Rewards Points Can Pay Down Your Mortgage Faster

wells-fargo-home-rebate-rewardsThe Wells Fargo Home Rebate card doesn’t reward customers with free airfare or hotel stays. Instead, it rewards them with something that can be much more valuable over the long haul: lower mortgage balances. Not everyone has time to travel with the rewards points typically racked up when using rewards credit cards.

Wells Fargo typically offers 1% of spending as a rebate with this card, but the bank has a promo that offers a 5% rebate for gas, grocery and drugstore purchases for the first six months. A 1% rebate is pretty easy to find on cash rebate cards, but most people don’t save the rebate. The Wells Fargo Home Rebate card automatically reduces customers’ mortgage balances automatically each month. It does not lower customers mortgage payment, but it can help reduce the number of payments you need to make over the life of the loan.

Anyone can apply for the Wells Fargo Home Rebate card, but it’s only recommended for people that have mortgages with Wells Fargo. That’s because the rewards can only be applied to eligible Wells Fargo loans. There are even restrictions on which Wells Fargo mortgages are compatible with this rewards card, so make sure to double check with Wells Fargo before applying. Second mortgages, commercial mortgages and some VA loans are not eligible for Wells Fargo Home Rebate rewards according to Wells Fargo.

You can certainly find programs with more generous rewards that offer almost immediate gratification. The rewards you earn from the Wells Fargo Home Rebate program won’t be fully realized until you sell your home, refinance it or pay off your mortgage completely.