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I generally keep at least one miles/points-earning card around, because every place I've lived for the past half-decade has allowed me to pay my rent with a cre

I generally keep at least one miles/points-earning card around, because every place I've lived for the past half-decade has allowed me to pay my rent with a credit card (I'm going to spend that money anyway, why not put it on the card and pay it off the next day so I get something out of it?). None of the places I've lived have accepted American Express, so all branded/points-earning Amex cards are basically useless to me.

kylehotchkiss 10y ago
Oh I wish I could do that too but the $45 credit card fee for $20 in points doesn't ever make sense for me
- ubernostrum 10y ago
  I used to live in a place where my rent -- for a nice apartment -- was about $1k/month. That's 12,000 points a year from putting rent on the card, and there are airlines where that's right around the lower bound of redeeming a flight. If your rent is higher than that, of course, it becomes a better deal.
  - seanp2k2 10y ago
    The way this all works is the merchant pays a fee to process you CC and the bank splits that fee with you. Gas stations are somewhat smart about this in that they charge you more when using a card since they're paying more for the transaction. However, it's annoying to consumers to charge a higher price depending on payment method. Not sure why gas stations are the only ones getting away with it.
- seanp2k2 10y ago
  Strange, every apartment I've lived in required checks or ACH. One missed payment and they require a cashier's check for that month + the next month. They also required a cashiers check for the deposit.
umanwizard 10y ago
What sorts of places have you lived in? I've lived in eight different places since I moved out of my dad's house, and only one has allowed me to play with credit card (with an exorbitant fee)
- ubernostrum 10y ago
  I currently live in the SF Bay area, but prior to that I was living in good old Lawrence, Kansas, which is not exactly a hotbed of futuristic Silicon-Valley-only tech, and my apartment there allowed me to use a credit card.
  - eli 10y ago
    Without a fee? Surprising they would eat the 2.9% or whatever for you.

kylehotchkiss 10y ago

Oh I wish I could do that too but the $45 credit card fee for $20 in points doesn't ever make sense for me

ubernostrum 10y ago
I used to live in a place where my rent -- for a nice apartment -- was about $1k/month. That's 12,000 points a year from putting rent on the card, and there are airlines where that's right around the lower bound of redeeming a flight. If your rent is higher than that, of course, it becomes a better deal.
- seanp2k2 10y ago
  The way this all works is the merchant pays a fee to process you CC and the bank splits that fee with you. Gas stations are somewhat smart about this in that they charge you more when using a card since they're paying more for the transaction. However, it's annoying to consumers to charge a higher price depending on payment method. Not sure why gas stations are the only ones getting away with it.
seanp2k2 10y ago
Strange, every apartment I've lived in required checks or ACH. One missed payment and they require a cashier's check for that month + the next month. They also required a cashiers check for the deposit.

umanwizard 10y ago

What sorts of places have you lived in? I've lived in eight different places since I moved out of my dad's house, and only one has allowed me to play with credit card (with an exorbitant fee)

ubernostrum 10y ago
I currently live in the SF Bay area, but prior to that I was living in good old Lawrence, Kansas, which is not exactly a hotbed of futuristic Silicon-Valley-only tech, and my apartment there allowed me to use a credit card.
- eli 10y ago
  Without a fee? Surprising they would eat the 2.9% or whatever for you.