Why I Gladly Pay a 2.85% Credit Card Fee on Rent Every Month

Ah, rent. While it’s one of life’s necessities, I don’t know anyone who likes paying it. The silver lining is that I can earn a ton of points and miles every year by paying rent with a credit card.

Even though options exist for earning points on rent without any administrative fees largely thanks to Bilt Rewards, I deliberately choose to pay a fee on rent every month. Yes, you read that correctly: I pay a 2.85% fee on my rent every month because it offers a ton of valuable rewards in return.

Here’s the method to my madness.

Is Paying Rent on a Credit Card Worth It?

Most landlords don’t take rent payments by credit card directly. If your landlord does, and they don’t charge a fee for this, consider yourself lucky — never move out of that apartment.

Instead, if you want to pay rent with a credit card, you’ll likely use some sort of third-party payment processor. There are fees for these services, of course. Plastiq is a common example, charging a 2.9% fee on most payment types.

Luckily, our landlord uses a payment system with a built-in credit card option, and my wife and I can pay our monthly rent this way by bank account (no fee) or credit card (2.85% fee). For reference, our rent here in Orange County, California is $2,100 per month, meaning that fee tacks on another $59.85 onto our monthly rent payment.

Why I Don’t Have a Bilt Mastercard

But why would I choose to pay this fee when there’s a program completely focused on earning points from rent payments without these administrative processing fees? Enter Bilt Rewards.

The startup offers the ability to earn points on your rent payments (among other point-earning opportunities) each month with no transaction fees along the way.

That said, how you earn points on rent depends on whether you have the Bilt Mastercard (rates & fees). With this card, you can earn 1 point per dollar spent on rent each month, up to 100,000 points per year. If you’re paying less than $8,333 in rent per month, that limit shouldn’t be an issue. Note that you need to make at least 5 non-rent transactions on this card each month to earn points at this rate.

Bilt Mastercard

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The information regarding the Bilt Mastercard was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. 

Bilt Mastercard

The information regarding the Bilt Mastercard was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. 

Welcome Offer

No offer available

No offer available

Annual Fee

$0

APR

See Rate & Fees

Why We Like This Card

Never before has there been a credit card built specifically with renters in mind. Enter the Bilt Mastercard, designed specifically to help renters earn rewards on their rent payments with no transaction fees.

Of course, aside from rewards on rent, there are many other solid features that the card offers that add extra value to cardholders. In this guide, we provide a complete breakdown of everything the Bilt Card has to offer to help you decide whether the card makes sense for you.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x points per $1 on dining
• 2x points per $1 on travel
• 1x point per $1 on rent payments, without a transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year (plus all other eligible purchases)

Cons

• Does not offer a welcome bonus
• Must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points

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Card Highlights

• $0 Annual Fee
• Earn 1x points on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year
• Earns 3x points on dining, 2x on travel, and 1x on other purchases
• Earn double points on the first of each month (excluding rent, up to 1,000 bonus points)
• Use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points
• Earn up to 5x Bilt points on Lyft rides when you link your Bilt account and pay with your Bilt card
• Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent payments, credit card statement credits, toward a down payment on a home, etc.
• Other features and benefits include: Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Purchase Security, Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection, Cellular Telephone Protection, and Trip Delay Reimbursement
• Select “Apply Now” to learn more about the product features, terms, and conditions

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Rate & Fees
• Foreign Transaction Fees: $0

If you don’t make 5 transactions per month — or don’t have the Bilt Card — then you’ll earn far fewer points. In this situation, you’ll earn just 250 points per month on rent if your landlord participates in Bilt Rewards. Moreover, the Bilt Card doesn’t have a welcome bonus offer for new applicants.

So why don’t I just get the Bilt Card? A few reasons, but I think the numbers here will provide the easiest answer.

Earn Points on Rent Without Transaction Fees

If I had the Bilt Card and paid my monthly rent of $2,100 (plus the 5 other transactions each statement period necessary to earn bonus points), I would earn the 2,100 points per month. Over the course of a year, that’s 25,200 Bilt Points. The maximum number of points you can earn on rent with your card is 100,000 points per calendar year.

We value Bilt points at 1.8 cents each, meaning this stash of points is worth $453.60 per year. However, I think I come out ahead by paying the fee and paying rent on other credit cards instead.

My wife and I exclusively pay our rent on a new credit card for which we’re working on a new welcome bonus offer every month. By doing so, we earn rewards that are worth far more than the fee we incur — or any Bilt points we could potentially earn.

Earn Points on Rent With Fees — And Still Come Out Ahead

In our method, my wife and I pay rent 2 months in a row with a new credit card — one that will provide a good welcome bonus offer after meeting the initial spending requirements. After 2 months, we switch to a different card, repeating this cycle throughout the year by opening additional credit cards to earn more welcome bonus offers.

Note that some of these welcome offers are no longer available, but here are the welcome bonus offers we’ve earned in 2024, exclusively from paying rent on these cards:

*Value according to Upgraded Points’ monthly point valuations and not provided by the card issuer.

Points and Miles Earned on Rent

That’s $4,430 worth of points and miles so far through August, just from paying our rent on credit cards. After subtracting the fees we’ve paid ($478.80), we have $3,861.20 in positive value.

If we had paid rent with the Bilt Card and earned 1 point per dollar each month through August, we’d have just $302.40 worth of Bilt points. A difference of more than $3,000 in rewards is significant.

While it can make sense to pay rent on the Bilt Card each month and earn points along the way, it makes most sense for those who are averse to fees, aren’t trying to rack up as many points as possible, or don’t know that other options exist. For me and my wife, we’re willing to open a new credit card every few months, earn a ton of rewards, and justify the fees along the way.

Drawbacks of Paying Rent on a Credit Card

I won’t pretend that there aren’t negatives to this approach. First, we’re paying extra money on rent every month, due to these credit card processing fees. While they’re justifiable in our eyes, they’re still fees that increase our monthly spending.

Second, you could encounter fees from your credit card. Those could come from late fees, if you forget to pay your bill on time, or interest if you don’t pay your bill in full. Earning extra rewards by paying rent on credit cards is only worth it if you gain more in value than what you’re spending. If you’re paying late fees and interest — plus potentially harming your credit — earning points on rent isn’t worth it.

Final Thoughts

Would I pay my rent with credit cards I already have in my wallet? Definitely not. Earning 2% cash-back or 2 points per dollar while paying 2.85% in fees isn’t worth it.

On the flip side, earning a big welcome bonus offer in exchange for about $60 in fees every month is worth it for us. Every 2 months, I can earn enough miles for a business class flight with our current strategy.

Put simply, I see this as a $60 monthly subscription to award travel. Would I pay $60 a month to keep flying around the world without paying full price for those flights? You bet.