Chexy: Pay rent with a credit card and earn rewards

Updated May 31, 2024
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Chexy couverture FR
To the point Chexy offers an online service for paying rent with a credit card and earning rewards points. Here's how to do it.

What is Chexy?

Chexy is a Canadian company that offers several options for paying your rent in order to earn rewards or increase your credit rating.

The services of Chexy services are aimed primarily at renters who want to :

  • Earn rewards points by paying their rent with a credit card
  • Maximize their rewards by earning cash back from multiple retailers
  • Build their credit score with Credit Builder
  • Automate the rent payment process
Chexy homepage

Chexy - Earn reward points

When it comes to rewards, Chexy has created a calculator that allows you to see the value you can get by combining the number of points accumulated and Chexy‘s fees.

Chexy calculator rewards

It’s easy to see that, although debit card fees are lower, this payment method doesn’t earn rewards, unlike credit cards.

You can also take advantage of this calculator to explore various credit card options recommended by Chexy for use with their services.

Chexy - Automated rent payments

Paying rent by card with Chexy is a three-step process:

  1. Create your account
  2. Connect your Canadian credit card (or debit card)
  3. Chexy charges the rent to the credit card each month, then transfers the rent money to the landlord via Interac transfer.

Please note: This process can only work if your landlord accepts your rent payment as an Interac transfer. If this isn’t the case at present, you’ll need to communicate with them to confirm that it’s possible.

Chexy - Cash back on recurring bill payments

Since November 16, 2023, rental payments made via Chexy have been categorized as “recurring payments” by credit card issuers. To make the most of it, we recommend the Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card, which offers 4% cash back on this category, and therefore your rent payments with Chexy.

For example, if your rent is $1,500 a month, you could earn $720 a year in cash back. Deducting the 1.75% fee, that’s a net return of 2.25% on your rent (or $405 on a $1,500 rent), excluding the welcome offer!

Tip: By applying for your card now, you can take advantage of the first year with no annual fee, and receive your cash back in November 2024. If Chexy is a service you’d like to try out, now’s a good time to try it out for a few months without paying annual credit card fees. That said, the optimal time to buy the card with this strategy is in November.

The Scotia Momentum® VISA Infinite* card is recognized year after year as one of the best cash-back credit cards in Canada.

Currently, there is no annual fee in the first year, including on additional cards. And you can earn 10% cash back on all purchases for the first three months (up to $2,000 in total purchases).

With the Scotia Momentum® VISA Infinite* card, you get:

  • 4% on groceries and recurring payments
  • 2% on gas and daily transit
  • 1% on all other purchases

For example, if you spend $1,000 per month on groceries and/or recurring payments, you’ll earn $40 cash back per month, or $480 cash back per year with this card for this category of purchases! And that’s not counting the other purchases you’ll make with this card and the advantages it offers (particularly in terms of insurance).

The Scotia Momentum® VISA Infinite* card is an excellent Visa credit card for cash back.

And its insurance benefits are excellent!

Chexy - Lower Chexy fees

It’s now possible to lower Chexy fees by adding other bill payments related to your home to your Chexy account. Essentially, your Chexy fees will drop by 0.10% each time one of these bill payments is added to Chexy :

  • Wifi
  • Mobile device
  • Tenant’s insurance
Chexy-reduce-fee

As a result, you can reduce your fees from 1.75% to 1.45% by adding the three bill payments to Chexy. Please note that this feature is available in beta version for the time being, and to a limited number of Chexy users.

Other Chexy services

Chexy - Cashback

By signing up for Chexy‘s rent payment service, you can earn cashback on your online shopping. The principle is the same as using the Aeroplan eStore, Rakuten, Club Boomerang orother online shopping portals.

The cashback you earn will then be deducted from what Chexy charges to your credit card, so it can help cover service fees.

Chexy-rent-cashback

Chexy - Credit Builder

Chexy also offers its Credit Builder service to help you build your credit score. For each rent payment, Chexy sends a report to Equifax, one of Canada’s leading credit bureaus.

Chexy-credit-builder

This service, available for a fee of $9.99 per month, can help anyone trying to raise their credit score, whether they’re newcomers, students, or anyone with a specific goal in mind (buying a home, for example). So it’s a good way to keep your credit report up to date and active by showing positive use.

With a better credit score, you can get a better rate when you apply for a mortgage, and save a lot of money over the years. Or be approved for better American Express, Mastercard or Visa credit cards.

Chexy - Rent sharing

Living with roommates? Chexy now offers a service that lets you split the rent and then send a single transfer of the monthly total due to the landlords. As a Chexy user, you can invite your roommates to sign up for the service. Chexy will combine the rent payments and send a single transfer to your landlord. That said, there’s nothing to stop you using Chexy individually in a shared apartment if your landlords agree to separate payments.

Chexy-share-rent

How do I use Chexy as a renter?

Please note: Chexy’s website is currently available in English only, but their services are available to all Canadians.

To use Chexy to pay your rent, follow the steps below.

Go to the Chexy website, then enter your details to create an account, or log in from your Google account.

Next, indicate your main purpose for using Chexy, such as earning rewards on your rent, for example.

Chexy-choose-service

To complete this process, make sure you have :

  • Information about your lease
  • Your payment method (credit or debit card)
  • Your digital lease agreement
  • Your landlord’s information, including the e-mail address used to send the Interac transfer
Chexy step 8

As a security measure, Chexy must verify your identity using the Plaid authentication service. All you need to do is provide the information requested, and make sure it matches your government-issued ID.

Chexy-id-verification

Once you have added your information, you will need to select your payment method:

  • by credit card to earn rewards,
  • by automatic transfer (debit card),
  • or by adding the Credit Builder option ($9.99 per month).

Then, once the lease agreement has been added and everything completed, the automation of Chexy is underway, and Chexy will charge your rent to your card four days before the agreed payment date, with a fee of 1.75% of your rent each month (if paid by credit card).

Please note: If you are not used to sending your rent by Interac transfer, be sure to confirm this process with your landlord. Not all owners accept this form of payment. Chexy seems to be working on services for those who pay their landlords by pre-authorized payment or as a bill payment, but these services are not yet available.

Our review of Chexy

If you can use Chexy to pay your rent, it’s a great way to earn points every month and unlock welcome bonuses that stretch over several months.

These include the American Express CobaltMD Card, the Platinum CardMD from American Express, and many high-end cards that require you to reach a certain high annual spending threshold to unlock bonus points.

Also, these cards generally offer points whose value is greater than the fees charged by Chexy. For example, we estimate the value of an Aeroplan point at 2 cents.

Here are some of them:

In addition, some credit cards offer cash back, so you’ll also come out ahead when you pay your rent through Chexy. One example is the SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express, which offers 2% cash back (plus a hefty welcome bonus). That said, with Chexy payments categorized as recurring payments, The Scotia Momentum® VISA Infinite* Card is the most advantageous.

If you’re a renter looking to unlock a credit card welcome bonus with high spending requirements, using Chexy ‘s services can help you achieve your goals. The most important thing is to make sure you pay off your credit card balance in full every month to avoid interest charges, otherwise all the benefits of Chexy will be cancelled out.

Can I pay my rent with my credit card?

Yes, it is possible to pay your rent by credit card in Canada using the services of Chexy, a Canadian company.

How can I pay my rent by credit card?

To pay your rent by credit card, you need to sign up to Chexy. Chexy takes care of charging your rent to your credit card, and then sends an Interac transfer to your landlords. The process is automated, so you never miss a rent payment.

Can I pay my rent with a credit card in Canada?

It’s now possible to pay your rent with a credit card in Canada using the services of Chexy, a Toronto-based company.

Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
Marie-Ève Leclerc

Marie-Ève Leclerc

Marie-Ève Leclerc
Travelling is a way of life for Marie-Ève, who spends almost six months a year abroad. She's always looking for waves to surf, great coffee and the best strategies to travel longer. You'll probably find her in a coworking space with other digital nomads, or by the sea watching the sunsets.
All posts by Marie-Ève Leclerc
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