The 6 Best Credit Cards for Paying Rent [2024]

For many Americans, rent is one of the biggest recurring expenses. However, not many know that paying your rent with a credit card is possible.

If you’re looking to pay your rent with a credit card, you are most likely looking to accumulate rewards for the payment. Paying thousands of dollars in rent each year and not using the right credit card can mean you may miss out on thousands of points and miles each year.

However, there are some things that you need to look out for. Often, using a credit card to pay rent comes with additional fees.

In this guide, we will look at what you need to consider when paying rent with a credit card and some of the best cards you should use. Let’s get started!

The 6 Best Credit Cards for Paying Rent

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Card Benefits
Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card	No welcome offer available. Annual fee of $0	1x Bilt Rewards points on rent (up to 100,000 points per calendar year)
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95 (rates & fees)	2x Capital One miles on every purchase, including rent
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $395 (rates & fees)	2x Capital One miles on every purchase, including rent
Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases. Annual fee of $0	1.5% cash-back on every purchase, including rent
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express	Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Annual fee of $0 (rates & fees)	2x Membership Rewards points on every purchase (up to $50,000), including rent
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card	Earn $750 cash back after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0	1.5% cash-back on every purchase, including rent

What To Consider When Paying Rent With a Credit Card

Rewards vs. Fees

There are generally fees associated with using a credit card to pay rent. These fees are usually charged as a percentage of the payment amount and can vary significantly but typically hover around 2.5% to 3.5%.

For example, let’s assume your rent is $1,500, and the apartment complex charges a 3.5% fee to pay using a credit card. This means that you would pay a fee of $52.50 on top of your rent just to use a credit card. Generally, the only time you should ever consider paying rent with a credit card is if the rewards you’ll earn outweigh the cost of earning those rewards.

For example, let’s say you use a card that earns 2x points per dollar for the amount in the example above. This means you will earn at least $30 in points, assuming those points are worth 1 cent per point. Fortunately, most transferrable point currencies, such as American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, are worth much more.

If you only had a card that earns 2% cash-back (with the points being worth 1 cent per point), it would be best to avoid paying rent with that credit card unless your landlord charges a fee of less than 2%.

If you have done the math and the rewards you can potentially earn are higher than the fees you need to pay, then using a credit card to pay your rent is an obvious choice.

Plastiq for Bill Payments

Plastiq, a popular third-party service, allows you to use debit or credit cards to pay bills that don’t typically accept cards as payment.

Plastiq charges you a processing fee, which can be expensive. As of January 2024, the fee is 2.9% for both credit and debit cards. Although the fee charged for the convenience is quite high, using the right credit card can still put you ahead. Plastiq also has occasional promotions that can reduce your costs.

All you need to do is add a credit card to your Plastiq account and charge it in the amount of the rent bill. Plastiq will then cut a check to your landlord on your behalf.

It is worth noting that some issuers may consider this type of purchase a cash advance, which does not earn rewards and comes with extremely high interest rates and fees. It is best to do your due diligence before using this service.

Meeting a Minimum Spending Requirement

Another great option for paying rent with a credit card, despite additional fees, is when you are meeting a minimum spending requirement for a new welcome bonus.

For example, say you have a minimum spending requirement of $10,000 in 3 months, but you typically only spend $2,000 per month. Charging your rent to your card can help you meet the minimum spending requirement, which can result in a huge welcome bonus.

Because welcome bonuses are incredibly valuable when earning travel rewards, paying the associated fees using a credit card to pay your rent can make sense.

The 4 Best Personal Credit Cards for Paying Rent

As mentioned above, paying rent with a credit card can help you earn thousands of extra points each month. Now that we know the concept behind the fees associated with paying your rent with a credit card, let’s look at some of the best credit cards to help maximize your rewards.

Bilt Card (Best for No-Additional-Fee Rent Payments)

The best credit card for paying your rent would be one created just for that purpose. The Bilt card is the first of its kind and allows you to earn credit card rewards on your rent without paying any sort of transaction fee.

Although the Bilt card doesn’t have a welcome bonus, it has some great bonus categories that can help you earn points faster. With the Bilt card, you can earn:

• Up to 5x points on Lyft rides
• 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery and takeout
• 2x points on travel (when booked directly with an airline, hotel, car rental, or cruise company or through the Bilt travel portal)
• 1x points on rent (up to 100,000 points per calendar year)
• 1x points on everything else.

You must make at least 5 transactions per statement to earn the bonus rewards for spending. Cardholders can earn up to 100,000 Bilt Rewards points per year on rent.

Unlike nearly every other credit card, you can use the Bilt card to pay rent and earn points without the transaction fee. This alone makes it the best card to use for rent purchases, as this can save hundreds of dollars per year in fees. Best of all, the Bilt card provides all this value and does not have an annual fee.

Bilt also has its own network called the Bilt Rewards Alliance, which consists of landlords all around the country that accept rent through payments on the Bilt card. However, if your landlord is not a part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance and only accepts checks, you can still participate in the program and charge your rent to the Bilt card. Bilt will then write a check to your landlord on your behalf.

The Bilt Rewards points you earn are also quite valuable. As with most transferrable points programs, there are numerous Bilt transfer partners, including American Airlines AAdvantage, British Airways Executive Club, United MileagePlus, and World of Hyatt, among others.

According to our valuations, Bilt Rewards points are worth 1.8 cents per point. If your rent is $1,500 and you charge it to the Bilt card, you can earn an extra 18,000 Bilt Rewards points each year, worth $324. That is a significant return for a card with no annual fee.

Hot Tip:

Thanks to the program’s many transfer partners, Bilt Rewards points are highly valuable. Check out our guide on the best ways to earn lots of Bilt Rewards points.

Capital One Venture Card (Best for Earning Miles on Every Purchase)

The Capital One Venture card is an excellent all-around travel rewards card with a very reasonable $95 annual fee (rates & fees). It has a solid welcome bonus offer and good miles-earning rates on everyday purchases. It also earns valuable Capital One miles and offers several different redemption options.

Cardholders earn an unlimited 2x miles on every purchase, making the card an excellent option for everyday spending. It also serves as a great card for non-bonus spending categories, like rent, that other cards may not have. The Capital One Venture card also earns 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

The Capital One Venture card’s benefits include purchase security, travel insurance, and auto rental insurance. Being a travel rewards card, you also get some perks like a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application credit of up to $100. The Capital One Venture card has no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees).

This card allows the opportunity to earn Capital One miles. According to our valuations, Capital One miles are worth 1.8 cents per point. This means that any everyday spending, including rent, on the Capital One Venture card is equivalent to getting a 3.6% return on spend. As long as the fees associated with paying rent with a credit card are less than 3.6%, paying rent with the Capital One Venture card is a solid option.

Capital One Venture X Card (Best for Earning Miles & Premium Benefits)

The Capital One Venture X card is easily one of the best credit cards available today. The ultra-premium travel rewards card offers a fantastic welcome bonus offer, solid rewards-earning potential, and numerous travel benefits.

Bonus categories include an unlimited 10x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel, 5x miles on flights purchased through Capital One Travel, and 2x miles on all other purchases.

As a luxury travel card, the Capital One Venture X card also offers lounge access to Priority Pass lounges, select Plaza Premium Lounges, and Capital One Lounges. The card also comes with a credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

The Capital One Venture X card does come with a hefty $395 annual fee (rates & fees). However, the card also comes with an annual travel credit of up to $300 for bookings made through Capital One Travel, which helps mitigate the annual fee. Additionally, you’ll receive 10,000 bonus miles, equal to $100 towards travel, every year, starting on your first anniversary.

The 2x miles on all non-bonus purchases make the Capital One Venture X card a solid option for paying rent. Similar to the Capital One Venture card, the Capital One Venture X card also earns Capital One miles, worth 1.8 cents per point according to our valuations. As long as the fees associated with paying rent with a credit card are less than 3.6%, the Capital One Venture X card is an excellent card to use.

Freedom Unlimited Card (Best for Cash-Back on Every Purchase)

Thanks to its simple yet high earning potential, the Freedom Unlimited card is another excellent card.

With the Freedom Unlimited card, you can earn 5% cash-back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel portal and 5% cash-back on all Lyft rides through March 31, 2025. You can also earn 3% cash-back on dining and drugstore purchases. All other non-bonus category spending earns an unlimited 1.5% cash-back.

Although the Freedom Unlimited card earns highly valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the points cannot be transferred to Chase’s hotel and airline transfer partners unless the card is paired with one of Chase’s premium travel cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® or the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card. You can significantly increase the value of your rewards when you redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points vs. cash-back.

The Freedom Unlimited card’s 1.5% cash-back on all non-bonus category spending is excellent, especially when it comes to paying rent. There’s no limit to how many Ultimate Rewards points you can earn, and your rewards will not expire for as long as you have the card.

According to our valuations, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 2 cents per point, meaning that the Freedom Unlimited card’s 1.5% cash-back can be worth 3%. However, this is only true when transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Chase’s transfer partners.

If the Freedom Unlimited card is the only Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning card you have, it may not be worth using it to pay rent as the value of the points is significantly less. However, if the fee for paying rent with a credit card is less than 3% and you hold a more premium Chase travel rewards credit card, the Freedom Unlimited card is a solid option.

The 2 Best Business Credit Cards for Paying Rent

Now that we looked at some of the best personal cards to pay rent, we thought it would be worth mentioning some business credit cards for small business owners.

Amex Blue Business Plus Card (Best for No Annual Fee, Intro APR Offer)

The Amex Blue Business Plus card is one of the best overall small business credit cards available.

It has a simple earning structure of 2x Membership Rewards points on everyday business purchases up to $50,000 per year. After reaching that threshold, the card earns 1x points. Best of all, the Amex Blue Business Plus card does not have an annual fee.

According to our valuations, American Express Membership Rewards points are the most valuable from any credit card loyalty program at 2.2 cents per point.

This means that all spending (up to $50,000 per year) will earn you a 4.4% return on spend. If the fees associated with paying your business’ rent with a credit card are less than 4.4%, using the Amex Blue Business Plus card is a good option.

Hot Tip:

American Express Membership Rewards can be quite valuable for award travel. Check out our guide on the best ways to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points for max value.

Ink Business Unlimited Card (Best for Unlimited Cash-Back on Every Purchase)

The Ink Business Unlimited card is another excellent small business credit card that offers a simple rewards-earning structure with no annual fee.

Every purchase earns an unlimited 1.5% cash-back, and since the card does not have any bonus categories, it is a solid choice for those who want simplicity in earnings.

The Ink Business Unlimited card also earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. However, like the Freedom Unlimited card, the points earned cannot be transferred to Chase’s travel partners without the help of a more premium Ultimate Rewards credit card, such as the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card.

Final Thoughts

Just because you can pay rent with a credit card does not mean you should.

When it comes to paying rent with a credit card, the decision is generally quite simple. Unless you carry the Bilt card, you should only pay your rent with a credit card if the rewards you’ll earn are worth more than the cost of earning the rewards.

Since fees vary from one apartment complex or landlord to the next, it’s important to know how much your complex may charge to use a credit card. Knowing how much you will pay in fees will make your decision to pay rent with a credit card that much easier.

Fortunately, the credit cards covered in this article provide a ton of value and can help you earn thousands of extra points and miles each year.

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For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa^® or Mastercard^® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.