Pay Rent With Credit Card To Earn CashBack (Rentsmart/KeyChain Pay/Reap/Citi PayAll)

Pay Rent With Credit Card To Earn CashBack (Rentsmart/KeyChain Pay/Reap/Citi PayAll)

Paying rent with credit cards to earn cashback or miles is a savvy strategy to maximize your rent payments. By paying a small transaction fee to rent payment platforms like Rentsmart and KeyChain Pay, you can easily reap the benefits of credit card rewards!

In the following blog post, we will introduce these rent payment platforms and tips to help you make the most out of the rent payments. So, continue reading to learn more!

Table of Contents: Paying Rent with a Credit Card

How can you pay your rent with a credit card?

Paying rent with a credit card involves using a rent payment platform as an intermediary. This platform charges your rent payments along with additional expenses to your credit card.

To put it simply, you make an online transaction to the rent payment platform using your credit card. This payment is eligible to earn rewards.

Just a quick tip here: remember to check if the rewards are greater than the transaction fee. Otherwise, you may pay for the transaction fees for nothing.

Here is an overview of the most popular rent-paying platforms in Hong Kong:

The Most Popular Rent-Paying Platforms in Hong Kong
  Transaction Handling Fee Rental Property Type Types Of Credit Cards For Points Accumulation
RentSmart Visa credit card: 1.5-2.4%
MasterCard credit card: 1.9%
Airwallex Visa: 1%
Private Residential Property / Co-working space Visa/MasterCard/UnionPay credit cards
KeyChain Pay Varies per credit card (2.1%-3.3%) Private Residential Property / Office Visa/MasterCard/American Express credit cards
Cardup No longer available in Hong Kong No longer available in Hong Kong No longer available in Hong Kong
Citi PayAll Varies per transaction (up to 4%) Private Residential Property / Office Citibank credit cards

RentSmart

RentSmart provides a simple way to pay rent using a credit card and charges a reasonable transaction fee. The RentSmart service is currently not only limited to residential properties in Hong Kong, but also applicable for the payment of rent for public housing, commercial shops, and parking spaces.

If you need to pay a large amount of rent, RentSmart’s combined payment feature allows you to split each rent payment into 2 or more transactions. You can use up to 6 credit cards to pay rent that exceeds your credit card limit.

RentSmart Transaction Fee

Credit Card Type Transaction Fee Promotion
Prime Credit EarnMORE Credit Card HK$25 / Commercial Rent 0.5%
Other UnionPay Credit Cards HK$25 / Commercial Rent 0.5%
AEON Credit Card HK$25 per transaction/Commercial Rent 0.5% New account holders can enjoy HK$100 rent rebate or 1.5% service fee
Bank of East Asia Credit Card 1.5% BEA Credit Card new account holders can enjoy HK$100 rent rebate or 1.5% special low service fee, UnionPay card can enjoy 3 months fee waiver
Dah Sing Bank Credit Card 1.5% First 3 times renting paying for a parking spot can enjoy 0% service fee, UnionPay card holder can enjoy first 3 months fee waiver and HK$100 RentSmart rent rebate
HSBC Credit Card 1.5%
Airwallex Visa Card 1%
Other Visa/Mastercard Credit Cards Visa: 2.4%, Mastercard: 1.9%
Data updated to April 15, 2024.

How To Use RentSmart?

  • Download the “RentSmart” app and register for a free account
  • Provide an email and identity card for verification (It takes around 1 working day.)
  • Fill in the lease information, tenant information, and landlord collection information
  • Take a photo and upload the lease for verification (about 1 working day)
  • After successful verification, you can pay rent with a credit card.

Note that the payment is processed within 3 working days, and if you need to pay rent with a check, it would require 7 days. So it’s best to plan ahead and pay rent in advance.

AEON Credit Card x RentSmart Rent Discount

From now until December 31, 2024, when you use AEON CARD WAKUWAKU at RentSmart to enjoy up to 6% cashback, AEON x Rent Smart also has a new account welcome offer.

AEON Credit Service logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Min. Annual Salary
HK$0
Cash back on online shopping
6%
Cash back on Japanese spending
3%
MoneySmart Exclusive:

【Limited Time Offer】From now until 30 November 2024, apply for the AEON CARD WAKUWAKU through MoneySmart, you can exclusively enjoy extra 3,000 SmartPoints and free to redeem HK$300 vouchers (over 20+ brand vouchers including Apple / Wellcome/ HKTVmall etc). Alternatively, you can convert them into HK$200 cash and cash out directly! Click here to explore limitless possibilities (T&C applied)!
⠀⠀
【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer: Get 12 Months of Deliveroo Plus Silver Membership and a Cash Voucher for Free (Valued at $726)】
By November 30, 2024, apply for the AEON CARD WAKUWAKU through MoneySmart and submit the rewards redemption form, you can earn an additional 12 months of Deliveroo Plus Silver membership and a cash voucher redemption code (valued at HK$726) within 14 days after the promotion ends! (Limited offer, first come first served, while stocks last)! Terms and conditions apply.
⠀⠀
New AEON Customers successfully applied AEON CARD WAKUWAKU through “AEON HK” Mobile App and input the welcome offer code “MSWAKU” to enjoy an extra HK$200 cash rebate (Offer by AEON) and up to 16% cash rebate + HK$400 cash rebate! Enjoy a year-round 6% cash rebate on online spending! Earn 3% cash rebate on purchases in Japan!

Valid until 30 Nov 2024

Enjoy HK$100 rent rebate upon account opening

New users only need to enter the invitation code ‘AEON100‘ when registering for a RentSmart account. The HK$100 rent rebate will be deposited into the RentSmart account immediately after successful registration. Please note that the rebate must be paid with AEON Visa or AEON Mastercard for a rent transaction exceeding HK$5,000.

New users enjoy 1.5% special low service fee

New users can also enter the invitation code ‘AEONUP‘ when registering for a RentSmart account to enjoy the following promotion.

AEON Visa / AEON Mastercard AEON UnionPay
1.5% First three housing rent transactions: HK$0, each subsequent transaction: HK$25

Dah Sing Bank Credit Card x RentSmart Rent Discount

From now until July 31, 2024, you may use Dah Sing Bank credit card to pay rent and enjoy the following benefits:

First 3 car park rent transactions can enjoy 0% service fee

When registering for a RentSmart account for the first time, enter the invitation code ‘DSBCAR‘ and pay the car parking rent with Dah Sing MyAuto car owner credit card, the first 3 car park rent transactions fee will be waived.

Dah Sing Bank logo
Min. Annual Salary
HK$150,000
Miles Conversion (local spend)
N/A
Cash back on local spend
0.4%

New users enjoy 1.5% special low service fee

When registering for a RentSmart account for the first time, pay the rent with an eligible credit card to enjoy a special low service fee of 1.5% for car park/housing rent. In addition, UnionPay cards can enjoy a 3-month waiver of service charges.

HK$100 RentSmart Rent Rebate

New customers enter the invitation code ‘DSB100‘ when registering for the first time, and pay a rent of HK$5,000 or more with an eligible Visa or Mastercard, to enjoy a RentSmart rent rebate of HK$100.

AirWallex x RentSmart Special Offer (Update Pending)

AirWallex has previously launched a special offer where users can use the AirWallex credit card to pay for co-working spaces and office rent to earn a 10% cashback, and enjoy a RentSmart 1% ultra-low service fee offer. However, no new offers have been launched in 2024.

Airwallex logo
Save time opening accounts across the globe
Monthly Account Fee
0
Minimum Initial Deposit
N/A
New Funds Offer
$0 fees and 0% margin in FX conversions

KeyChain Pay

KeyChain Pay is another rental payment solution with credit card in Hong Kong. With the option to use credit cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, tenants can earn flight miles or cash rewards while paying their rent through the online platform or mobile app. Not just limited to residential rent, it also covers monthly or annual parking, co-working spaces, and serviced office rentals.

KeyChain Pay establishes a smart contract between tenants and landlords, collecting rent from the tenant’s credit card approximately 2 weeks before the effective date of the monthly lease.

With competitive transaction fees and an easy-to-use interface, KeyChain Pay simplifies the rent payment process for residential, commercial, and office properties in Hong Kong and beyond. Additionally, if the total rent amount exceeds HK$10,000, you have the option to use up to 2 credit cards per transaction. For rent amounts surpassing HK$20,000, up to 3 credit cards can be used. This allows you to easily split payments and maximize returns without exceeding your spending limit.

KeyChain Pay Transaction Fee

Credit Card Residential Parking Commercial
HSBC Credit Card 2.1% 2.1% 2.6%
Local Commercial HSBC Credit Card 2.6% 2.6% 2.6%
Local Personal Mastercard 2.1% 2.1% 2.6%
Other Credit Cards / Visa / Apple Pay / Google Pay 2.9%
American Express 3.3%

How To Use KeyChain Pay?

  • Download the “KeyChain Pay” app and register for a free account
  • Choose the property category for the rent payment
  • Set up a smart contract (enter property address, credit card information for payment, rent, and landlord account information, etc.)
  • Rent will be automatically deducted from the credit card and deposited into the landlord’s account every month.

Citi PayAll

Citi PayAll, is a payment platform provided by Citibank. Users can use any Citibank credit card to pay rent, property management fees, parking fees, and tuition fees through the mobile application. If payment is made to a designated payee, the monthly limit is HK$150,000, and the platform’s monthly rent transaction limit is HK$50,000, with a maximum of 10 transactions per month. If you want to earn credit card points or rebates, you can choose to pay a 1% transaction fee for each transaction; if you choose to waive the handling fee, you cannot earn credit card points or rebates.

Transaction Fee

The transaction fee is subject to variation and will be adjusted by the bank in accordance with market changes. Currently, the basic fee is set at 1% for each transaction. However, you have the option to waive the charge by forgoing the credit card cash rebates.

How to Use Citi PayAll?

On the Citi Mobile® App, select “Pay Bills” and “Citi PayAll”, enter payment details, including the payee’s name, bank number, branch number, and account number, choose the payment credit card, and choose one-time payment or monthly payment. Check the information for accuracy and confirm the payment.

Please note that it takes at least 4 working days to process a payment, so it is safer to make the payment at least 7 days in advance.

Citi Credit Card Only

Citi PayAll only accepts Citibank credit card transactions. For instance, with the Citi PremierMiles credit card, every HK$8 spent locally earns 1 mile. With a monthly payment of HK$30,000, users can earn up to 45,000 miles per year, enough to redeem for round-trip tickets to Sydney! It’s like earning a free vacation just by paying your rent. (Checkout more details about Cathay Pacific Miles Redemption)

Citibank logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Free travel insurance and airport lounges access
Minimum Income Requirements
HK$120,000
Miles Conversion (local spend)
HK$8 = 1 mile
Miles Conversion (overseas spend)
HK$3 = 1 mile

Cardup: No longer available in Hong Kong

Update: Cardup is streamlining the Hong Kong operations to focus on select businesses and discontinuing personal accounts.

Cardup offers a smart solution for SMEs or corporate entities to pay bills with credit cards, thereby earning rewards and improving cash flow. With Cardup, you can pay for a variety of expenses, such as rent, tuition and education fees, insurance premiums, supplier fees, salaries, and more.

Which cashback credit card is best for paying rent?

After knowing the tips for using your credit card to pay for your rent, Here are some smart credit card picks:

AEON CARD WAKUWAKU: Enjoy 6% cashback on online consumption

AEON CARD WAKUWAKU offers a 6% cashback every month for online transactions, with a cashback limit of HK$300, meaning that you can maximize your earnings with HK$5,000 in rent. Although it may not be enough to pay all the rent, it can be used as one of the credit cards for split rent payments.

AEON Credit Service logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Min. Annual Salary
HK$0
Cash back on online shopping
6%
Cash back on Japanese spending
3%
MoneySmart Exclusive:

【Limited Time Offer】From now until 30 November 2024, apply for the AEON CARD WAKUWAKU through MoneySmart, you can exclusively enjoy extra 3,000 SmartPoints and free to redeem HK$300 vouchers (over 20+ brand vouchers including Apple / Wellcome/ HKTVmall etc). Alternatively, you can convert them into HK$200 cash and cash out directly! Click here to explore limitless possibilities (T&C applied)!
⠀⠀
【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer: Get 12 Months of Deliveroo Plus Silver Membership and a Cash Voucher for Free (Valued at $726)】
By November 30, 2024, apply for the AEON CARD WAKUWAKU through MoneySmart and submit the rewards redemption form, you can earn an additional 12 months of Deliveroo Plus Silver membership and a cash voucher redemption code (valued at HK$726) within 14 days after the promotion ends! (Limited offer, first come first served, while stocks last)! Terms and conditions apply.
⠀⠀
New AEON Customers successfully applied AEON CARD WAKUWAKU through “AEON HK” Mobile App and input the welcome offer code “MSWAKU” to enjoy an extra HK$200 cash rebate (Offer by AEON) and up to 16% cash rebate + HK$400 cash rebate! Enjoy a year-round 6% cash rebate on online spending! Earn 3% cash rebate on purchases in Japan!

Valid until 30 Nov 2024

Hang Seng MM Power World Mastercard: 5% +FUN dollar rebate with online spending

Hang Seng MM Power offers a 5% +FUN dollar cash rebate for online spendingwhen the monthly spending exceeds HK$5,000 and you can earn up to $500+FUN dollars with a maximum spending of around HK$10,000.

HSBC Visa Signature Credit Card: Get 3.6% reward cash rebate with KeyChain Pay

Earn a 3.6% cash rebate when you pay your rent through KeyChain Pay with the HSBC Visa Signature Credit Card. Here’s how it works: You get 2.4% from the HSBC Red Hot Rewards of Your Choice, with all additional RewardsCash allocated to the Home category, and you receive an additional 1.2% from the HSBC Visa Signature Card.

MoneySmart Tip: Pay your rent via KeyChain Pay to get a 2.1% transaction fee offer exclusively for HSBC credit cards.

HSBC logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Min. Annual Salary
HK$240,000
RewardCash Rebate
Up to 3.6%
Miles Conversion (local spend)
HK$2.78 = 1 Mile
MoneySmart Exclusive:

【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer: Get 12 Months of Deliveroo Plus Silver Membership and a Cash Voucher for Free】
By November 30, 2024, apply for the Visa Gold Card / Visa Signature Card / Visa Platinum Card through MoneySmart and submit the rewards redemption form, you can earn an additional 12 months of Deliveroo Plus Silver membership and a cash voucher redemption code (valued at HK$726) within 14 days after the promotion ends! (Limited offer, first come first served, while stocks last)! Terms and conditions apply.
⠀⠀
【Online welcome offer】
New credit card customers can enjoy up to HK$800 RewardCash. Earn extra $200 RewardCash for new credit card customers who successfully apply for a Cash Instalment Plan, bringing the total value of the rewards to up to HK$1,000!

Valid until 30 Nov 2024

EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card: Earn 2% cash rebate for all transactions

For those in Hong Kong wishing to earn rewards while paying rent, consider the EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card with RentSmart. This card charges only HK$25 per transaction. By paying a monthly rent of HK$20,000 with this card, and paying HK$25 transaction fees, you can earn up to HK$375. (HK$20,000 x 2% – HK$25)

For any other eligible expenses, you can instantly earn 2% cashback. However, bear in mind that the 2% cashback is capped at a total expenditure of $150,000 per year. Once you surpass this amount, the cashback rate becomes an unlimited 1%.

PrimeCredit logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Earn 2% cashback from everyday spending
Min. Annual Salary
HK$0
Cash back on overseas spend
2%
Cash back on local spend
2%
MoneySmart Exclusive:

【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer】Want to get extra $200 vouchers from MoneySmart?  From now until 30 November 2024, new customers who successfully applied for EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card via MoneySmart, can enjoy 2,000 SmartPoints without further spending! Use your SmartPoints to redeem vouchers of your choice worth HK$200 in the Rewards Store(over 20+ brand vouchers including Apple / Wellcome/ HKTVmall etc)!. Click here for more details. T&C applied. (fulfilled by MoneySmart)
⠀⠀
【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer: Get 12 Months of Deliveroo Plus Silver Membership and a Cash Voucher for Free (Valued at $726)】
By November 30, 2024, apply for the EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card through MoneySmart and submit the rewards redemption form, you can earn an additional 12 months of Deliveroo Plus Silver membership and a cash voucher redemption code (valued at HK$726) within 14 days after the promotion ends! (Limited offer, first come first served, while stocks last)! Terms and conditions apply.
⠀⠀
[PrimeCredit x MoneySmart] From now until December 31, apply EarnMORE UnionPay Diamond Card through MoneySmart and earn extra HK$100 cash rebate + Welcome offer: HK$670 cash rebate (included the extra up to 2% cash rebate) or  OTO Vanda 2.0 massage chair (VN-05) (Suggested price: HK$13,800) or German Pool Smart Air Purifier Fan (EFB-426HM-SC) (Suggested price: HK$2,480) or up to HK$90K Interest-free and Handling Fee-free Cash Instalment Program or Tertiary Student: HK$400 Klook e-Gift Card (Extra reward will be fulfilled by PrimeCredit)

Valid until 30 Nov 2024

Which miles credit card is the best for paying rent?

Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard: HK$6/mile for local spending

With the Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard, you can accumulate miles quickly. For every HK$2 spent on Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express-related expenses, you earn 1 mile. But that’s not all – for every HK$4 spent on online, dining and overseas categories, you also earn 1 mile.

If you use the card to pay for your monthly rent of HK$15,000, you can easily earn 3,750 miles each month. It’s an excellent way to rack up miles while paying your rent in Hong Kong.

Standard Chartered logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Miles Conversion(Eligible spending on Cathay and HK Express)
HK$2=1 mile
Miles Conversion (Eligible spending on dining, hotels and overseas category)
HK$4 = 1 mile
Bank Welcome Offer
60,000 miles
MoneySmart Exclusive:

【 ✈️ Travel with CX Card & Jollying Pebble Suitcase! 🧳】
From now until 30 November 2024, new cardholders who successfully apply for Standard Chartered Cathy Mastercard now via MoneySmart to get Denon PerL AH-C10PL True Wireless In-Ear Headphones (Value: HK$1,580) or POLAROID Go Instant Camera (Value: HK$999) or Jollying Pebble 20" Foldable Suitcase (Value: HK$899) or HK$900 Apple Store Gift Card or HK$900 PARKnSHOP supermarket vouchers or HK$900 HKTVmall e-Vouchers.
⠀⠀
【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer: Get 12 Months of Deliveroo Plus Silver Membership and a Cash Voucher for Free】
By November 30, 2024, apply for the Standard Chartered Cathy Mastercard through MoneySmart and submit the rewards redemption form, you can earn an additional 12 months of Deliveroo Plus Silver membership and a cash voucher redemption code (valued at HK$726) within 14 days after the promotion ends! (Limited offer, first come first served, while stocks last)! Terms and conditions apply.

Valid until 30 Nov 2024

HSBC EveryMile Credit Card: HK$2/mile

You can earn up to HK$2/mile or HK$5/mile for every dollar spent in certain categories or on other items, respectively.

HSBC logo
MoneySmart Exclusive
Local and oversea spending
As low as HK$2 = 1 Mile
Minimum Annual Income
HK$240,000
Welcome Offer
Up to $1,000 RewardCash
MoneySmart Exclusive:

【MoneySmart Exclusive Offer: Get 12 Months of Deliveroo Plus Silver Membership and a Cash Voucher for Free】
By November 30, 2024, apply for the EveryMile Credit Card through MoneySmart and submit the rewards redemption form, you can earn an additional 12 months of Deliveroo Plus Silver membership and a cash voucher redemption code (valued at HK$726) within 14 days after the promotion ends! (Limited offer, first come first served, while stocks last)! Terms and conditions apply.
⠀⠀
New credit card customers can enjoy up to HK$800 RewardCash. Earn extra $200 RewardCash for new credit card customers who successfully apply for a Cash Instalment Plan, bringing the total value of the rewards to up to HK$1,000!
⠀⠀
【Overseas Spending Offer】From 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2024, by making eligible overseas spending using the HSBC EveryMile credit card and accumulating a net spending amount of at least HKD 8,000 per tier, you can earn as low as HKD 2 = 1 mile!

Valid until 30 Nov 2024

What should you pay attention to when paying rent with a credit card?

When it comes to paying rent with credit cards, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Maximum monthly rewards

One of the most important is the maximum monthly reward that each credit card offers. Be sure to check this, as exceeding the maximum amount means you won’t earn any rewards for paying your rent with that card. So, choose wisely and reap the most rewards possible!

Calculate cash back and transaction fees beforehand

Please note that not all platforms and credit cards are profitable. For example, RentSmart charges a fixed transaction fee of HK$25 for UnionPay cards. If the cash back amount of the UnionPay card is less than the handling fee, you will end up losing money. Therefore, you must carefully compare all rebates and transaction fees.

Large rental payments can be split across multiple credit cards

If you need to pay a big rent bill but your credit card limit is too low, some rent payment services let you use several cards for one payment. This means you can split your rent into 2 or more payments, each with a different card. This way, you can get more rewards from all your cards.

Frequently asked questions: Paying rent with credit cards

What should be noted when paying rent with a credit card?

Remember to repay the credit card balance on time to avoid overdue interest charges.

What information is needed to use a payment platform to pay rent?

You will need a stamped lease agreement, the landlord’s bank account number and name, and the landlord’s contact information.

Is landlord approval needed to use a payment platform to pay rent?

The platform will directly transfer the funds to the landlord’s account, but to avoid disputes, it is best to notify the landlord in advance. 

😎MoneySmart Credit Card Comparison💳
Best Miles Credit Card Best Airport Lounge Credit Card Best Dining Credit Card Best Online Shopping Credit Card
Best Cashback Credit Card Best Supermarket Credit Card Best No Annual Fee Credit Card Best Octopus AAVS Credit Cards

apply credit card

If you’re new to the world of credit cards, fret not! MoneySmart’s got your back. Check out our blog post on the About Credit Cards and you’ll be a pro in no time.

Looking for credit cards in Hong Kong with no annual fee? Check out MoneySmart’s article on the best credit cards with no annual fee in Hong Kong and how to apply for a credit card annual fee waiver. Don’t miss out on these great options!

Wanna stay ahead of the herd? Let’s check out the MoneySmart blog for more financial tips!

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