Thanks to a service called Plastiq, you can pay your mortgage with a credit card - here's how I used it to earn $2,000 toward travel

• A company called Plastiq lets you pay any bill with a credit card in exchange for a 2.5% fee.
• If you can refer friends to this service and have the discipline to pay your credit card bills in full each month, Plastiq.com could help you rack up considerably more rewards each year.
• Consider a cash-back card like the Citi® Double Cash Card or the Capital One® Savor® Rewards Credit Card to earn rewards on your mortgage payments.
• See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards »

In 2017, I had a singular focus: paying off my home mortgage and becoming entirely debt-free.

With enough persistence, I finally achieved that goal in early 2018. All of a sudden, I went from someone with a mortgage to someone who owns their home outright, and at the age of 38. I was pretty happy about the situation because, well, I hate debt. And now, for the first time in my life, all "real debt" was behind me.

Even better, I managed to earn $2,000 in travel rewards while paying off my home mortgage. I accomplished this goal by funneling my mortgage payments through a service called Plastiq.com, then paying with a travel credit card that offers 2x points for each dollar you spend.

Read more: The best credit cards with intro APR offers

To be 100% clear, I paid my mortgage off in chunks of $5,000 or $8,000 at a time, and I never, ever paid a dime in interest along the way. I only made extra payments when I had cash in the bank to pay my credit card off at the end of the month, because it would be downright silly to transfer low-interest debt to a high-interest credit card, right?

Now that my home is paid off (and we also paid off our first rental property that we bought in 2008), I only have one debt left: the mortgage on a second rental property we own. I have owned this property since 2007 and it's actually the first house my husband and I bought together. I currently owe around $40,000, and I'm using the same strategy I did with my house. I'm funneling payments through Plastiq.com, and I'm paying with my Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard.

While the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard is no longer available to new customers, you could do something similar with a different credit card. Here's how I'm doing it, and how you might do this, too.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.

Earn "fee-free dollars" from Plastiq.com

Plastiq.com is an online service that lets you pay any bill with a credit card, including bills you can't normally pay with plastic like rent or your mortgage. This service does charge a 2.5% fee to use it, but there's a workaround.

For each person you refer to the program who pays at least $500 in bills through Plastiq.com, you earn $1,000 in fee-free dollars you can use to pay your own bills without any fees.

Also note that the person you refer also gets $500 in fee-free dollars, so there's some incentive for them to sign up through you.

That's how I was able to pay off my home mortgage without any fees, and how I'm continuing to pay off my rental property mortgage without paying them. I'm a blogger, so I have referred hundreds of people to Plastiq.com over the years. Nobody expects you to have hundreds of referrals, but it may not be that difficult to refer a few people per month using your own unique referral link.

If your mortgage payment is $2,000 per month, for example, you would only have to refer two new customers per month in order to earn $2,000 in "fee-free dollars." From there, you could pay your mortgage payment with a qualifying rewards or travel credit card. Keep in mind, however, that this is only a good idea if you have the cash - and the discipline - to pay your credit card bill in full.

Get the right credit card

Plastiq.com lets you pay pretty much any bill with any type of credit card, whether you have an American Express, Visa, Mastercard, or Discover. However, they do have some rules when it comes to pay your mortgage. Specifically, you cannot make a mortgage payment through Plastiq.com using American Express or Visa.

Fortunately, there are a ton of other rewards credit cards that would work quite well. You could pick up the Citi Premier℠ Card, which is a Mastercard. With the Citi Premier, you can earn a substantial sign-up bonus within the first few months along with ongoing rewards good for travel, gift cards, and more.

You could also apply for the Citi Double Cash Card, which would net you 2% back for each dollar you make in mortgage payments. The card earns 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and 1% cash back when you pay your bill. There's no annual fee.

Another card to consider is the Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card, which is also a Mastercard. This card gives you an initial cash bonus of $300 after you spend $3,000 on your card within three months of account opening. You'll also earn 4% back on dining and entertainment, 2% back at grocery stores, and 1% back on all other purchases. A $95 annual fee applies, but this fee is waived the first year.

Read more: Business Insider's list of the best cash-back credit cards

Pay your credit card off each month

To end up "ahead" with the rewards you earn, you'll need to pay your credit card bill in full each month. Since the average credit card interest rate is well over 17% APR, paying your mortgage with a credit card and carrying a balance makes zero sense.

You should strive to remain debt-free if you plan to use credit cards to earn rewards. If you wind up in debt, you'll be worse off than when you started. Trust me when I say that, if debt is inevitable, the rewards you can earn with a credit card just aren't worth it.

Earn cash back: Click here to learn more about the Citi Double Cash card »

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