A New Way to Earn Miles When Paying Your Rent

by Gary Leff

Via the Forward Cabin,

Radpad, a service that offers both credit card and debit card payments for rent, offers a monthly check-cutting service to landlord that only charges a $4.95 fee when using a debit card.

Your first month’s rent payment is free with a debit card. Then it’s $4.95 for up to a $5000 payment.

Credit card payments cost 2.99% so aren’t worth doing. But if you have a rewards debit card this can be a great way to earn miles for your rent.

  • This is possible, because the cost to process debit transactions is really low (because of the Durban amendment)
  • But for the same reason, banks usually do not incentivize debit transactions any longer.

Here’s what does still exist:

  • I use the Suntrust Delta debit card, which earns 1 mile per dollar spent. You can no longer sign up for this card.
  • If you want to earn miles for debit payments and don’t currently have a rewards-earning debit card, UFB Direct offers 1 American mile per $2 spent albeit with earnings caps.

$1500 rent would earn 1500 Delta miles at a cost of $5, or 1/3rd of a cent per point. Worth it. It would also earn 750 American miles at 2/3rd of a cent per point. Also worth it.. This could be useful for generating points for some.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  2. Interesting, I will try this with my SunTrust debit card in January and see if I earn miles in early Feb. for the payment. The first debit transaction is free so nothing to lose.

  3. RadPad says, “Screw your checkbook”.

    I say “Screw RadPad”. More Silicon Valley, non-money making venture capital phone-app shit to go by the waste side. We should do a survey to see how much cocaine, abnormal sex, etc. is occurring inside these offices as the more financially abusive these online app-crap companies become.

    Pay rent using credit and debit cards. What a bunch of F’rs came up with this idea, to then sit at a desk, type a bundle of code, upload it, get Silicon Valley nose-picking investors to think it’s a good idea, while drunk beyond high heaven in a San Jose ass-kiss bar.

    Thanks.

  4. Thanks–I still have the Suntrust Delta card as I live in Florida, and I have a daughter in college, living in an apartment. Enough said.

  6. UFB Direct has a $1500/ Day limit so not a viable option for higher rents….meanwhile PPBDC is better in this case with the 1% cash back…

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