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Can I Pay My Mortgage With a Credit Card?
The answer is yes — but it might not be straightforward or advisable. Consider the potential costs and drawbacks first.
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Updated · 7 min read
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Melissa Lambarena is a senior writer on the credit cards team at NerdWallet. She has enthusiastically covered credit card-related topics for over nine years. Her prior experience includes nine years as a content creator for several publications and websites. Through her work, she aims to help readers extract value from credit cards to meet financial goals like stretching their budget, building credit, traveling to dream destinations and paying off debt. Her articles have been published in The Associated Press, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, USA Today and Yahoo Finance, among others. Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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It's your credit card and it's your mortgage. You'd think it'd be no sweat to use the former to cover the latter as long as the bill gets paid — perhaps to rake in credit card rewards on that hefty expense, or to buy some time to cover your house payment if you're short on money. But that's not always the case.
In fact, it’s generally a stretch to find companies that accept debt-for-debt payments. Whether you have the option to pay your mortgage by credit card depends on several factors, including the terms of the card issuer, your mortgage lender and your credit card’s network — Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover. And even then, there’s typically a processing fee involved that makes this payment method less ideal than others.
Some niche products — like the Bilt credit cards and the Made card — may allow you to earn rewards on your mortgage while avoiding a transaction fee, though they'll require some math. And a third-party service like Plastiq may let you pay with your card indirectly, but you won't get around the fees.
A third-party payment service like Plastiq facilitates mortgage payments with a Discover or Mastercard credit card. (Visa and American Express don’t allow mortgage payments through this service.)
You pay Plastiq a fee equaling 2.99% of your mortgage payment every time you use your credit card. Plastiq then delivers an electronic payment if the lender accepts it, or it cuts the mortgage lender a check, eliminating the need for all three parties — the mortgage lender, the credit card issuer and the credit card payment network (Discover, Mastercard, etc.) — to approve the transaction.
You can pay manually this way or set up automatic payments. You also have the option of making a one-time payment.
Ideally, you'll then turn around and immediately pay back your credit card for the amount of the mortgage payment plus processing fee. If you made the transaction with an eligible rewards credit card, you'll earn rewards as you would with any other purchase.
A loan from your credit card
Some credit card issuers like Chase and Citi allow you to turn your credit limit into an installment loan. If you’re eligible as a cardholder, you can draw money against your credit line and have those funds deposited into your account. As with any loan, there’s a set term to repay it in fixed monthly installments and with an applicable interest rate, which in this case is usually lower than your card's normal ongoing APR. There’s no loan application process, so there'll be no hard inquiry on your credit report. It's not an ideal long-term plan, but in an emergency, it's a better choice than a cash advance.
A cash advance
As a last resort, you can potentially withdraw money from your card's credit limit from an ATM or with a convenience check and in turn use it to cover a mortgage payment. It will cost you, though, and a cash advance is a risky expense that can continue to spiral. There’s typically a cash advance fee and a higher interest rate that kicks in immediately. The issuer may also cap the amount you can withdraw, so it may fall short of the full mortgage payment.
Credit cards that earn rewards on mortgage payments
Bilt credit cards
The Bilt Blue Card, Bilt Obsidian Card and Bilt Palladium Card offer ways to earn rewards on your mortgage, as well as ways to avoid or cover transaction fees. You'll have to pick between two rewards-earning options:
If you choose Option 1, you can earn up to 1.25x Bilt Points on your mortgage payment, depending on how much non-housing spending you put on the card. So while this will require you to track your spending closely, you won't owe a transaction fee on your housing payment.
If you choose Option 2, you can earn 1x Bilt Point on your mortgage payment, and there will be a 3% transaction fee — but you can "cover" it with Bilt Cash, which is a secondary rewards currency (different from Bilt Points) that you can earn on non-housing spending under this option.
Notably, you don’t actually use a Bilt credit card itself to pay your mortgage, so your credit line doesn't need to match or exceed that monthly amount.
Instead, you'll link a bank account with Bilt. If you’re part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance — a collection of property management companies that have a partnership with Bilt — you can then process your mortgage payments directly through the Bilt Rewards app. If you're not part of the alliance, you can still use BillPay, also through the Bilt app, or you can choose Venmo or a paper check.
Whichever method you use, your mortgage payment is withdrawn directly from your linked bank account.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
1x points on everyday purchases. (You'll also earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on these purchases, if you choose that option.)
3x points on your choice of dining or grocery (on up to $25K in spending per year in the grocery category). Your choice category may be changed once a year.
2x points on travel.
1x points on everyday purchases.
(You'll also earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on these purchases, if you choose that option.)
2x points on everyday purchases. (You'll also earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on these purchases, if you choose that option.)
Welcome offer
$100 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.
$200 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.
50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash.
Anniversary bonus
None.
None.
Annual $200 Bilt Cash credit.
Additional perks
Multiple transfer partners.
Multiple transfer partners.
$100 Bilt Travel portal hotel credit, split semi-annually, per calendar year. (Minimum two-night stay required.)
Multiple transfer partners.
$400 Bilt Travel portal hotel credit, split semi-annually, per calendar year. (Minimum two-night stay required.)
Access to participating Priority Pass lounges and landings. (Two guests allowed on every visit.)
The Made Card allows you to earn rewards on mortgage payments and other expenses by linking your mortgage account with Fairway, a mortgage provider, or via Plaid, a third-party service.
You'll have to commit to using the card for expenses beyond just your mortgage, however. You can redeem your rewards toward a variety of options, including your mortgage, as long as it's a Fairway-issued mortgage.
The Mesa Homeowners Card once offered the ability to earn fee-free rewards on mortgage payments, but all accounts were suddenly closed as of December 2025.
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Create a NerdWallet account for insight on your credit score and personalized recommendations for the right card for you.
Unless you have one of the above credit cards that specifically offers this ability, you're likely to run into hurdles. That's partly because your card network, your card issuer and your mortgage lender all have to give the green light for a mortgage payment to go through successfully — and each party has its own rules.
Some credit card issuers don’t allow mortgage payments at all. Bank of America® credit cards, for instance, cannot be used to pay a mortgage. Some mortgage lenders might be more willing to accept your payment if it’s processed by a third-party payment service provider like Plastiq, but not all will.
It’s best to check with all three parties — card network, card issuer, mortgage lender — to ensure your payment will process. Otherwise, you run the risk of a late or declined mortgage payment.
Drawbacks of paying a mortgage with a credit card
Even if you can find a way to pay your mortgage with a credit card, it may not be worth it for your budget, your credit or both. There are several factors to consider before choosing this option:
Fees vs. rewards
It’s tempting to pay your mortgage with a credit card if it means you could earn rewards on that typically significant bill. But the cost of a third-party processing fee can eliminate your earnings.
Credit card reward rates vary widely, but it’s rare that they'll exceed the cost of such a fee. For example, if you have a mortgage payment of $2,500 and you’re paying a 2.99% processing fee, then $74.75 gets tacked onto your payment. If you made that payment with a card that earns 2% cash back on all purchases, you'd earn only $50 on it — meaning you're in the red. (One exception is a credit card's welcome bonus. If putting a one-time mortgage payment on your card would help you meet a minimum spending requirement for a lavish bonus that far exceeds the fee, it could make sense.)
Even if you have a card the skips or "covers" the processing fees — say, a Bilt credit card — keep in mind that those products are fairly complex: Bilt requires you to choose exactly how you'll earn rewards (option 1 or option 2), and depending on which one you choose, you'll need to either track your non-housing spending very closely or be OK tracking two different rewards currencies. On top of that, two of the Bilt cards charge annual fees, so there's a cost involved.
The cost of interest
Putting your mortgage payment on a credit card can result in costly interest charges if you don’t pay your credit card bill off in full every month. The long-term expense of carrying large ongoing balances would easily wipe out any rewards you might earn.
The impact on your credit scores
Making a mortgage payment with your credit card will likely take up a significant amount of your credit limit and increase your credit utilization ratio, your total debt compared with your total credit limits. This figure has a significant impact on your credit scores, and ideally you want to keep the ratio low, generally 30% or lower. A mortgage payment reaching into the thousands of dollars won't help.
Consider an example: Suppose you have a $10,000 limit on the credit card you want to use to pay your mortgage. Let's say that you already have a balance of $2,000 on that card, and that your mortgage payment is $2,500. Putting that payment on your card could push your credit utilization to 45%. Add more transactions, and your credit utilization keeps climbing.
If you're planning to make mortgage payments with your credit card, consider requesting a credit limit increase from your issuer to minimize the impact on your credit scores.
Nerdy Perspective
Is it ever worth paying an extra fee to use a credit card?
Jae Bratton
"More often than not, I'll go to great lengths to avoid processing fees — except when I'm trying to hit the spend requirement for a sign-up bonus. For example, I (temporarily) switched the payment method for my son's tuition from a checking account to a credit card. The value of the sign-up bonus that I was pursuing far outweighed a one-time processing fee. After I snagged the sign-up bonus, I changed the payment method back to an ACH withdrawal."
"More often than not, I'll go to great lengths to avoid processing fees — except when I'm trying to hit the spend requirement for a sign-up bonus. For example, I (temporarily) switched the payment method for my son's tuition from a checking account to a credit card. The value of the sign-up bonus that I was pursuing far outweighed a one-time processing fee. After I snagged the sign-up bonus, I changed the payment method back to an ACH withdrawal."
Jae Bratton
Craig Joseph
"I love using a service like Plastiq when I'm trying to earn a big sign-up bonus on a new card. If a merchant or contractor doesn't accept credit cards, I can send them a check through Plastiq for a fee that is way lower than the value of rewards I earn through the sign-up bonus. However, I wouldn't use the service to solely earn rewards from everyday spending on the card without getting a new sign-up bonus, as the service fee will likely eclipse the value of the rewards you earn."
"I love using a service like Plastiq when I'm trying to earn a big sign-up bonus on a new card. If a merchant or contractor doesn't accept credit cards, I can send them a check through Plastiq for a fee that is way lower than the value of rewards I earn through the sign-up bonus. However, I wouldn't use the service to solely earn rewards from everyday spending on the card without getting a new sign-up bonus, as the service fee will likely eclipse the value of the rewards you earn."
Craig Joseph
Paul Soucy
"It can make sense to pay an extra fee to put a large expense on a credit card if doing so with net you a big sign-up bonus, which can more than make up for the fee. In most cases, though, processing fees will eat up the value of your rewards."
"It can make sense to pay an extra fee to put a large expense on a credit card if doing so with net you a big sign-up bonus, which can more than make up for the fee. In most cases, though, processing fees will eat up the value of your rewards."
Paul Soucy
Jae Bratton
"More often than not, I'll go to great lengths to avoid processing fees — except when I'm trying to hit the spend requirement for a sign-up bonus. For example, I (temporarily) switched the payment method for my son's tuition from a checking account to a credit card. The value of the sign-up bonus that I was pursuing far outweighed a one-time processing fee. After I snagged the sign-up bonus, I changed the payment method back to an ACH withdrawal."
"More often than not, I'll go to great lengths to avoid processing fees — except when I'm trying to hit the spend requirement for a sign-up bonus. For example, I (temporarily) switched the payment method for my son's tuition from a checking account to a credit card. The value of the sign-up bonus that I was pursuing far outweighed a one-time processing fee. After I snagged the sign-up bonus, I changed the payment method back to an ACH withdrawal."
Jae Bratton
Craig Joseph
"I love using a service like Plastiq when I'm trying to earn a big sign-up bonus on a new card. If a merchant or contractor doesn't accept credit cards, I can send them a check through Plastiq for a fee that is way lower than the value of rewards I earn through the sign-up bonus. However, I wouldn't use the service to solely earn rewards from everyday spending on the card without getting a new sign-up bonus, as the service fee will likely eclipse the value of the rewards you earn."
"I love using a service like Plastiq when I'm trying to earn a big sign-up bonus on a new card. If a merchant or contractor doesn't accept credit cards, I can send them a check through Plastiq for a fee that is way lower than the value of rewards I earn through the sign-up bonus. However, I wouldn't use the service to solely earn rewards from everyday spending on the card without getting a new sign-up bonus, as the service fee will likely eclipse the value of the rewards you earn."
Craig Joseph
Paul Soucy
"It can make sense to pay an extra fee to put a large expense on a credit card if doing so with net you a big sign-up bonus, which can more than make up for the fee. In most cases, though, processing fees will eat up the value of your rewards."
"It can make sense to pay an extra fee to put a large expense on a credit card if doing so with net you a big sign-up bonus, which can more than make up for the fee. In most cases, though, processing fees will eat up the value of your rewards."
Paul Soucy
Jae Bratton
"More often than not, I'll go to great lengths to avoid processing fees — except when I'm trying to hit the spend requirement for a sign-up bonus. For example, I (temporarily) switched the payment method for my son's tuition from a checking account to a credit card. The value of the sign-up bonus that I was pursuing far outweighed a one-time processing fee. After I snagged the sign-up bonus, I changed the payment method back to an ACH withdrawal."
"More often than not, I'll go to great lengths to avoid processing fees — except when I'm trying to hit the spend requirement for a sign-up bonus. For example, I (temporarily) switched the payment method for my son's tuition from a checking account to a credit card. The value of the sign-up bonus that I was pursuing far outweighed a one-time processing fee. After I snagged the sign-up bonus, I changed the payment method back to an ACH withdrawal."
Jae Bratton
Craig Joseph
"I love using a service like Plastiq when I'm trying to earn a big sign-up bonus on a new card. If a merchant or contractor doesn't accept credit cards, I can send them a check through Plastiq for a fee that is way lower than the value of rewards I earn through the sign-up bonus. However, I wouldn't use the service to solely earn rewards from everyday spending on the card without getting a new sign-up bonus, as the service fee will likely eclipse the value of the rewards you earn."
"I love using a service like Plastiq when I'm trying to earn a big sign-up bonus on a new card. If a merchant or contractor doesn't accept credit cards, I can send them a check through Plastiq for a fee that is way lower than the value of rewards I earn through the sign-up bonus. However, I wouldn't use the service to solely earn rewards from everyday spending on the card without getting a new sign-up bonus, as the service fee will likely eclipse the value of the rewards you earn."
Craig Joseph
Paul Soucy
"It can make sense to pay an extra fee to put a large expense on a credit card if doing so with net you a big sign-up bonus, which can more than make up for the fee. In most cases, though, processing fees will eat up the value of your rewards."
"It can make sense to pay an extra fee to put a large expense on a credit card if doing so with net you a big sign-up bonus, which can more than make up for the fee. In most cases, though, processing fees will eat up the value of your rewards."
Paul Soucy
Benefits of paying a mortgage with a credit card
Maximizing rewards
One benefit of paying your mortgage with a credit card is when it offers the ability to earn rewards that exceed the value of the processing fee. This is usually the case if you’re trying to meet the minimum spending requirement on a card’s welcome bonus or if the card offers other incentives.
Cash flow flexibility
Paying your mortgage with a credit card could potentially allow you to free up your cash flow. But even if that's a possibility, it probably isn't worth paying a processing fee unless you can bundle it with the potential for rewards that offset the cost. Also avoid becoming reliant on an option that, over time, can negatively affect your credit.
Should you pay your mortgage with a credit card?
If you can navigate the waters to make it possible, paying your mortgage with a credit card or meeting requirements to earn rewards on mortgage payments may be ideal if the value of incentives outweighs the cost of the fee or the tracking work involved. As long as it won't hurt your credit and your budget, it’s worth considering.
But if you’re already using a large chunk of your credit limit, or if you’re tight on money for bills this month, putting your mortgage on a credit card isn’t the best idea. It could hurt your credit scores and end up further straining your budget over the long term if you don’t pay off your credit card bill in full.
Can you pay a mortgage with a credit card? Can you pay a mortgage with a credit card?
It may be possible to make a mortgage payment with a credit card, but you can't just "put it on your card" like a regular purchase. Instead, you'll need to go through a third-party service that charges your card, then sends a check to the mortgage company. The service will charge a fee for doing this.
How do I pay my mortgage with a credit card? How do I pay my mortgage with a credit card?
Find a payment service that accepts credit cards. These services charge your card, then send a check to your mortgage company. One example is Plastiq.
Verify that your credit card will allow you to make a mortgage payment. With Plastiq, for example, Visa and American Express cards can't be used for mortgage payments.
Set up your mortgage payment through the service. A fee will be tacked onto the amount of your mortgage payment and will appear on your bill.
Pay your credit card bill in full as soon as possible. Interest is already a big chunk of your mortgage payment. Putting the payment on your credit card can mean paying interest on that interest.
If you’re looking to pay your mortgage with a credit card to earn rewards, some credit cards offer incentives when you make the payment with a different source like a bank account. Plastiq is also an option for this, but a processing fee will apply. This is only a good idea if the rewards exceed the potential cost in value.
Can I earn rewards by paying my mortgage with a credit card? Can I earn rewards by paying my mortgage with a credit card?
You might be able to earn credit card rewards with a mortgage payment, but you're likely to have to pay with an alternative payment method like a bank account. Some credit cards like the Bilt Blue Card,Bilt Obsidian Card, Bilt Palladium Card and Made Card allow you to earn rewards on the card when you pay the mortgage with a different method. The Bilt Card’s, for instance, allow you to earn rewards on your mortgage based on how much you spend on non-housing expenses. The Made Card requires spending in non-housing categories with it to be eligible to earn rewards on mortgage payments.
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