A few months ago, LaQueshia Clemons and her husband were looking for ways to earn the most points on their credit cards. After poking around, they decided to give the Bilt
Mastercard
* a go. The Bilt Mastercard is a unique housing credit card, designed to help you earn rewards for paying rent. Later this year, according to a letter to members on its website, Bilt will also offer points on mortgage payments. Another housing credit card, the recently launched Mesa Homeowners Visa® Signature Preferred Credit Card*, also allows homeowners to earn credit card points for mortgage payments.Clemons, a 35-year-old financial therapist at Freedom Life Therapy based in Connecticut, now uses the Bilt card to pay monthly rent, electricity, cell phone, car insurance premiums and streaming subscriptions. She and her husband put about $2,500 a month on the Bilt card, collecting a bounty of reward points in the process. Since housing is the largest expenditure for most US families, using a credit card for big-ticket, ongoing spending like rent or mortgage payments could make sense. But is using a housing credit card worth the risk? Let’s take a closer look. Should you pay for housing with a credit card? Paying for anything with a credit card, including housing, could be worthwhile, but it always depends on your budget and spending patterns. If you’re financially strapped due to a recent job loss or have outstanding medical bills, you don’t want your housing expenses to accrue interest and put you further in the red. However, if you feel confident that you can use the card conscientiously — meaning you can immediately cover the balance when it’s due each month — using a credit card can be a good way to rack up points. Clemons, for example, pays off her balance weekly. A portion of each paycheck goes straight toward credit card payments, and she never accrues interest. Because her cards are paid in full each month, she can earn points without getting hit with heavy APR charges or fees.”I can build up enough points to take the money off my rent payment,” she said. Though that may be just a few extra dollars each month, the extra money could be put toward something, like coffee on the way to work. Beau Wirick, a 38-year-old wealth adviser at Morton Wealth based in California, has been using the Bilt card to pay for his rent for the last few years. “Getting points for rent is a game changer, so I recommend the Bilt card for that purpose,” said Wirick. Wirick gets the best redemption value by transferring points and redeeming them through Bilt’s travel partners, which can be used on flights, car rentals, hotels and activities. Why shouldn’t you pay for housing with a credit card? The downside to paying for housing with a credit card is accumulating more debt if you don’t have the money to cover your balance each month. It’s often safer to pay for housing the traditional way, that is, by transferring funds via ACH from your bank account, writing a ch
