual fee and you won’t have to worry about credit card transaction fees adding to your rent payment. You can redeem the rewards you earn on rent for free flights or hotel rooms with travel partners like Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Marriott and Hyatt.
Pros and cons of paying rent with a credit card
| Can allow you extra time to pay rent: If you're getting paid a few days after your rent is due, this could help you pay rent and avoid a hit to your credit score — as long as you pay your card off on time. Can earn rewards: You may earn rewards on rent if you pay with a rewards credit card. Some credit cards, like the Bilt Mastercard, offer elevated rewards on rent payments. Can help you build credit: Paying rent with a credit card and paying it off on time and in full can potentially help you improve your credit score. Can help you meet a sign-up bonus threshold: Paying rent to qualify for a sign-up bonus can prevent you from overspending on other things during the card's earning period. | Can incur extra fees: You'll likely have to pay processing fees around 3% in order to pay rent with a credit card. Subject to interest: If you don't pay off your credit card in full, you'll rack up interest fees. Depending on your card's APR and your rent amount, you can face some steep charges. Can increase your credit utilization rate: Your credit utilization rate is how much of your credit you've used compared to your total available credit. A rent payment can take up a good chunk of your available credit — which may negatively impact your credit score. |
Is it worth paying your rent with a credit card?
In most cases, the downsides are not worth paying rent with a credit card.
You’ll usually incur expensive fees. For instance, a 3% processing fee for a $2,000 rent payment would cost you $60. If you don’t pay off your full credit card balance at the end of the billing cycle, you could pay more fees and interest on top of this. Plus, you risk building up credit card debt that you can’t afford to pay off.
The processing fees will usually exceed any credit card rewards that you earn. The one exception where paying rent with a credit card may make sense is meeting the spending threshold to earn a large sign-up bonus. However, you should only do this if you have the funds to pay off your balance.
If you frequently find yourself short on cash when rent is due, you should create a plan to avoid using your credit card. You can do this by creating a checking or savings account dedicated to hold your rent money. Try setting your bank account to send a portion of your paycheck each week to that separate account. This can help you avoid spending the money before rent is due.
Alternatives to paying rent with a credit card
If you don’t have enough money to pay rent, you have other options besides paying with a credit card:
Ask your landlord for an extension
Talking to your landlord is a simple and free option to try and buy yourself some more time to pay rent. You can try explaining that you’re not getting paid for a few days after rent is due.
This may work especially well if this is a one-off instance. If this happens several times a year, then it may be time to look into your spending and saving strategy.
Get an emergency loan
An emergency loan can help you get cash quickly — but you’ll have to pay interest on it.
To qualify, your credit generally has to be in good shape. However, you may be able to qualify for a secured loan with bad credit. These require some type of collateral.
Request a cash advance
A cash advance lets you acquire cash using your credit card’s line of credit. There’s usually a high cash advance fee of 5% and a high APR associated with it.
You should only resort to this option if there’s no way to use a credit card for rent payments and you don’t qualify for an emergency loan.
Frequently asked questions
Depending on your credit card, you may be able to earn rewards for paying rent. The Bilt Mastercard, for example, lets you earn 1x points on rent that you can transfer to different travel partners.
The credit card processing fee is typically around 2.9% of your payment amount. The higher your rent payment, the more fees you’ll have to pay.
If you do choose to pay rent with a credit card, the Bilt World Elite MasterCard® is the best one to use. It doesn’t charge a processing fee for rent. It’s also one of the only credit cards on the market that offers transferable points for paying rent.
Rent payments usually don’t help with your credit score. However, you can use a service that reports your rent payments to the three credit bureaus, like Experian Boost (which is free). Be aware that some reporting services may cost a fee.
For a $0 annual fee, you can also use the Bilt World Elite MasterCard® to build credit and earn rewards from your rent.