We've evaluated and selected the best credit cards for paying monthly utility bills.
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Monthly bills and utility expenses include electricity and water bills, as well as phone, internet, and streaming services. Together these can make up a big part of your monthly budget and are difficult (or impossible) to cut. If you're going to pay them, you might as well earn some credit card rewards when you do.
You can potentially earn more with a card that has elevated rates on specific categories, but this adds some complexity like needing to track monthly or quarterly caps to maximize your return. If you don't mind the additional work, a card like U.S. Bank Cash+ ® Visa Signature ® Card allows you to earn 5% cash back on two categories you choose (up to $2,000 in combined eligible purchases each quarter).
We'll take a deeper look at six top cards to help you pick the best one for you and your needs.
How we evaluate products
To develop our list of the best credit cards for paying utility bills, we looked at cards that earn rewards and evaluated them according to a set of criteria we consider critical to the consumer, including the ability to earn rewards on a variety of types of utilities, the complexity of earning and redeeming those rewards, and fees. We did not evaluate all credit cards in the category. We used our editorial judgment and expertise to determine which cards were best for different types of people and situations.
| Card | Excellent for | Annual fee |
| Wells Fargo Active Cash ® Card |
FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash makes it easy to earn rewards on different types of purchases, including your utility expenses. It's what I'd recommend for most people. You’re able to earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases you make with the card. With this simple and unlimited rewards rate, there’s no stressing about which card you should use for which utility bill.
Almost everyone has a monthly cell phone bill to pay and the Active Cash also offers up to $600 of cell phone insurance against damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card. There's a modest $25 deductible with this protection, but that's much less than you'd pay to replace your phone.
Finally, you can earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months with the Active Cash's current welcome offer. I don't know about you, but I spend more than that each month on my utility bills and could hit the minimum spend for the welcome offer easily.
The U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card takes a unique approach to its top-earning categories. You can earn 5% cash back on two categories you choose (up to $2,000 in combined eligible purchases each quarter). Available categories include cell phone providers and home utilities, as well as TV, internet, and streaming services.
You get to choose two of these categories each quarter, though you only get the 5% cashback bonus on the first $2,000 that you spend across the categories combined. But if you spend $2,000 each quarter on these utility categories, that’s $100 you get back every few months and $400 on the year. Not a bad return for simply paying your bills each month.
If you don't mind keeping track of categories and spending caps, this is an excellent choice. If you regularly spend more than the quarterly cap, you could consider pairing this card with the Active Cash (described above). When you use the Active Cash, you'd be able to earn 2% cash rewards on your additional spending.
The Bilt Mastercard is our favorite card for renters. This one-of-a-kind product gives you the opportunity to earn travel rewards by paying your rent, all without paying a transaction fee. That’s generally unheard of for renters, making this an extremely appealing option for ongoing earning potential. Your rental property doesn't have to be a qualifying Bilt Alliance property to take advantage of earning points on rent.
The Bilt Mastercard is also great for paying your cell phone bill. You get up to $800 (with a $25 deductible) in cell phone coverage against lost or damaged phones, with up to two paid claims in a 12-month period.
The Ink Business Cash is one of our favorite business credit cards because of its high earning potential in common business categories including business utility expenses, such as internet, cable, and phone services. When it comes to earning a lot of rewards in these categories, there are few, if any, other business cards that can compare.
It's pretty typical for business cards to have a higher spend requirement to earn a welcome bonus and Ink Business Cash is no exception. Make sure you spend enough to take advantage of the welcome offer.
While the Ink Business Cash earns cash back by default, your rewards actually come in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can supercharge your earnings by pairing it with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve ® and transferring your points to those cards to unlock even more valuable travel redemption options.
The cost of streaming services has shot up in recent years. What used to be a relatively minor monthly expense is now quite sizable if you subscribe to multiple services like Netflix, Hulu, and Apple TV. If you spend a lot to watch your favorite shows and movies, the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express could make sense for you. It’s one of the best credit cards for streaming services because of how much cash back you can earn when paying for streaming subscriptions.
You'll see additional savings on your streaming spend if you can take advantage of the card's $84 Disney Bundle Credit: You'll need to spend $9.99 or more each month on an auto-renewing Disney Bundle subscription to receive a monthly statement credit of $7. It's valid only at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.espn.com in the U.S. and enrollment is required.
The Capital One Venture Rewards makes sense if you want to earn travel rewards on your utility expenses. This card has an all-around excellent earning rate for all eligible expenses, which makes it simple to use one card for everything. Like the Active Cash, this is a simple solution where you don't have to track bonus categories or worry about spending caps.
The miles you earn are pretty flexible and can be used on Capital One Travel to book flights, hotels, and car rentals. You can also transfer them to Capital One's 15+ travel partners where you could potentially get more value.
The Venture does have a $95 annual fee, but the value of the welcome offer easily offsets that in year one.
Paying for just about any utility typically works the same way. You pay the utility companies each month and in return receive the helpful services they provide. But if you pay utility bills with a credit card, it could make the whole experience more rewarding, especially if you select cards based on your specific utility expenses and financial goals.
If you want to offset the cost of your bills, a credit card that earns cash back or travel rewards could allow you to get something back each time you pay your utility bills. If you plan to pay off your credit card balance in full each month you won't accumulate interest and could benefit from this strategy.
But, beware: Some utility companies could charge a transaction fee if you pay with a credit card. If the rewards you earn with the card aren’t enough to make up for the fee and then some, it’s likely not worth using a credit card to pay for the bill. For example, let's say your water utility company charges a 3% transaction fee if you want to pay by card. But, the card you're using only earns 2% cash back on utility payments. In this case, you'd be losing money by using a card.
To illustrate this, let's pretend you have a $100 water bill to pay and they charge 3% to use a credit card. That means you'd pay $3 in fees on that $100 payment.
3% transaction fee on $100 = $3
You use a credit card that offers 2% cash back. On your $100 payment, you'd earn $2.
2% cash back on $100 = $2
All in, you'd be losing $1 by using the credit card in this scenario.
One exception could be if you've recently gotten a new card and are working on meeting the minimum spend for a welcome bonus. In this case, if you factor in the welcome bonus amount, it might make sense to pay by credit card even if your rewards rate is lower than the transaction fee. Once you've met the minimum spend, you might want to switch to paying by debit or ACH transfer if the transaction fee is high.
Using a credit card to pay for your utilities is typically only worth it in certain situations. If you have to pay fees to use a credit card to pay for a bill, make sure the value of the credit card rewards you’re earning is higher than the fee. Otherwise, it’s likely not worth it to use a credit card.
You should earn points, miles, or cash back when you pay your bills with a rewards credit card. Though, the rewards you receive depend on the card you use to make your bill payments.
For example, using the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express to pay for streaming subscriptions would earn cash back (in the form of statement credits).
There's plenty of cards that earn rewards on utilities and a few others that came close to making our list.
Citi Double Cash ® Card: The simple, flat-rate rewards make this a strong contender. It was edged out by the Active Cash which offers very similar rewards, plus the added benefit of cell phone protection. The Double Cash could be a better option if you prefer Citi over Wells Fargo or want more travel redemption options. Read our Double Cash review or Active Cash vs Double Cash comparison to learn more.
Bank Of America ® Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card: If you're someone who banks at Bank of America or invests with Merrill (or both), you could qualify for elevated rewards on all your purchases including paying utility bills. Instead of earning unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, you could earn up to 2.62% back, putting this card's potential earnings ahead of the Active Cash and Double Cash. It didn't make our list since it does require you to keep a sizable amount in Bank of America or Merrill accounts to earn the higher rates. Learn more in our Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards review.