Bilt is known as a credit card for renters, but its latest launch makes homeowners eligible for rewards on mortgage payments, too.
With Bilt 2.0, Bilt has launched three new rewards credit cards with varying annual fees, benefits, and rewards rates. Plus, new Bilt cardholders get an introductory 10.00% APR on new purchases for the first year — coinciding with President Trump’s push for a 10% credit card interest rate cap this month.
But there are also some major changes to the program, including updates to transaction fees and rewards on rent and mortgage payments. Here’s what you need to know to decide if a Bilt 2.0 credit card is right for you.
Before this update, earning rewards on rent with Bilt Mastercard was relatively straightforward. You could earn 1 point per dollar spent on rent payments with no added fee as long as you made at least five transactions in a statement period with your card.
Now, things are a bit more complicated. You can choose to pay a fee for each rent or mortgage transaction or cover the fee using Bilt Cash — a new type of Bilt rewards. And the option you choose will impact how you earn Bilt Points on your housing payments.
Rent and mortgage fees and rewards
With any Bilt 2.0 card, you’ll have two options when you make rent and mortgage payments: max points or no transaction fees.
Max points
If you choose max points, you’ll pay a 3% transaction fee on rent and mortgage payments, and earn 1 point per $1. Any Bilt Cash in your account is automatically used to cover the fee, but you can change this to pay it yourself if you want.
If you have a $1,500 monthly rent payment, for example, you’d need $45 Bilt Cash to cover the 3% transaction fee and would earn 1,500 Bilt Points on your payment.
No transaction fee
If you choose no transaction fees, you can avoid the 3% fee but you won’t earn points automatically. You’ll need to use Bilt Cash toward your rent or mortgage payment to earn points.
For every $3 Bilt Cash you put toward your payment, you’ll earn 100 Bilt Points (up to 1 point per $1 of your total rent payment). For the same $1,500 monthly rent payment, you’d need to use $45 Bilt Cash toward your total rent to earn the full 1,500 in Bilt Points.
You can also choose to put less Bilt Cash toward the payment and earn fewer points. If you only have $30 Bilt Cash in your account, for example, you could put it toward your payment and earn a total of 1,000 Bilt Points on your $1,500 rent payment.
For either housing payment option, you’ll need Bilt Cash to maximize your rent or mortgage payment using Bilt.
However, rent and mortgage payments themselves don’t earn Bilt Cash. So you must make additional purchases with your card throughout the month to earn the Bilt Cash you’ll use toward those payments.
You can earn 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spending with any of the three Bilt 2.0 cards.
Using the same example as above, say your rent payment is $1,500. You’ll need $45 Bilt Cash to cover either the 3% transaction fee (max points option) or earn the full 1,500 Bilt Points on your payment (no transaction fee option).
With 4% rewards, you’ll need to spend at least $1,125 on non-rent purchases throughout the month for the full rewards value or to waive the fee.
There are some additional options for redeeming Bilt Cash, too. You can use your cash to boost your Bilt status and for exclusive experiences, or at a dollar-for-dollar value for hotel bookings through the Bilt Travel Portal, Lyft credits, fitness classes through the Bilt app, dining at Bilt partner restaurants, and more.
Important: Bilt Cash expires at the end of every calendar year, but you can rollover up to $100 Bilt Cash to the next year. You’ll also earn $25 Bilt Cash for every 25,000 Bilt Points you earn.
Here’s a closer look at each of the new cards from Bilt, but you can find a full comparison of these three cards in our Bilt 2.0 review.
The Bilt Blue Card is the only Bilt 2.0 card with no annual fee. You’ll earn 4% Bilt Cash and 1x Bilt Points on everyday spending and up to 1x Bilt Points on rent and mortgage payments. This card has few ongoing benefits but does offer a $100 Bilt Cash welcome bonus and no foreign transaction fees.
The Bilt Obsidian Card has a $95 annual fee, but it comes with a few additional benefits and increased rewards. You’ll earn the same 4% Bilt Cash and 1x Bilt Points on everyday spend, as well as up to 1x Bilt Points on rent and mortgage payments. Plus, earn 3x points on your choice of either dining or groceries (up to $25,000 spent per year if you choose groceries) and 2x points on travel.
This card’s welcome bonus is worth $200 in Bilt Cash, and you’ll get up to $100 in annual hotel credits (up to $50 semi-annually) for eligible Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
The most premium card in Bilt’s new lineup is the Palladium Card, with a $495 annual fee. You’ll get $300 as a sign-up bonus and earn 50,000 Bilt Points after you spend $4,000 within the first three months (not including rent and mortgage payments). While you’ll earn the same 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spending and up to 1x Bilt Points on rent and mortgage payments, this card increases points on everyday spending to 2x Bilt Points.
Added benefits include Priority Pass airport lounge membership, up to $400 in annual hotel credits ($200 semi-annually), and $200 Bilt Cash annually.
Before the latest launch, Bilt credit cards were issued by Wells Fargo as the Wells Fargo Bilt Mastercard. If you already have this card, you can continue using it until Feb. 6. After that, any new charges you make will be declined.
In the meantime, you’ll have until Jan. 30 to choose a new Bilt 2.0 card and transition with no new credit check. You’ll keep the same credit card number and receive your new card by early February.
If you don’t want to move to a new Bilt 2.0 card, you won’t lose any of the Bilt Points you’ve already earned and can still redeem them and access other Bilt services through your account.
This article was edited by Alicia Hahn.
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