Here's how Paying Rent With a Credit Card can Help you Book Flights for Free

Credit cards have become a helpful tool to pay for several everyday expenses at a time when rising costs can lead to a scarcity of funds towards the end of the month. Other perks of paying with a credit card include the option to reverse the transaction in case something goes wrong, as well as points that can be redeemed to save money. But have you ever considered paying your rent with a credit card?

In a small snippet from a podcast, uploaded on TikTok by (@_andrewyanni), @Elvis Somoza talks about how he pays his rent with a credit card, which not only helps him waive the portal charge but also helps him earn points. "So right now I pay my rent with a credit card," he says while talking about using built cards. "There is this credit card called the built credit card, it's by the company called Wells Fargo."

"So most places, let's say you live in an apartment, it would have a portal, through which you can pay, but if you pay with a credit card they will charge you 1.5 to even 3% at times, which is a lot," he says. "So, with this credit card, it not only waives the extra 3% but also gets you points on that transaction. It gives you $1 for every dollar you spend on your rent, that you can later transfer to airlines, or hotels and get free travel," he adds.

He talks about how this is amazing, as rent is often the highest expense that a person pays. He explains, "Let's say you pay 3 grand, which is around $36,000 per year, now 36,000 points can take you round trip to Europe by just doing the things you would normally do."

Many in the comment section weren't sure if each point was equal to one dollar with one user @kiki_guwop writing, "36000 points is equivalent to 360.00 I use to work go Wells Fargo travel" while another added, "36.000 points is barely enough for a domestic flight during the weekdays nowadays. For international flights, it is like 100k points at least all depending on the airport you are flying from."

According to Smart Asset, paying rent with a credit card can also be helpful while trying to build credit. However, as rent is typically a large sum of money, it's important to make sure that you pay in full each time, or else debt will simply pile up. It's also important to remember most credit cards charge a particular percentage for their services. RentShare and RadPad, for example, charge a fee of 2.9% to process credit card payments, and the only way to negate these charges is by getting the reward points. 

This means that one needs to properly analyze their situation before deciding to pay their rent using their credit card. In most cases it makes sense to use a credit card only if you have a card that waives the processing fees, even then be sure to discontinue the use of the credit card for rent if you are uable to pay off the bill entirely.

For more such videos, you can follow @_andrewyanni on TikTok.