Bilt Introduces BillPay by Bilt, Making Rent Payments More Complicated for Some Users

Bilt was established in 2021 to help renters build credit and earn rewards on their rent payments through a loyalty program.

Bilt Points earned can be put back into your rent or used toward travel through popular hotel and airline programs. The program is free to join and doesn’t require opening a credit card, although the Bilt World Elite Mastercard^® helps you earn rewards faster.

Now, however, Bilt has changed the way that paying rent works. While it doesn’t affect everyone, it does make the process more complicated for some people.

Bilt Makes Paying Rent More Convoluted

This new change only affects customers who pay online and don’t live in an apartment within the Bilt network, meaning that nothing will change for people paying by check or residing in a Bilt Alliance Property. And don’t worry about the points you earn: You’ll still get Bilt Rewards on your payments.

For those living in the Bilt network, the usual forms of electronic payment — such as debit, credit, and ACH withdrawal — will remain functional and earn points. However, for those impacted, the changes meant to bring security have also brought unintended complexity.

Previously, if your rental wasn’t included in the Bilt system, you could still use Bilt’s app to earn points on rent payments with a linked debit or credit card as though it were any other payment.

Going forward, the process of paying rent is more complicated. Every time you want to pay rent, you’ll need to pre-authorize your payment in the Bilt app. This includes both your rent amount and how you want to pay it.

Once you’ve done that, you can submit your rent payment as usual, as long as it’s within 5 days of authorizing your payment through the app.

The first time you use this new system, you’ll receive a new account and routing numbers through BillPay by Bilt. You’ll then need to update this in your payment portal. This will only need to be done once — no later than April 29, 2025.

Unlike established users, newcomers to the Bilt Rewards program don’t have to deal with all the extra steps that come with an older account. For those considering joining, now is a good time.

Final Thoughts

While Bilt’s newly added security is certainly an improvement, the approach has brought unnecessary convolution to what is already a frustrating process.

The routing and account numbers have no real use except your rent, and the required authorization to make your payment seems redundant. That said, the points you earn for a necessary expense are still useful through their versatility and provide a nice kickback you don’t see with many other programs or rewards credit cards.