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Carissa served in the U.S. Air Force where she developed her love for travel and new cultures. She started her own blog and eventually joined The Points Guy. Since then, she’s contributed to Business ...
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Update: The information mentioned below is out-of-date. For the most recent information on Bilt, check out the Bilt Rewards review.
Do you rent? If so, listen up. Bilt Rewards is a new program that will give you points each month just for paying your rent. It’s in its early stages and will initially be focused on those renting from its partners. It costs nothing to join, although for now, you’ll need to add your name to the waitlist for an invitation.
Depending on where you’re renting, you’ll earn a specific amount of points — within its preferred network of properties, those points will accrue based on new leases, on-time rent payments, and more. Outside of its network, you’ll still earn points based on linking your bank account and paying rent via the app.
Excitingly, these points are transferable at a 1:1 ratio with over 100 airlines and hotels, like American Airlines, World of Hyatt, Air Canada, Emirates, Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic. At this time, the Bilt Rewards program is the only points currency that will convert to American Airlines AAdvantage miles. That’s huge!
Bilt Mastercard
Along with the free program, Bilt is launching a new no-annual-fee credit card that you can use to pay rent with no additional transaction fees. The Bilt Mastercard’s earning structure will vary based on how much spend you put on the card.
During the first 30 days that you hold the card, you’ll earn 3x points on your rent (up to 10,000 points) and 2x points on other purchases (no cap).
Beyond the first month, you’ll earn up to 2x points per dollar on rent and 1x point per dollar on other purchases. The amount of bonus points you’ll earn for paying rent depends entirely on how many non-rent purchases you make each month. The more non-rent spend, the higher the earnings on rent spend:
$0 to $249 spend: Flat 250 points for rent spend
$250 to $999 spend: 1 point per 2 dollars
$1,000 to $1,999 spend: 1 point per dollar
$2,000 to $3,499 spend: 1.5 points per dollar
$3,500+ spend: 2 points per dollar
Obviously, your highest return will be when you put over $3,500 each month in non-rent spend on your card.
Hot Tip: Plastiq, a Bilt Rewards competitor, offers the ability to pay just about any of your bills using the credit card of your choice. Learn more in our guide — Plastiq Review: Pay Your Bills and Earn More Points.
Final Thoughts
The Bilt Rewards program is free to join, so if you’re a renter it’s a no-brainer. The rewards card can also be a lucrative option for those with a high monthly rent payment who don’t mind putting most of their spend on this card. With transfer partners such as World of Hyatt and American Airlines, the points you earn can be highly valuable. At the same time, you’ll want to consider the opportunity cost of spending so much on this card — especially if your spend qualifies for high bonus categories, such as groceries, restaurants, and travel.
Regardless of what you decide, the new Bilt Rewards program is an intriguing new option for renters everywhere. And best of all, we’ve finally got a no-additional transaction fee way to earn bonus points on our rent payments!
The information regarding the Bilt Mastercard was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.