How to Pay for Rent (and Earn Points) With a Credit Card

Rewards cards earn points or miles on everyday purchase, like gas and groceries. They can be a great way to save money on necessary expenses, especially when you pay off your balance in full every month. Of course, it's not always practical to use a credit card, especially when the expense incurs a transaction fee. These fees can be as high as 3.5%, and would probably nullify any rewards or cash back you might earn

This is the case for rent payments. When most renters use a credit card to pay rent, they're hit with a processing fee, often around 3% of the amount to be paid. For example, if your monthly rent is $2,000, you'd pay $60 in fees with a 3% processing fee. That makes using even the best cash back cards impractical, as most would only earn 1% back for rent anyway.

That said, for savvy renters who want to earn credit card rewards on rent, there is one credit card that doesn't charge processing fees. It's the Bilt Mastercard®, and it's perhaps the best credit card a renter could have.

The Bilt Mastercard® evades processing fees through an innovative method

The Bilt Mastercard® is a no fee credit card designed to help renters earn rewards. The card gives you two ways to avoid transaction fees on rent payments. The first is with your card's unique checking and routing number. Much like linking a regular checking account, this number turns the transaction into an ACH transfer, which doesn't incur a processing fee. Secondly, Bilt can mail your landlord a check, if they prefer to be paid that way.

Both methods have the potential to earn rewards. For rent payments, you can earn 1x points, up to 100,000 points per calendar year. The card also earns 2x points on flights, hotels, rental cars, and cruises when booked directly with airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies, 3x points on dining, and 1X points on other purchases. What's more, Bilt will double any points earned on the first of every month (excluding rent). For example, on May 1, you could earn 6X points on dining and restaurant purchases. That said, to earn points at all, you must use the card five times within a statement period.

As with other rewards credit cards, the value of your points depend on how you redeem them. In general, you can get about $0.0125 per point when you redeem them for travel. At that rate, you would earn $25 on a $2,000 rent payment.

More than just a credit card to pay rent

What I really like about this card is that you can transfer your points to other airline and hotel partners, including the following:

• American Airlines
• Air Canada
• Asia Airlines
• Emirates Airline
• Flying Blue (Air France & KLM)
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Hyatt
• IHG

This lineup of travel partners is really good for a card that doesn't charge an annual fee. What's more, the card is packed with valuable insurance, such as cellphone protection (up to $800 of protection against theft and damage), auto rental collision damage, purchase security (up to $10,000 of reimbursement for items purchased on card within the last 90 days), trip cancellation and protection, and trip delay reimbursement.

Of course, the card isn't perfect. It doesn't have a welcome bonus, nor a 0% intro APR period. If you're not able to pay your card in full each statement period, you'll also pay interest on any unpaid balances.

But if rent has been a gaping hole in your rewards strategy, the Bilt Mastercard® might deserve a place in your credit card collection. Considering that rent payments make up a large portion of a renter's budget, generating points on that expense can really add up over the years. If you're interested, check out the details on our Bilt Mastercard® review page and see if it's a good fit for you.