5 Options for Paying Your Mortgage and Rent With a Credit Card

For most of us, housing accounts for one of our largest expenses. Regardless of whether you’re renting or paying a mortgage, chances are it takes a hefty chunk out of your income. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to earn miles on your mortgage and rent payments with a mile-earning credit card? Luckily, there are several options for paying your mortgage and rent with a credit card, at a fairly reasonable cost:

1 – Plastiq

Plastiq is my favorite service for making rent and mortgage payments with a credit card. What’s so great about Plastiq is that is can be used to pay virtually anyone, so if you have student loan or car payments to make, you can earn miles doing it! Plastiq normally charges a 2.5% transaction fee, which is pretty reasonable. Plastiq frequently runs promotions, discounting this rate for certain card issuers (i.e. MasterCard).

Another great Plastiq feature that reduces processing fees? Their referral program. Refer a friend to Plastiq and not only will they earn $500 fee-free dollars after making $500 in payments, but you’ll get $1,000 fee-free dollars. (Note: I’ve included my referral link above)

Plastiq is a great option if you want to pay your mortgage with a credit card and earn rewards. In many instances, the value of the rewards can off-set the transaction fee. If you just want to meet a large credit card spending requirement, then Plastiq is a great way to get that done without much hassle. In my experience, they’re reliable in delivering payments on time, so I would highly recommend Plastiq.

2 – Tio

Tio was acquired by PayPal a few months ago…if you’re mad at PayPal like half the people I know, you’ll be happy to know Tio operates independently from PayPal. Tio charges a 2.8% fee on bill payments (including mortgage) made with a credit card. In addition to accepting every major credit card, Tio also accepts PayPal payments.

3 – Radpad

I personally haven’t used RadPad, but I know lots of people who have and are happy with the service. RadPad accepts credit cards for rent payments at a 2.99% transaction fee. That’s higher than Plastiq, but I’ve included it here for the sake of providing multiple options. RadPad also serves as a listing place (like Craigslist) for apartment rentals, so it’s sort of a one-stop shop for your rental needs.

4 – RentMoola

RentMoola charges a 2.99% fee on rent payments. They also have a “rewards program” called MoolaPerks – it’s really just a coupon page that members can take advantage of. It’s certainly not something I would use the service for, but still worth pointing out. The one good thing about MoolaPerks is that the company runs giveaways on that page, offering credits towards rent payments.

5 – Venmo

Venmo is a popular option among young people these days (i.e. teens and early 20-somethings) for payments. You can sign up with Facebook and easily send money to your friends for that $2 McDonald’s purchase you were too broke to pay for. If you’re an adult with stable income, you’ll be happy to know you can use Venmo to make mortgage and rent payments with a credit card.

The fee is hefty at 3%, but again – this is simply another option I’m listing. It’s also worth noting that debit card payments are free, so if you have a mile-earning debit card, you can earn rewards on rent payments without paying for it!

You should do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for your to pay your rent or mortgage with a rewards credit card. After all, if the fees are high and you’re not maximizing your rewards through high-value redemptions, you could be paying a hefty price. My personal recommendation is to use your credit card for mortgage and rent payments in order to meet credit card spending requirements or if you’re able to cover the fees through referral credits.
I’d like to hear from you: How do you make mortgage and rent payments with a credit card?