Best Credit Cards to Pay Utility Bills in March 2023

The Venmo Credit Card* is one of the few credit cards that offers you some flexibility in your rewards. You can earn 3% rewards in your highest eligible spending category, one of which  is bills and utilities. Other options include transportation, travel, groceries, entertainment, dining and nightlife, health and beauty, and gas. In the case of the $80 electric bill with a $2.95 surcharge, you could earn up to $2.49 in rewards with this card. While it’s not exactly a profit in this case, it has the potential to be so if the bill itself is higher or the surcharge is lower.

For example, with a $120 bill and a $2.95 surcharge, you could earn up to $3.69 in rewards with the Venmo Credit Card -- netting you $0.74. That can add up over time. Apply your own utility bills and provider fees to see if this route is worth it.

You’ll also earn 2% rewards automatically on your second highest eligible spending category. For everything else, you’ll earn 1%.

Because the higher rewards rates are applied automatically based on your spending in any given month, you’ll have to be sure to not use this credit card for other eligible spending categories that may exceed your spending on bills and utilities. This is one of the few credit cards that allows you to redeem your credit card rewards as cryptocurrency or as cash back.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is a good runner up for rewards value on your utility payments. You earn 2% cash rewards on your transactions -- you don’t have to worry about categories. While there will be less opportunity to yield a net profit with this card than with the Venmo Credit Card due to the lower rewards rate, this card offers a consistent rate that will be able to put you in the green in the right scenarios.

This is also a good option if you are trying to stretch your budget if you need a little breathing room thanks to its introductory APR offer. You can take advantage of 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months from account opening (19.74%, 24.74% or 29.74% variable APR thereafter). This means that as long as you make all of your minimum payments on time during this promotion, you won’t incur interest charges. You won’t need as much cash upfront to pay your utility bills if you go this route, but you’ll want to make sure to pay off the balance before the end of the promotion to avoid racking up debt.

Your utility bills can also help you reach the spending threshold to earn the welcome offer. For more details, see our full review of the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card.

This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.

If you’re starting to fall behind on some of your bills, the BankAmericard® credit card will afford you 21 billing cycles of 0% introductory APR on purchases and on any balance transfers made in the first 60 days (15.49% to 25.49% variable APR thereafter). As long as you make your minimum payments on time you won’t be charged interest for over a year and a half. This can allow you some breathing room to shore up your finances while keeping the lights and other utilities on.

It’s important to be disciplined in this approach, as it can be easy to accrue credit card debt and fall behind. We recommend making sure you can pay off the full balance of your credit card before the introductory APR period ends to avoid this potential pitfall.

Just like with most utility bills, paying rent with a credit card will typically result in an additional flat fee. But the Bilt Mastercard®, issued by Wells Fargo, earns you points on rent when you pay via the Bilt Mastercard through the Bilt app. Doing so also eliminates fees for paying your rent with a credit card. You earn 1 point per dollar spent on rent for up to 50,000 points per year. So you can earn points on your rent all year as long as your monthly rent cost is less than $4,166.67.

You’ll have to pay attention to the fine print to earn these rewards on rent though: Each cardholder must complete at least five transactions on the Bilt Card in any given billing cycle to qualify to earn rewards, so it would be unwise to only use it to pay for rent.

Even if your rental isn’t a part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance, you can still use your Bilt Rewards card to pay your rent and earn points if your landlord accepts Venmo, PayPal, physical checks or an online payment portal. Be careful that online payment portal doesn’t charge a fee for using a credit card that will exceed the rewards you’d earn for doing so.