Great Card If
- You want to earn rewards on your rent with no additional transaction fees
- You want a card that earns transferable rewards
- You want a card with no transaction fees on rent payments (rates & fees)
Don’t Get If
- You’re not a renter
- You want a card that offers premium travel benefits
Bilt Card — Is It Worth It?
If you’re a renter, the Bilt Mastercard (rates & fees) can definitely be worth your while, especially for those who live in cities with high rent prices.
After all, the card is the first of its kind that will let you earn credit card rewards on your rent without paying any transaction fees.
Further, if you’re interested in travel rewards, then the Bilt Card is a fantastic option.
Bilt Card Top Benefits
Rewards on Rent With No Additional Transaction Fee
By far the top benefit of the Bilt Card is that it allows you to pay rent using a credit card without any transaction fees, and earn credit card rewards in the process.
You might be wondering, “How is this a benefit when I can already pay my rent with a credit card?” Usually, paying your rent with a credit card will come with a 2% to 3% fee added on. On a $1,500 rent payment, this fee adds $30 to $45 to your bill.
With the Bilt Card, you still earn credit card rewards without needing to pay any sort of transaction fee.
Is your apartment building or landlord not part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance network? No problem! Bilt Rewards will issue a check to the landlord when rent payments are made through the app or website, so anyone can earn rewards on rent with the Bilt Card.
Card Protections
For a no-annual-fee credit card, the Bilt Card offers some pretty excellent card protections. Here is a quick breakdown of each:
- Cellular Telephone Protection — Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Bilt Card and you’ll get up to $800 of protection (subject to a $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft.
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver — Receive coverage for damages due to collision or theft for most rental cars when you pay for the rental car with the Bilt Card.
- Purchase Security — Items purchased with your card receive coverage towards theft or damage within the first 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $10,000 per claim.
- Trip Delay Reimbursement — If your flight is delayed by more than 6 hours due to a covered reason like weather delays, you can receive up to $200 in coverage per person, and up to a maximum amount of $1,800 for all covered persons on the same trip, towards expenses like meals and lodging.
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance — Provides up to $5,000 in coverage of non-refundable fare if your trip is interrupted or canceled for a covered reason, like a health issue, when your pay with your Bilt Card.
- For more details, see the Guide to Benefits.
Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Your Bilt Rewards Points
Unsurprisingly, the best way to earn Bilt Points is by using your Bilt Card for all of your eligible purchases, especially those that fall within one of the card’s bonus categories of rent, travel, and dining.
You can also earn bonus points on Lyft rides, select fitness classes, Walgreens purchases, and more. Bilt credit cardholders will also earn double rewards on the first day of every month (Rent Day) on all eligible purchases except rent, up to 1,000 bonus points.
Keep in mind that you need to use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points — though this should be easy for most.
When it comes to redeeming Bilt points, options include fitness classes, art pieces in The Bilt Collection, and rent credit at a rate of 0.55 cents per point. That said, if you want to get the best value possible, your best option is to redeem your points through one of the Bilt Rewards transfer partners.
Bilt Rewards offers a great list of airline and hotel transfer partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Miles & Smiles, and World of Hyatt, which allow you to transfer your Bilt Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to redeem for luxury vacations.
Alternative Cards to the Bilt Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
If you’re looking for an all-around travel rewards card, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is likely to be a top option for you.
The card earns 5x points per $1 on travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards, 3x points per $1 on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, and 2x points per $1 on all other travel purchases.
Plus, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable credit card rewards points on the market, thanks to their flexibility and transferability to great transfer partners like Air Canada and World of Hyatt.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
If you’re looking for a no-annual-fee card that is great at earning cash-back rewards, then the Freedom Unlimited card is worthy of consideration.
It earns 5% back on travel purchases through Chase Travel, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% back on all other purchases.