13 Benefits of the Bilt Mastercard [$3,100 or More in Value]

The Bilt Mastercard (rates & fees) is the rare $0-annual-fee rewards card that offers generous rewards and benefits (rates & fees).

The card’s headliner attraction — earning points on rent with no transaction fees on up to 100,000 points
in a calendar year — is just the start (rates & fees). You can earn bonus Bilt Points on everyday purchases, redeem them for luxury travel, and get travel and shopping protections that rival premium cards.

We’ve examined all of the Bilt Card’s benefits and assigned value to each to give you an idea of how valuable it could be to have this card in your wallet. We’ve based our valuations on moderate usage, so your spending and redemption habits may give you more (or less) value.

Benefit Summary

* The bonus value of the welcome offer and the value of benefits are estimated valuations calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability, and how much UP would pay to buy these points.
** For more details, see the Guide to Benefits.

Earning Bilt Points

1. Earn 1x Points on Rent Payments With No Transaction Fees [$1,000]

Earning Bilt Points on rent is the Bilt Card’s signature benefit. You can earn 1x points on up to $100,000 in rent payments each year and pay no transaction fee. Keep in mind that you need to use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points.

Rates & Fees

Bilt Mastercard

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

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Bilt Mastercard

Welcome Offer

No offer available

No offer available

Annual Fee

$0

APR

See Rate & Fees

Why We Like This Card

Never before has there been a credit card built specifically with renters in mind. Enter the Bilt Mastercard, designed specifically to help renters earn rewards on their rent payments with no transaction fees.

Of course, aside from rewards on rent, there are many other solid features that the card offers that add extra value to cardholders. In this guide, we provide a complete breakdown of everything the Bilt Card has to offer to help you decide whether the card makes sense for you.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x points per $1 on dining
• 2x points per $1 on travel
• 1x point per $1 on rent payments, without a transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year (plus all other eligible purchases)

Cons

• Does not offer a welcome bonus
• Must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points

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Card Highlights

• $0 Annual Fee
• Earn 1x points on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year
• Earns 3x points on dining, 2x on travel, and 1x on other purchases
• Earn double points on the first of each month (excluding rent, up to 1,000 bonus points)
• Use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points
• Earn up to 5x Bilt points on Lyft rides when you link your Bilt account and pay with your Bilt card
• Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent payments, credit card statement credits, toward a down payment on a home, etc.
• Other features and benefits include: Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Purchase Security, Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection, Cellular Telephone Protection, and Trip Delay Reimbursement
• Select “Apply Now” to learn more about the product features, terms, and conditions

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Rate & Fees
• Foreign Transaction Fees: $0

Even if your landlord doesn’t accept credit cards, you can pay with your Bilt Card. Bilt will issue an ACH payment on your behalf.

How much you earn (and save) from this benefit depends on how much you spend on rent each year.

If you got the full value out of this rewards benefit by paying up to $100,000 on rent annually, you’d earn 100,000 Bilt Points. We value Bilt Points at 1.8 cents each, so you could earn $1,800 each year this way.

You’d also save on rent transaction fees, which typically are charged at 2% to 3% when paying by credit card. At up to $100,000 annually, you’d save between $2,000 to $3,000 each year.

Let’s take a more conservative example and assume your monthly rent payment is about $2,000. You’d earn 24,000 points annually, which is worth $432. You’d also save between $480 to $720 on transaction fees.

The bottom line? We value no-transaction-fee rent payments that earn rewards at about $1,000 each year if your rent is about $2,000 per month. That’s about $400 in rewards value and about $600 in fee savings.

2. Earn 3x Points on Dining [$216]

When you pay with your Bilt Card at restaurants — whether you’re dining out, ordering delivery, or picking up food — you earn 3x Bilt Points. You need to make 5 transactions each statement period to earn points.

Let’s say you spend $4,000 each year on dining, which is about $300 per month. You’d earn 12,000 Bilt Points annually, worth $216.

Hot Tip:

You can earn even more when dining at a Bilt Dining partner. Read our guide for more details!

3. Earn 2x Points on Travel [$108]

The Bilt Card earns 2x points on travel, so you can earn bonus points with Bilt any time you take a trip. Just make 5 transactions each statement period to earn points. Eligible travel purchases include:

• Purchases in the Bilt Travel Portal
• Flights booked directly with airlines
• Hotels, motels, and resorts
• Cruise lines
• Car rentals

Spend $3,000 annually on travel ($250 per month) and you’d earn 6,000 Bilt Points. That’s worth $108.

4. Earn 1x Points on All Other Purchases [$108]

All other eligible purchases, such as groceries, subscriptions, gas, and shopping, earn 1x points. If you spent $6,000 each year (or about $500 per month), you’d earn 6,000 points worth $108. Just remember to use your card 5 times each statement period first to earn points.

Hot Tip:

While the Bilt Card covers dining, travel, and rent well, it could pair nicely with a card that offers elevated rewards on groceries and gas to maximize all your household spending, such as the Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express.

5. Earn Double Rent Day Points [$216]

On the first of each month (Bilt Rent Day), you can earn double points on dining, travel, and everyday purchases — but not rent. That adds up to:

• 6x points on dining
• 4x points on travel
• 2x points on everything else

You can earn up to 1,000 bonus points on rent day purchases each month, which is 12,000 points annually, worth $216. Earning points on Rent Day also requires you to make 5 transactions each statement period.

6. Earn Bonus Points on Promotions [$100]

The Bilt Card offers bonus earning opportunities beyond everyday spending and rent that can add more value.

• Earn 5x points on Lyft rides when you link your Bilt and Lyft accounts and pay with your Bilt Card.
• Earn up to 3x on boutique fitness classes, such as SoulCycle, CorePower Yoga, and Barry’s Bootcamp when booked through the Bilt app.
• Use your Bilt account to earn bonus points on Walgreens purchases, at 1x points on all purchases, 2x points on Walgreens-branded items, and 100 points on prescription refills.
• Earn “interest” as Bilt Points based on your Bilt status and the national savings rate.

These perks are easy to overlook, but they can boost your earnings to add value to your rewards.

7. Earn Bonus Points on Leasing or Buying a Home [$216]

Bilt Rewards Alliance properties offer lease signing and renewal bonuses, with 10% to 50% rent point bonuses for Silver, Gold, and Platinum members. For example, if you paid $2,000 in rent each month and have Platinum status, you could earn 12,000 bonus points per year, worth $216.

Buy a home with a Bilt-affiliated eXp Realty agent and earn 1 point per $2 of your home’s closing price. If you buy a $400,000 home, that’s 200,000 points, worth $3,600.

Although these housing-related rewards don’t apply to all Bilt Card members, they can significantly boost your points balance under the right circumstances.

Hot Tip:

Bilt Points don’t expire, but your account must stay open and active to retain points.

Flexible Redemption Options

8. Transfer Points to Travel Partners [$300 or More]

The best way to use Bilt Points is to transfer them to Bilt’s airline and hotel partners for award travel. These redemptions can offer higher value than using points for rent or shopping, especially if you use them to book premium flights and luxury hotel stays.

Most Bilt partners transfer at a 1:1 ratio and typically process instantly. Bilt Blue members must transfer in 2,000-point increments, but Silver members can transfer 1,000 points at a time.

We value the ability to transfer points to travel partners at $300, but you could get far more value than that with a great redemption.

For example, you could book a one-way first class ticket to Hawaii by transferring 40,000 Bilt Points to Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards. This redemption could easily be worth $800 or more. Or transfer 100,000 points to World of Hyatt to book 4 nights at the centrally located Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, a value that could exceed $2,000.

Bottom Line:

Transferring points to Bilt travel partners is the best way to use them, as you can redeem them for high-end award flights and hotel stays.

9. Book Travel in the Bilt Travel Portal [$125]

The Bilt Travel Portal, powered by Expedia, allows you to redeem Bilt Points for flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. You can redeem Bilt Points in the portal for 1.25 cents each, which is a higher-value redemption than other options, such as fitness classes, Amazon purchases, rent payments, or statement credits, which are all redeemed for 1 cent per point or less.

At that value, a booking that costs $250 cash is only 20,000 Bilt Points. You also earn loyalty points and miles on most travel booked through the portal.

We value this redemption method at $125, as it’s a solid fallback if you don’t want to transfer points and deal with award availability. Transferring points to travel partners typically delivers the highest value, but the Bilt Travel Portal is good for simple redemptions with a fixed value.

Hot Tip:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card offers a redemption value of up to 1.75 cents per point in the Chase Travel portal, but has a $95 annual fee.

10. Redeem Points for Rent or a Down Payment [$50]

You can use your Bilt Points to pay rent through the app or apply points toward a future down payment on a home with Bilt’s real estate partner. While rent redemptions only have a value of 0.55 cents per point, it’s a great way to save money on a necessary expense. Down payment values vary, and you’ll have to contact Bilt to arrange a redemption.

We value this benefit at $50 — nice to have, but not the best way to maximize your points value.

11. Redeem Points for Lifestyle Perks [$25]

Bilt also allows redemptions for:

• Student loan payments (supported loan servicers include Nelnet, MOHELA, Sallie Mae, Aidvantage, and Navient)
• Art, decor, and apparel through the Bilt Collection
• Group fitness classes at Barry’s, Rumble Boxing Group Fitness, SoulCycle, Y7 Studio, and others
• Shopping on Amazon

These redemptions typically have a value below 1 cent each, so they’re more for convenience than value.

Travel Benefits and Protections

The Bilt Card has surprisingly robust protections for a card with a $0 annual fee. These can be especially valuable for renters and travelers.

12. Travel Protections [$400 or More]

The Bilt Card offers:

• Trip cancellation and interruption protection, which covers you for up to $5,000 per trip when your travel is disrupted for an eligible reason, such as illness or severe weather. The benefit applies to prepaid, nonrefundable expenses booked with your Bilt Card.
• Trip delay reimbursement applies if your trip is delayed 6 or more hours or requires an overnight stay. You can get up to $200 per covered traveler with a maximum of $1,800 annually.
• Use your Bilt Card to pay for a rental car, decline the rental company’s coverage, and get secondary coverage for collision damage and theft with your card.

These protections can potentially save you hundreds, even thousands, if your travel plans go sideways.

Hot Tip:

If you’re seeking more robust travel protections or luxury travel benefits such as airport lounge access, hotel elite status, or travel statement credits, consider pairing Bilt with a premium travel card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® or the Platinum Card^® from American Express. You won’t be able to combine points, but you’ll have more redemption flexibility and premium travel perks.

13. Shopping Protections [$300 or More]

Shopping protections offered by the Bilt Card include:

• Cellular telephone protection, which applies when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Bilt Card. You get up to $800 in coverage against damage or theft, with a $25 deductible and up to 2 claims per 12-month period (see Guide to Benefits).
• Eligible Bilt Card purchases are protected for 90 days against theft or damage for up to $1,000 per claim and $10,000 per cardholder annually.
• With no foreign transaction fees on the card, you don’t pay fees for purchases made abroad.

Though the Bilt Card doesn’t offer extended warranties or return protection like some premium cards, these are well-rounded core benefits that can offer protection when you make purchases.

Final Thoughts

The Bilt Card is practically a no-brainer for renters because it allows you to turn rent into rewards. You might not use every benefit to its full potential, but even partial use can offer incredible value. From rent rewards and travel protections to points transfers and cellular telephone protection, the Bilt Card is valuable to any renter seeking flexibility with an annual fee.