RentHero vs CardUp: Automatic Payment Service Comparison
Automatic payment platforms give individuals the ability to automate their recurring expenses. They provide convenience to users as their services make paying bills virtually maintenance free. In this comparison, we look at RentHero and CardUp to see which one provides the most benefit to users.
Overview: RentHero vs CardUp
RentHero and CardUp are automatic payment services that use an individual’s credit or debit card to pay monthly expenses. Users can earn rewards on their bills with their card’s respective rewards programme. These services make it easier for you to earn additional rewards on bill payments to companies that do not have the ability to accept card transactions.
One of the major differences between these two services is what bills they allow you to pay. While RentHero only allows users to make payments for their rent, CardUp lets you use their service to pay rent, taxes, condominium fees, car loans, insurance, and educational fees. You can also use CardUp to pay for business expenses, such as commercial leases and invoices. Thus, for users who make monthly payments beyond just rent payments, CardUp is a much better choice as it’s substantially more versatile in its allowable categories. However, RentHero may be the better choice for people looking to earn rewards on their rent due to RentHero's lower fees.
RentHero vs CardUp Fees
One of the more notable differences between these two services is their service fees. If you're looking to strictly earn rewards on rent payments, RentHero is the cheaper option with a fee of 1.75% per transaction. However, if you are looking to earn rewards on bills aside from rent, CardUp is your best choice. Depending on what expenses you need to pay, CardUp’s fees range up to 2.25% per transaction. Despite having largely more expensive fees, CardUp offers a much wider variety of accepted transactions. Furthermore, CardUp's fee payments are also eligible for rewards. For instance, if you have a S$1,000 transaction and have to pay a 2% fee for a total of S$1,020, you will earn points on the full S$1,020.
| Service & Card Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| RentHero | |
| Visa, Mastercard & Amex | 1.75% |
| CardUp | |
| Visa, Mastercard, Amex & UnionPay | 1.70%-2.60% |
Which Credit Cards Are Supported?
Each service has a limited list of which banks they accept card payments from. It’s important to understand what card you want to use with these respective services before you sign up, as the card you might want to use may not be supported on one of these platforms. CardUp offers significantly more options than RentHero, with 7 banks supported compared to RentHero's 2 (just DBS & Maybank). Furthermore, CardUp supports Mastercard, Visa and Amex cards, while RentHero currently only supports Mastercard and Visa (Amex cards will soon be supported).
| RentHero | CardUp |
|---|---|
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How to Choose
Ultimately, when choosing between the two services, you should consider what type of payments that you need to make and what cards you use. For individuals who need the service to primarily make rent payments to their landlord, RentHero will provide you with the services that you need at a more affordable price. Using RentHero in this case will allow you to complete all of your necessary monthly payments without paying a higher markup fee. Alternatively, those who need to automate payments for a variety of their monthly bills are better suited to use CardUp. CardUp offers a much wider variety of opportunities to earn rewards as their payment categories stretch far beyond rent payments.
Additionally, knowing what cards you have available will also guide you in your decision. RentHero only accepts DBS or Maybank cards, which limits your selection. So for those who do not have a card provided by DBS or Maybank, then CardUp could be a better option. If you are interested in either of these services, and are looking for a card that offers additional rewards on monthly expenses, check out our best credit cards for monthly recurring bills.