Rent is likely the largest monthly expense for most people. It certainly is for me. For someone like me who finds ways to earn the maximum amount of credit card points on any spending, for years, the fact that there’s no easy way to pay rent with a credit card without incurring massive fees has been such a pain point. That all changes with the newly launched Bilt Credit Card and its Bilt Rewards Program.
What’s fascinating about this card is the ability to earn points on rent spent and then transfer those points to Bilt’s travel partners to book award flights and hotel stays. So, let’s unpack why the Bilt credit card is a game-changer in the travel credit card space.
For more Points With Q articles delivered to your inbox, sign up for my travel newsletter.
Bilt Credit Card Details
New card members earn 3x points on the first rent payment, up to a maximum of 10,000 points. There are no credit card fees to pay rent with the Bilt Credit Card, which puts this card in a league of its own. Generally speaking, before Bilt, if you wanted to pay your rent with a credit card, you had to use a third party like Plastiq. As you might expect, companies like Plastiq charge a fee to process your rent payment by credit card. Here’s where Bilt comes in.
Bilt pulls funds from your bank account to make your rent payment. In return, you earn points by making your rent payment with your Bilt credit card. Think of Bilt as a type of debit card that’s linked to your bank account. Bilt pulls funds from your bank account and you earn points on these transactions. Depending on how your property manager or landlord accepts rent payments, you can directly pay for your rent with the Bilt credit card or opt-in to have Bilt cut a check directly from your linked bank account to make the rent payment. More details are below!
How to Earn Points with the Bilt Credit Card
Cardmembers earn 2x points per dollar on rent, up to 4,000 points per month, plus an additional 250 points per month if your landlord is in the Bilt network (more details below). All other purchases earn 1x point per dollar. While Bilt caps the number of points you can earn on rent payments each month at 4,000, there’s no limit to the number of Bilt points you can earn on non-rent purchases.
Bilt offers bonus point-earning opportunities through its promotions. In addition, landlords can issue bonus points to their renters. For example, a landlord can kick bonus points your way for you to make your rent payments on time over some time.
The Bilt Credit Card also incentivizes you to use your card on non-rent purchases. When you spend on your card, you earn higher levels of status in the Bilt Rewards Program. The status that you earn is valid the following month after it’s earned. Status tiers are as follows:
- Blue Tier: Spend $250 in non-rent purchases in a calendar month, earn 1x point per $2 on your next rent payment
- Silver Tier: Spend $1,000 in non-rent purchases in a calendar month, earn 1x point per $1 on your next rent payment
- Gold Tier: Spend $2,000 in non-rent purchases in a calendar month, earn 1.5x points per $1 on your next rent payment
- Platinum Tier: Spend $3,500 in non-rent purchases in a calendar month, earn 2x points per $1 on your next rent payment
The more you spend on non-rent purchases, the higher your earn rate is the following month on rent purchases via your status tier.
How to Redeem Points with the Bilt Credit Card
Not only is the Bilt Credit Card unique on the earning’s side, but it’s also unique in how you can redeem the points you earn. Bilt points can be transferred to its airline and hotel partners; redeemed for fitness classes and subscriptions; redeemed for home decor, art, and novelty items found in the Bilt app; used for future rent payments, and used towards a future mortgage on a new home when the financing is originated through Bilt.
Points transfer instantly, except for American Airlines at ~ 24 hours, to its airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. So, for example, 1 Bilt Point = 1 Air Canada Aeroplan point. Here are the Bilt Rewards travel partners:
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Emirates Skywards
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Turkish Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
- World of Hyatt
In terms of redeeming points for non-travel-related redemptions, Fitness, the Bilt Collection, a Rent Credit, and a Future Mortgage Credit are your options. Here’s a breakdown for redeeming your points in these ways:
- SoulCycle, Rumble, or Y7 group classes or subscriptions starting at 3,500 points
- The Bilt Collection of home decor, art, and novelty items within the Bilt App starts at 5,000 points
- Use your points towards your next rent payment
- Redeem your points towards a future mortgage when the financing is originated through Bilt
Which Cards Compete with the Bilt Credit Card?
This Bilt Credit Card is in a league of its own due to the ability to earn points when paying rent without a fee. This is unprecedented. If you don’t mind paying a fee when using a third-party service like Plastiq, the Amex Blue Business Plus or the Citi Double Cash Card are likely your two best alternate options for paying rent by credit card.
You earn 2x points on all transactions with the Amex Blue Business Plus. The Citi Double Cash Card earns 2% cashback, 1% when you make the transaction plus 1% when you pay your bill. Cash back earned from the Citi Double Cash Card can be converted into cashback if you also have the Citi Premier Card or Citi Prestige Card.
Bilt Credit Card FAQs
How long does it take for points to transfer from my Bilt account to a partner’s reward program?
All point transfers to partners are instant except for American Airlines, which takes ~ 24 hours.
What are the Bilt Rewards status tiers and how can I boost my status?
Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum are the four status tiers. You can earn a higher status tier the more you spend each month on non-rent purchases.
When do Bilt points post to my Bilt Rewards account? Once the transaction posts or at statement close?
Points will be available ~ 24-48 hours after you make a transaction.
Who are the participating Bilt Rewards real estate properties? How can I find a Bilt property?
Bilt’s partner network includes The Blackstone Group, The Related Companies, Equity Residential, AvalonBay Communities, Inc., Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield, Trammell Crow Residential, Highmark Residential, AMLI Residential, Morgan Properties, SL Green Realty Corp., Starwood Capital Group, LivCor, GID, The Moinian Group, Veritas Investments, Artemis Real Estate Partners. You can also enter your address in the Bilt App to see if your property is in the Bilt network.
Do I need to live in a Bilt Rewards property to open a Bilt Mastercard?
Nope! You can pay your rent with the Bilt Credit Card at any US property and start earning points on either rent or non-rent transactions.
How and why does using the Bilt Mastercard boost my credit scores and in what timeframe does that happen?
Paying rent, many people’s largest monthly expense, directly from your bank account does not get reported to the credit bureaus. So, Bilt will report on-time rent payments made by cardholders to the credit bureaus. Over time, reporting these rent payments can improve your credit score by 50-100 points over 12 months.
How do you make a rent payment if your landlord does not accept credit cards?
If your landlord does not accept credit cards, simply pay rent with the Bilt Mastercard through the Bilt App, and Bilt will send a check to your landlord on your behalf.
Bilt Credit Card Conclusion
The Bilt Credit Card allows you to earn points while paying rent without paying a fee. This is truly a never-before-seen feature in a credit card. You can earn higher earn rate multiples when paying rent, the more you spend on your card on non-rent purchases. Points earned can be transferred to travel partners like American Airlines AAdvantage, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and World of Hyatt. Overall, this is a credit card that should be on everyone’s radar due to the ability to earn points when paying rent.
What do you think about the Bilt Credit Card? Are you going to apply for this card? Please let me know in the comments below or by sending me an email on my contact page.
Disclaimer: If you click and/or sign up for a credit card through certain links on this site or any of my related social media platforms, I may make a commission from that click-through. The editorial content on this page and the user comments are not provided by any of the companies mentioned and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. The opinions expressed here are mine alone.
