How to pay rent with a credit card (for those sweet points)

Paying rent with a credit card can help you boost your rewards points and grow your frequent flyer balance. If you pay $500 a week rent and earn one point per dollar, that's a whopping 26,000 points you could earn in a year. But these platforms charge a fee for every transaction.

You have to decide if the points you earn are worth the costs.

When can I use a credit card to pay rent?

A few third-party companies allow you to pay rent with your credit card in Australia.

Citi PayAll

Citi PayAll gives you a way to pay your rent and other bills with a Citi credit card. It also earns points, with Citi Rewards credit cards earning 1 point per $1 spent uncapped and Citi Qantas Rewards cards earning 0.5 points per $1.

There is a fee of 0.95% for each Citi PayAll transaction you make.

DEFT

Powered by Macquarie Bank, DEFT lets you make one-off payments by credit card online or over the phone. But you won't earn points via this method.

To use this service, your landlord or agent has to be registered as a DEFT biller and give you the 20-digit DEFT reference number. Once you have that, you can pay online through the DEFT website.

DEFT transaction fees vary based on factors such as the card or payment method used and the biller’s preferences. The maximum costs for credit card payments are as follows:

• Visa Credit: 1.50%
• Visa International: 4.00%
• MasterCard Credit: 1.20%
• MasterCard International: 4.80%
• American Express: 1.5%

Rental Rewards

Rental Rewards is an online payment platform that lets you earn points by paying your rent with a credit card. It has direct partnerships with real estate agents and brands including real estate agents.

Your agent has to be signed up before you can use Rental Rewards.

You can earn points as normal through your credit card if you're set up with Rental Rewards.

The Rental Rewards website doesn't publicly list card payment fees. But our research suggests there's a 1.45% processing fee.

Sniip

Sniip lets you pay bills with your credit card as long as the bill has a BPAY option. If it's a rewards card, you'll also earn points per $1 spent at the same rate as other purchases.

To use Sniip, you just need to get the app and scan the BPAY details from your bill (or enter them manually), then choose how you want to pay.

Costs are as follows:

• Visa credit card: 1.50%
• Mastercard credit card: 1.50%
• American Express card: 1.29%

How much will paying rent with a credit card cost in the long run?

Earning points for paying your rent sounds like a great idea. Especially if you're a serious points hacker. But you need to factor in the cost of fees.

Example: Rewards vs. platform fees for paying rent with a credit card

• Rent. You pay $600 a week in rent, via monthly payment.
• Points. You earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent on your card.
• Platform fee. You pay a 1.5% fee per rental payment.

In this scenario your points and costs work out to be:

• Rent. $31,200 a year.
• Points earned. 31,200 Qantas Points.
• Fee for paying with a credit card. $39 a month or $468 a year.

$468 a year is a huge cost in fees that you could completely avoid. It all depends on how much you value those Qantas Points.

According to the Qantas Points calculator, you could get 2 return economy classic reward flights from Sydney to Melbourne for just under 30,000 Qantas Points.

How to use your Qantas Frequent Flyer Points

Watch out for interest charges

If you pay off your credit card balance each month you can avoid interest charges. But paying your rent on your credit card and forgetting to pay it off could you a lot in interest charges.

• Remember: There are other ways to pay rent

Even if your rental agent, property manager or landlord uses a third-party payment service, they should give you more than one way to pay. For example, renters in NSW and Victoria must have at least one fee-free way to pay rent. You can check with the tenants agency in your state or territory to find out your rights or how to make a complaint if you don't think you're being treated fairly.

Our expert says: Is paying rent with a credit card worth it for points?

"The fees you get charged for paying rent with a credit card will add up to a few hundred dollars a year. That's as much as the annual fee on a points-earning card.

It can be worth it. Rent is one of your biggest expenses, so it's a way to earn tens of thousands of Qantas or Velocity Points. If you're a serious points hacker who will use those points for free reward flights, it could still be worth it.

Do the maths and make sure you get good value from the points you earn."

Richard Whitten

Editor

More frequently asked questions

• Can my real estate agent insist I pay rent via their preferred platform?

  In certain states like Victoria and NSW, it is illegal for a landlord or real estate agent to insist a tenant uses a platform that charges the tenant a fee.

  In other words, they must offer a fee-free option.

• How do I earn points by paying with a credit card?

  You'll need a credit card that lets you earn frequent flyer points (Qantas or Velocity Points) or rewards points. Earn rates vary on cards, with some letting you earn as much as 1 point per dollar (or even more).

• What are the costs of paying rent with a credit card?

  Every method of paying rent with a credit card we've found comes with a percentage fee. This fee varies based on the type of card you use and can be as high as 1.50%.

  Some platforms may charge other fees, like account fees. And if you don't repay your rent spending in full before interest charges kick in, then you'll pay interest as well.

• Which credit card is best for paying rent?

  The best cards for paying rent with a credit card are ones that let you earn frequent flyer points on your spending. The higher the earn rate the better.

  Given that there's a transaction fee for paying rent with a credit card, you really need to get value out of your points in order to make it worthwhile.

Written by

Richard Whitten

Editor

Richard Whitten is a money editor at Finder, and has been covering home loans, property and personal finance for 6+ years. He has written for Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Homely; and has appeared on various radio shows nationwide. He holds a Certificate IV in mortgage broking and finance (RG 206), a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification and a Tier 2 General Advice Deposit Products (RG 146) certification. See full bio

Richard's expertise

Richard has written 554 Finder guides across topics including:

• Home loans
• Property
• Personal finance
• Money-saving tips

Co-written by

Amy Bradney-George

Editor

Amy Bradney-George was the senior writer for credit cards at Finder, and editorial lead for Finder Green. She has over 16 years of editorial experience and has been featured in publications including ABC News, Money Magazine and The Sydney Morning Herald. See full bio

Amy's expertise

Amy has written 565 Finder guides across topics including:

• Credit cards
• Frequent flyer
• Credit score
• BNPL
• Money management
• Sustainability