Points, Miles & Credit Cards

Review: The Bilt Mastercard

Kurt Adams

Kurt Adams

March 11, 2024

9 min read

Going has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Going and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses, and recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of all of the card offers that appear on this page are from advertisers; compensation may affect how and where the cards appear on the site; and Going does not include all card companies are all available card offers.

Who is the Bilt Mastercard® for?

If you rent, the no-annual-fee Bilt Card allows you to earn points without transaction fees on what’s likely your largest monthly bill. But, you need to use the card at least five times a statement period to earn points, and it comes with no shiny welcome bonus offer.

Bilt Mastercard® Quick Facts

card_name

card_name

Annual fee: annual_fees


Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee


Earning rate:

If you make at least five transactions with your Bilt card each statement period, you will earn:

  • 1X points per dollar on rent (up to 100,000 points each calendar year)
  • 2X points per dollar on travel
  • 3X points per dollar on dining
  • 1X point per dollar on other purchases
  • Earn double the amount of points on non-rent payments on the first day of the month (e.g. earn 6X on dining on the 1st) 

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • No annual fee card with travel partners
  • Earn rewards on rent payments
  • Extremely valuable travel rewards points currency

Cons:

  • No signup bonus
  • To earn points, you must use the card at least five times each statement period.
  • Limited value if you’re not a renter
Our take

The Bilt Mastercard® is the new kid on the block, but the card has already made a big first impression because of its ability to earn points on rent without a transaction fee. Plus, it comes with a host of great transfer partners. 

Bilt Mastercard® Review

For many of us, housing is our biggest bill. What if there was a way to earn points on your rent--or even save points to put to use for a down payment on a house someday? (You know, when interest rates finally come back to earth.)

Enter the card_name. The card_name allows you to earn points on what is probably your biggest monthly bill. But to earn any points at all, you’ll need to make five purchases on your Bilt card each statement cycle.

Even if you are not a renter, this travel credit card might be worth a look. It’s rare that a no-annual-fee credit card boasts a network of travel partners, but with the Bilt Card you’ll be able to transfer your points at a 1:1 to over a dozen airline and hotel partners. 

Many of these transfer partners overlap with Chase, American Express, or Capital One, so adding the Bilt Card to your wallet could help you earn more points to redeem with your favorite airlines. That said, it’s important to be aware that this card does not offer a welcome bonus to new cardholders. 

Earning Points With the Bilt Mastercard®

In order to earn points with the card_name, you need to use the card at least five times each statement period. This is unusual among travel cards, which typically do not impose a minimum use requirement to earn points. That also means that you’ll need to use it a few more times than just a once-monthly rent payment.

 If you meet that threshold, then you can earn: 

  • 1X points per dollar on rent (up to 100,000 points each calendar year)
  • 2X points per dollar on travel
  • 3X points per dollar on dining
  • 1X point per dollar on other purchases

On the first of the month, or “Rent Day,” Bilt runs a promotion that allows you to earn double points on all other purchases except rent. So, let’s say you bought a flight ticket on the first of the month: Instead of earning 2X points on that travel purchase, on that day only, you’d earn 4X points per dollar on your flight! You could also time recurring bills, like a streaming platform, for the first of the month to maximize this bonus. 

Bilt also has a Dining Rewards program where you can earn additional Bilt points, when you link your American Express, Mastercard, or Visa credit card in the Bilt app. Then, when you eat at participating restaurants, you can earn up to 10X additional Bilt points on your meal.

Redeeming points with the Bilt Mastercard®

You can redeem your points through the Bilt Travel Portal or by transferring to partners. If you redeem through the portal, points are worth a fixed 1.25 cents. So, if you were eyeing a $400 roundtrip flight, it’d cost you 32,000 points if you bought it with points through the Bilt Travel Portal.

The way to maximize the value of your Bilt points is by transferring them to their network of travel partners. While Amex, Chase, Capital One, and Citi all also boast travel partners, they all require you to hold cards that carry an annual fee in order to transfer points to travel partners. 

Transfer partners include the following airlines:

*Bilt Rewards points transfer to American Airlines through June 2024.

You can also transfer Bilt Rewards points to the following hotel chains: World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, and IHG.

You can also redeem points for Amazon credit, or SoulCycle fitness classes, but that's not going to be the best value. 

You can also save the points to go toward a down payment on a house. When choosing this redemption option, Bilt points are worth 1.5 cents per point. So, if you have 100,000 Bilt points, that could be worth $1,500 toward your down payment. To do so, you’d fill out this form.  

Rewards status with Bilt

Bilt Rewards points are also a bit unusual among travel rewards currencies because it has an elite status program. As of January 2024, Bilt revamped its status program with the following tiers and metrics to reach each.

 BlueSilverGoldPlatinum
Points required to achieve

OR
Anyone enrolled in Bilt Rewards50,000 points125,000200,000
Non-rent spending required to achieven/a$10,000$25,000$50,000

Status earned between January 1 and June 30, 2024 expires January 31, 2025. Status earned July 1 through December 31, 2024 will remain active until December 31, 2025.

Elite status benefits

The biggest value of earning status is that once you hit the Silver tier or above, you earn interest on your Bilt Rewards points. 

Another perk of having status with Bilt is that on Rent Day, you’ll be able to enjoy a higher transfer bonus with select partners. For example, February’s Rent Day promo offers a one-day transfer bonus to Air Canada Aeroplan. Blue status got a 75% transfer bonus, Silver a 100%, Gold 125%, and Platinum a 150% transfer bonus. 

Finally, once you get to Silver status, you can transfer a minimum of 1,000 points. Blue members must transfer 2,000 points. 

Alternatives to Bilt Card

Capital One Venture Credit Card

Whether you’re a homeowner or just don’t want to bother with timing your spending on specific dates, to maximize bonus spending categories, the card_name is a no-nonsense option. You’ll earn 2X miles per every dollar spent, but it does come with an annual fee of annual_fees. On the other hand, it also offers a great welcome offer: bonus_miles_full.

 

Read our review

Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card

If you’re averse to paying an annual fee, but still in the market for a travel rewards credit card, consider the Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card. You’ll earn 1.5 points per dollar spent, but there are no travel partners involved: You can redeem the points you earn as statement credit to offset eligible travel purchases. 

Frequently asked questions

How can I pay rent by check with the Bilt Mastercard®?
In the Bilt Rewards app, select Pay Rent. Then, tap Pay by Check. You’ll be asked to enter who the check is payable to. Then, you’ll be able to customize the memo line, or leave it with the default of your home address. Finally, you’ll be required to enter the address of where to mail the check, so double-check with your landlord or property management company about this information. Tap Done, and then you’ll be redirected to the Pay Rent tab. You can then tap Pay Now. [Bilt outlines step-by-step instructions to follow here](https://biltrewards.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6597552529549-How-do-I-pay-rent-via-check-using-Bilt-Rewards-)
How can I pay rent online?
If you pay rent through online payment portals, Venmo, or PayPal, you can select Pay Rent and then select Pay Rent Online. Then, log in to your online payment account and add a new bank account. When you do this, be careful not to select the credit card option. Enter the account and routing number under 'Your Rent Rewards Account' into the online payment platform. As of January 2024, Bilt does not support rent payments sent via Zelle. [Bilt outlines step-by-step instructions to set up online rent payments.](https://biltrewards.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6979841838989-How-to-set-up-your-Bilt-Rent-Account)
Is the Bilt Mastercard® worth it?
If you’re a renter, the Bilt Mastercard® could be a great addition to your wallet. Not only will you earn points on rent, you could potentially earn interest on your points. Even if you don’t rent, the Bilt Mastercard might be worth a look. With this card, you have access to an excellent lineup of transfer partners—most other banks require you to pay at least a $95 annual fee for access to their transfer partners. So, to have access to Virgin Airlines, Flying Blue, Avianca, and Hyatt hotels is quite a deal. Plus, no other travel rewards currency currently transfers directly to American Airlines, too.

Going has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Going and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses, and recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of all of the card offers that appear on this page are from advertisers; compensation may affect how and where the cards appear on the site; and Going does not include all card companies are all available card offers.

Kurt Adams

Kurt Adams

Marketing


Published March 11, 2024

Last updated March 18, 2024

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