Best Cash Back Credit Cards for Landlords

[Noelle Quinn]

Hi All,

I have been trying researching the best cash back credit cards to pay my property expenses instead of using my personal credit card and bank accounts. My brother and I share a couple of small investment properties (3 two family homes) that we spend about 50,000-100,000 per year on. Currently we set up recurring payments through our business bank accounts or I use my personal credit cards and just pay myself back through the business account. (Using my own credit card can get a little confusing to keep track of and I am sure I have lost some of my own money over the years.) However we would like to share a business credit card and try to earn cash back so we can put that toward appliances or other expenses that come up for the properties. 

The typical categories that cards seem to offer bonus points on would not be typical for us to spend on our business so I don't see any benefit in a card with categories. The types of bills we pay are as follows (I do understand only some except credit cards as a payment option): Home Insurance/Property Tax/Water/(Gas/Electric can pay with a credit card fee)/Appliances/Home Depot/Maintenance fees, plumbers, electricians etc....

I am finding that a lot of business credit cards offer rewards for more personal expenses like gas/groceries/travel/car rental insurance, again would not apply to our business and I want a separate card to keep my personal expenses separate from my business expenses. 

Has anyone found a good card for these type of business expenses?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Noelle

[Wesley W.]

I use the "Citi Double Cash" Mastercard; it's a flat 2% for all purchases and I have used it for years.  (For what it's worth, I had a horrible experience for the brief time I had the Wells Fargo Active Cash card earlier this year.)

Another "pro tip" - Join the National Apartment Association.  They have an affiliate program with Lowe's that gives you a special "contract price", which in my experience averages around 12%.  There is no minimum purchase required.  The only catch is you can only make purchases online through "Lowe's for Pros" (but your discount is much more robust compared to the "regular" pros).  So, what I typically do is place an order online for pickup at the store.  I use this program and pay with my Double Cash on the website for stacking discounts.  They usually have my order ready within an hour or so, but I always try and plan ahead the previous day if I am able.  I place between 3 and 4 orders per week this way.  They send me an email saying it's ready, I waltz in to the customer service desk, and it is all picked and ready for me to take.  If it's smaller items, they put it in a locker in the vestibule that I can open with a bar code in the email.

This has saved me TONS of time and money over the last few years.