Paying rent with CC for 1.68% fee (or less)

[lhcole77]

Full disclosure: This may not work for everyone, but definitely something to consider

I am able to pay my rent online through my property manager's webportal. I would be charged 2.45% if I choose to go this route.

Today I was playing around with it and if I pay for two months at once the fee is only 1.68%. When I triple the payment the fee drops to 1.11%. Quadruple it and the fee is down to 0.84%. They charge a flat amount, not a % of total.

For those needing to meet spend on cards who are also mindful of the fees associated with the charges, if your property manager takes direct payments online, this might we worth checking out. One could easily meet spend in one payment, in less than one month, and not rack up huge fees trying to do it.

Mind you, paying x2, x3 or x4 your monthly rent clearly may not work for everyone. But this is definitely on my radar for possibilities if/when I have to meet spend in the future.

[Jansroom726]

Just adding a personal note:

My property management also has a web portal where you can pay rent via a C.C - although also with a fee.

However, I noticed that the gals at the font office are always more than happy to run my credit card - and they never add a fee!

Needless to say, I've been paying my rent on my CC for the past year by simply walking in and paying via card. (10K Ritz spend to maintain Marriott's gold status = a breeze)

I'm sure it's only a matter of time until the higher-ups notice this trend and put out a company wide memo....

SO: If you have a management office, you may want to try paying there - they may forget to add the fee

[Anonymous]

Over paying rent and regular monthly bills is one of the best options to meet a spend requirement I've seen mentioned here. My rental property charges a $7.99 fee using a cc. After fees I end up with $41.64 back each year if 1%, double that next year with Discover. Small amounts but better than nothing.

[Anonymous]

Jansroom I wish! They only accept checks and money orders in the front office otherwise I'd try that for October.

[IWOL]

I pay may HOA Dues this way as well. Teh website charges a flat fee so I pay 6 months HOA dues at a time which brings the fee % down to .5%.

[lhcole77]

Sounds like others are scoring low fees too. Good work peeps!

[TheConductor]

This is a fine strategy for those who have it available to them, and who have the financial situation to make it a viable course of action, but I strongly advise caution and prudence to anyone thinking of attempting it.

The standard maxim of good credit management still applies: don't charge anything you can't PIF by the due date.  

And in this case, I would add that if your strategy for PIF is to raid your savings, your emergency fund, etc. to cover the rent "balloon" payment, you need to thoughtfully consider the risk of spending your safety net just to earn some bonus bucks. The nature of emergencies is that you don't know when they will happen.

This strategy is really best for someone who has enough free cash to prepay multiple months of rent after doing monthly retirement contributions, savings contributions, payments on all other outstanding debts, and all the other hallmarks of a truly healthy financial life.

I dare say many of us reading this are not that someone, and should regard this as something to stick in our back pocket for a future time when we are that someone.

[kdm31091]

I agree. If you have the extra money to pay several months rent, more power to you but tapping into savings etc just to earn a bit of rewards is foolish. Not saying anyone said thats what theyre doing, but its something to keep in mind.

[Anonymous]

OP did point out that this may not work for everyone. I assumed people reading this would have enough sense to not overpay bills knowing they dont have the actual funds to cover it. There is no implication here that dipping into savings or any other resource should be required to achieve this. If one has to resort to such I dont think one should have cards with spend requirements they cant meet regardless but thats my crazy way of thinking.

[TheConductor]

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@Anonymous wrote:
OP did point out that this may not work for everyone. I assumed people reading this would have enough sense to not overpay bills knowing they dont have the actual funds to cover it. There is no implication here that dipping into savings or any other resource should be required to achieve this. If one has to resort to such I dont think one should have cards with spend requirements they cant meet regardless but thats my crazy way of thinking.

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OP did point that out, but it can be helpful to be specific about the ways it may not work and the reasons why.

Suppose there was a pill you could take that would cause $500 to magically appear in your bank account. Would you be more likely to take it if the warning label said "Pill may have side effects", or if the label said "Pill may cause chronic non-stop vomiting and hideous boils on the face 24 hours a day for all persons who do not have blue skin."?

The more specific and detailed the warning, the more likely one is to consider "Whoa! That might happen to me."

Even if there was no direct implication here that dipping into savings would be a good idea, I think it is helpful to address the unspoken implications that many of us tend to silently think when we see a tempting strategy to earn or save money. I know I have been steered down the right path in my own financial life by others who have helpfully posted such prudent warnings in these forums, and I simply want to pay it forward to others.

To me, and I hope to others who who find benefit in following this philosophy, rewards are just gravy. Overall financial health is the meal, and it bears repeating.