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For many of us, rent or mortgage payments are among our highest monthly expenses. And a lot of the time, you’re stuck making these payments through bank accounts instead of using credit cards to earn valuable travel rewards on your spending.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, there are many companies on the market that make it possible to make rent or mortgage payments with a credit card — and earn rewards while doing so. Plus, Bilt added the ability to earn valuable Bilt Points on mortgage payments (in addition to rent) in its sweeping refresh earlier this year, offering another option.
Here’s what you need to know about paying for housing expenses with a credit card.
Paying your rent or mortgage without fees
It’s quite rare to find an apartment complex or landlord willing to accept credit card payments without an interchange fee. Still, it’s worth bringing up when you go apartment hunting, because lease payments can result in significant rewards.
For example, if your rent is $1,500 monthly, and you pay with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees), the card will earn 1.5% cash back (which can be converted to 1.5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent, if you pair it with an eligible card). After 12 payments (spending $18,000 on rent), you will have earned $270 in cash back or 27,000 Ultimate Rewards points, worth about $554 per TPG’s April 2026 valuations.
However, you’ll likely be charged a processing fee on rent payments made with a credit card.
Using Bilt to earn points
You can earn valuable Bilt points on housing expenses without paying a transaction fee if you hold a Bilt credit card and use the Bilt program to pay your rent or mortgage.
As long as you pay with one of Bilt’s three credit cards and allow Bilt to debit the rent or mortgage charge from your bank via automated clearing house, you can unlock points on your rent — all while avoiding any transaction fees.
There are some extra steps members need to take to ensure they’ll earn points on their rent or mortgage payments. And, since the Bilt program was revamped early this year, these payments no longer go against a credit line, so they’re not exactly credit card payments.
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Still, this is how I pay my monthly rent, since I love collecting valuable Bilt points. Per TPG’s April 2026 valuations, Bilt points are worth 2.2 cents each.
I have the premium Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees), but the same goes if you carry the mid-tier Bilt Obsidian Card (see rates and fees) or no-annual-fee Bilt Blue Card (see rates and fees).
The most important consideration here is that Bilt members have to select a pathway to earn rewards on these payments. There are two options:
Bilt Cash (up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year): With this method, you’ll earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on all nonhousing purchases made with your Bilt card. Then, you can redeem Bilt Cash for various rewards, including unlocking Bilt points on housing payments at a rate of 3 cents per point to unlock up to 1 point per dollar spent on Bilt housing payments each month.
For instance, if you pay $1,000 for rent each month, you could redeem up to $30 of Bilt Cash per month to unlock up to 1,000 Bilt points per month. So, you’d need to spend $750 on nonhousing purchases with your Bilt card to earn $30 in Bilt Cash.
Housing-only rewards: You can still earn Bilt points on housing, whether you have one of the Bilt credit cards or not. If you choose to make your housing payments with an eligible Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover credit card, you’ll pay a processing fee and usually earn 1 point per $2 spent (excluding rent payment fees). If you pay rent via Bilt with a debit card or any other type of credit card, you’ll earn 250 points per monthly payment.
Finally, you can pay rent through Bilt with an eligible Atmos Rewards card to earn 3 Atmos Rewards points per dollar spent on rent*. You can also pay with an eligible United MileagePlus card to earn 2 United miles per dollar spent on rent*.
*On up to $50,000 per year.
Related: Should you pay your rent or mortgage with Bilt? We crunch the numbers
Paying your rent with a credit card
Some third-party service providers will allow you to pay your rent, mortgage and almost any other bill with a wide range of credit cards and debit cards. However, you’ll have to pay a fee.
Here’s a chart of two third-party payment providers that accept credit cards, along with their respective fees.
| Company | Fees | Cards accepted for rent payments |
|---|---|---|
|
2.99% |
|
|
|
ACH payments: $1.95 |
|
|
|
Credit: 3% |
|
Plastiq is by far the most popular service. It also runs occasional promotions that further reduce the fees. With Venmo, you’ll incur a 3% fee when paying another user with a credit card, but you won’t pay any additional fees when paying with a debit card.
That said, the fee for paying your rent with a credit card via Plastiq has increased several times over the past few years.
Related: How to earn points and pay lower fees with Plastiq
Paying your mortgage with a credit card
It is generally impossible to make mortgage payments with a credit card, unless you want to incur high fees (as with rent).
However, Plastiq allows you to make these payments through its program if you pay with a Diners Club, Discover or Mastercard card. American Express and Visa cards are not eligible.
And Plastiq occasionally rolls out promotions for new users that offer lower fees. If you opt in for Plastiq during a 2%-fee promo, you could come out ahead by paying your mortgage with the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees).
The Citi Double Cash card earns 2 ThankYou points per dollar — 1 point when you make the purchase and 1 point when you pay your bill. If you pay a $2,000 mortgage through Plastiq during a 2% promo, you’ll pay $40 in fees and earn $76 worth of points, per TPG’s April 2026 valuations.
Related: These are the best credit cards for everyday spending
When does it make sense to pay a fee?
There are some select instances in which it makes sense to pay a fee to make housing payments with a credit card and earn points or miles.
For one, if you’re working to meet a minimum spending requirement to earn a welcome offer, especially with cards requiring $5,000 or more within a specified time period, it could make sense to put rent on the card.
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees) requires you to spend $6,000 in the first three months from account opening to earn 75,000 bonus points. That bonus is worth $1,425, per TPG’s April valuations, so if your fees are less than that amount (and you don’t have other methods to meet the spending requirement), it could make sense to incur them.
In any case, calculate the value of the points or miles you’ll earn to determine if they are worth more than the fee you’ll pay. If the fees for paying with a credit card are greater than the value of the rewards you’ll earn, it’s likely not the best choice to pay your rent or mortgage with a credit card.
However, when Plastiq has promos, or if you get enough friends and family members to sign up through your promo code (which gives you fee-free dollars), you can come out ahead.
Related: Should I pay with a rewards credit card even if it incurs fees?
Best credit cards to pay your rent or mortgage
When it comes to the best credit cards for paying your rent or mortgage, I’d recommend one that earns more than 1 point or mile per dollar spent on all purchases, as well as cards that integrate well with the Bilt ecosystem.
Cards with standout welcome offers are also worth considering.
- Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card: Earn 100,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award after spending $6,500 or more on purchases within the first 90 days from opening your account. Additionally, receive a 50% flight discount code for a qualifying future flight after opening your account.
- Bilt Palladium Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points and Bilt Gold status (through the rest of the calendar year in which it was earned and the following calendar year) after spending $4,000 on nonhousing purchases in the first three months from account opening. Cardholders also receive $300 in Bilt Cash upon approval.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Citi Double Cash: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months from account opening.
- Chase Freedom Unlimited: Earn a $250 bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
- United Quest℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 90,000 bonus miles and 3,000 PQPs after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after adding an authorized user in the first three months from account opening.
Related: How to choose the best credit card for you
Bottom line
If you decide to pay your housing expenses with a credit card, there are many routes you can take.
If you aren’t lucky enough to negotiate a fee-free payment method, you may want to use one of the third-party payment providers. Or, if you go with Bilt, you’ll need to factor in how you want to earn rewards — and the fact that your housing payment will be pulled directly from your bank account through ACH.
Otherwise, you should expect to pay transaction fees if you opt to pay rent or a mortgage with a credit card, in most cases. But, if you’re working to meet a high-value welcome bonus, where the value outweighs how much you’ll pay in processing fees, it may make sense to pay with a credit card regardless.
Related: New TPG Bilt calculator helps you easily maximize the Bilt 2.0 program
