Bilt Cardholders Were Seeing Foreign Transaction Fees, but These Will Be Refunded

If you recently upgraded to a Bilt 2.0 credit card and have used it outside the U.S., you may want to pull up your statement.

Many cardholders were surprised to discover that Bilt’s revamped cards charged a 0.2% fee on foreign transactions, even though the cards were marketed as having no foreign transaction fees.

The good news? Bilt says the issue is being fixed.

What Happened With Bilt and Foreign Transaction Fees?

The issue first surfaced in threads on the r/biltrewards community on Reddit, where users began noticing small discrepancies between their foreign transaction amounts in the Bilt app versus what appeared on their statements. The issue became clear from a side-by-side comparison using Mastercard’s Currency Converter Calculator, which showed a consistent 0.2% markup appearing on statements but not in the Bilt Rewards app.

That 0.2% fee isn’t random. It originates from Mastercard, which charges a small currency conversion fee on foreign transactions processed over its network. However, virtually every other credit card issuer that advertises no foreign transaction fees absorbs this cost, and it never reaches the cardholder. With the new Bilt 2.0 cards — issued through Cardless instead of the original Wells Fargo partnership — the fee appears to have been passed on to customers.

The dollar amounts are small. On $3,000 in foreign spending, you’re looking at about $6 in fees. But that’s beside the point. When a card is marketed as having no foreign transaction fees, cardholders shouldn’t be paying one — period.

Bilt Says It Will Refund Customers

To Bilt’s credit, the company responded quickly. A spokesperson issued the following statement:

“We are aware of the questions surrounding final transaction amounts for foreign transactions and are actively reviewing this matter with our card partners that manage the program. There should be no change to foreign transaction fees vs. the 1.0 card, and if any fees have been added, we will ensure our partners refund them.”

A Bilt spokesperson confirmed this was not an intentional policy change and that any overcharges since the Bilt 2.0 launch will be refunded to affected cardholders.

Final Thoughts

Mistakes happen, and the speed and transparency of Bilt’s response here is encouraging. That said, this is exactly the kind of issue that erodes cardholder trust — especially for a program that has built its reputation on being a premium, consumer-first product. If you have used your Bilt 2.0 card for international purchases since launch, keep an eye out for a refund credit on your statement.