5 Things to Know About the Mesa Homeowners Card

For many Americans, housing costs take the biggest bite out of their monthly budgets. The $0-annual-fee Mesa Homeowners Card offers rewards on mortgage payments and other expenses that homeowners know all too well, such as home improvement and maintenance, decor, utilities, insurance and more.

Issued by Celtic Bank, it's among a growing collection of cards that feature rewards on major monthly expenses — others include the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card for rent payments and the Fasten Rewards Visa Card for car loan and lease payments (the latter card, as of this writing, isn’t yet open to applications).

Here are five things to know about the Mesa Homeowners Card.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best credit cards for home improvement and new homeowners

1. Earn rewards on your mortgage payments

You’ll earn one Mesa Point per $1 spent on your mortgage payment. You can earn a maximum of 100,000 points per calendar year in this category, which would accommodate monthly payments of up to $8,333. You must make $1,000 in qualifying purchases each month to earn rewards on your mortgage payments.

You don’t actually use the credit card to pay your mortgage. Instead, you connect the bank account (from which you make mortgage payments) to the Mesa app. Mesa will recognize your payments and reward you accordingly.

2. Other spending categories earn rewards, too

In addition to rewards on mortgage payments, you’ll also earn:

• 3 Mesa Points per $1 on home-related spending, which includes home decor, home improvement and maintenance, general contractors, cable and streaming services, home insurance, property taxes, telecommunications services and utilities. 

• 2 Mesa Points per $1 on groceries, gas and electric vehicle charging. Grocery purchases at warehouse clubs and big box stores are excluded.

• 1 Mesa Point per $1 on all other purchases.

Note that as of this writing, the Mesa Homeowners Card charges an APR above 25%. If you’re putting major purchases on your card, like a roomful of new furniture or a large home repair, you'll want to make sure you pay off those purchases by the monthly due date. Otherwise, the interest payments you'll owe will quickly wipe out the value of any rewards you earn.

» MORE: If you’re in credit card debt, forget about rewards

3. Redeem points in a variety of ways

Cash in your rewards in the Mesa app for statement credits, gift cards and travel. You may be required to redeem a minimum amount, or be limited to redeeming up to a maximum amount, depending on how you use your rewards.

Point values may vary depending on which redemption option you choose.

4. Enjoy multiple annual credits

While there’s no sign-up bonus, cardholders can get more than $800 in value in the form of specific statement credits:

• $65 per year toward an eligible retailer membership, such as Sam’s Club. 

• $200 per year for home maintenance services booked through Thumbtack.

• $120 per year for pet care services through Wag! — these include walks, pet sitting and overnight boarding.

• $120 per year for pet food purchases and subscriptions from The Farmer’s Dog.

• $100 credit toward your first home warranty claim through Armadillo.

• $100 gift card to Cozy Earth, a merchant selling ethically produced bedding and loungewear. 

• $100 home improvement credit.

If you already make purchases from these specific merchants, it’s easier to get additional value out of the Mesa Homeowners Card. But such “coupon book” credit card benefits often require you to spend a lot of money to save a little money. Pet food from The Farmer’s Dog, for example, can cost hundreds of dollars a month. (And if you don’t have a pet, that’s $240 in annual credits that are useless to you.)

5. There are some limitations

You can’t earn points on more than one mortgage. If you own multiple homes and are making more than one mortgage payment from the same account, Mesa will award points only for the largest monthly mortgage payment.