Should You Pay Your Apartment Rent with Cash or Credit Card?

What is the best way to pay your rent each month? Rental property owners, especially large apartment rental companies, often offer multiple ways to pay your rent each and every month. Paying by check, paying online, paying over the phone, and paying by mail. Very few companies and owners will accept cash although you should check with your rental office regarding actual cash. For the purpose of this article, checks take the place of cash.

A lot of companies offer credit card payment options that allow you to pay rent online or over the phone. While this seems convenient and quick without wasting paper or risking a bounced check it can cost you.

Usually third party services handle the processing of the payment online or over the phone. These services cost money and you the renter are stuck with some of the cost. A service or processing fee is often tacked onto your payment, something along the lines of 2%. This number can be lower or higher depending on the service but this percentage is out of the total amount of your monthly rent. Even if the fee is only 1% of your rent, if your rent is $1500 a month you are paying an extra $15 a month or $180 a year more then you need to for your rent expenses.

In addition if you fail to pay off your credit card in full each month you'll accrue interest on your rent and on the fees you paid to process the card. Also some credit card issuers may see the processing company as a "cash advance" costing you another fee and even higher interest.

Checks (or cash where accepted) are clearly a better way to pay your rent each month. Whether you submit it in person or via the mail you'll want to make sure you get a receipt as proof of payment. Also ensure you have enough funding in your bank account so that the check does not bounce and cause overdraft fees.

Some rental companies offer direct withdraw from your checking accounts for rent payment. While this can be a good alternative to paying with a credit card, verify that no additional service fees are attached to this service.

Checks provide you with a method of rent payment that can be easily recorded for record keeping and keep processing and service fees to a minimum.