Pay Rent With Credit Cards

Since rent is a sizable monthly outlay, you may be considering charging it to a credit card in exchange for rewards and improved cash flow. After all, compound interest increases if you leave your savings in the bank for an additional month.

But even though it may seem like a good idea, there are a few things to think about before you decide to pay rent with a credit card. Read along to know more about the different factors to consider before paying rent with a credit card!

Advantages Of Paying Rent Using A Credit Card

The payment of rent on credit cards is a simple and hassle-free process that can offer many advantages. Following are a few reasons for using a credit card for paying a rent:

  • Collecting Reward Points: If you are paying your rent with a credit card, you can earn various reward points and cashback that can be retrieved as discounts, gift vouchers, and complimentary hotel stays, among others.
  • Convenience and Flexibility: By paying rent with a credit card, you no longer have to think about writing checks or arranging cash. You can easily use your smartphone to make the payment. Moreover, you can fix automatic payments to prevent missing out on payments.
  • Increasing your Credit Score: You can easily raise your credit score, provided you pay your rent timely. Although, make sure to check the credit limit and no use more than 30% of that amount.
  • Security and Protection from Theft: Credit cards have strong security features, including protection against theft. When making big payments, like rent, this amount of security gives you peace of mind.
  • Reach Milestones Based on Spending: Most credit cards come with milestone perks like not having to pay an annual fee and getting nice rewards when you spend a certain amount of money. Usually, rent is a big amount, and when you pay it, you get reward points.

How To Pay Rent On Credit Cards?

You can follow the below guide which can assist you through the process of paying the rent with the help of credit cards:

  1. Make sure you discuss this with your landlord and ascertain that they acknowledge credit card payments to avoid any future problems.
  2. Choose a credit card that offers various rewards and low annual fees, but also fits your needs and financial goals.
  3. It is advisable to fix automatic payments on your credit card so that you can pay your rent timely. This will help you escape late fees and possible problems with your lease.
  4. Check your credit card statement regularly to make sure that the rent payment went through properly. In case of any discrepancies, you can contact the credit card company right away.

4 Best Rent Payment Apps

Now that you are already aware of the advantages of paying the rent with a credit card and have gained a thorough knowledge of how it works, you can use these five following apps which will ease your rent payment procedure:

Service/App Charges Docs Required? Card Acceptance
BharatNXT 1.25%-1.45% No All, except Amex
RedGirraffe 0.39%+GST Yes All, except Amex
NoBroker 1%–2% No All
CRED ~1.5% No All
BharatNXT

BharatNXT makes it easy to pay rent with a credit card from start to finish. You can just download the BharatNXT app, add your landlord as a beneficiary, and send the money to their bank account. On the other hand, landlords can just ask all of their renters to download the BharatNXT app and pay them that way.

Cred

Cred gives its users reward points, cashback, and other benefits when they pay their bills—including rent—on time. It has a clean, easy-to-use design and can also be used to pay UPI IDs. Also, based on your credit card network, processing fees will cost you between 1% and 1.5%.

NoBroker

NoBroker allows people to buy, sell, and rent real estate. On the NoBroker site, you can pay your rent with major credit cards like Visa and Mastercard and get points and cash back.

RedGiraffe

RedGiraffe was the very first app to offer this service. Although it can have a better user experience, it works with more than one bank and has a very low handling fee compared to other apps. Moreover, if your rent is more than Rs. 20,000, you will need to send your Rent Agreement.

Credit Charges Charges By Top Banks

Be it a rent payment, or something petty, all credit card transactions attract a processing fee. To help you make a better decision, here are the processing fees charged by major banks in India:

S. No Card Issuer/Bank Processing Charges
1. Axis Bank 1% plus taxes
2. Bank of Baroda 1% plus taxes
3. HDFC Bank No charges on 1st transaction. 1% plus taxes on 2nd transaction per month
4. HSBC Bank 1% plus taxes
5. ICICI Bank 1% plus taxes
6. IndusInd Bank 1% plus taxes
7. IDFC FIRST Bank 1% plus taxes
8. Kotak Mahindra Bank 1% plus taxes excluding White and White Reserve cards
9. RBL Bank 1% plus taxes
10. Yes Bank 0.5% plus taxes

Wrapping Up

Rent payments that are undertaken with a credit card can be beneficial in several ways, including building your credit history, achieving rewards, and saving money. Although to make sure that the transaction is, it's important to keep in touch with your landlord, select a suitable credit card, and keep an eye on your credit card statements.

**Please note that the credit card interest rates and charges are subject to change at the credit card company’s sole discretion.