I’m always looking for new ways to use my everyday spending to earn more points and miles because I’m an avid travel hacker. Consequently, I can take advantage of a wide range of benefits, including elite status, upgrades, free flights and hotel stays, and access to lounges.
I wouldn’t be able to travel as much without the thousands of dollars I have saved through travel hacking over the years.
However, there has always been one major expense for which it has been difficult to earn points: rent.
Travel snoops have been earning points for years by taking advantage of short-term deals that waive credit card fees or by paying rent in a complicated way.
However, each of these maneuvers was unsuccessful and never lasted long. Thousands of potential points remained unaccounted for.
Until now, when the Bilt card arrived. Furthermore, it has changed the game.
What is Bilt?
Bilt credit cardBilt is a credit card that lets you earn points for paying rent and everyday purchases. After that, you can put those points to use as you would with any other rewards program: You can use them to directly book travel, transfer them to travel partners or redeem them in one of the other ways.
Bilt points can be earned in two ways: by using the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® or by renting a Bilt Alliance property.
In the United States, Bilt Alliance properties make up a network of two million units. In any case, I won’t zero in on that. I will discuss its credit card.
What is the Bilt reward card’s operation?
You can set up your recurring monthly rental payments on the Bilt app or website once you open a Bilt Mastercard®, which is issued by Wells Fargo and has no annual fee.
After that, Bilt sets up a separate bank account that is linked to your Bilt credit card. This allows you to pay your rent with an electronic check rather than using your credit card. This financial balance is essentially a lawful “sham” account made as a workaround for Visa handling expenses. You don’t do anything else with it, and you don’t take money out of it or put money in it.
Your Bilt Mastercard® is charged the same amount each time these unique routing and account numbers are used to pay rent. To pay off the card each month, you still need to connect your personal bank account.)
Additionally, you can still pay with your Bilt card through the Bilt Rewards app, and Bilt will send a check on your behalf, even if your property only accepts checks.
Setting everything up takes about five minutes. You will receive points based on your rent when you finish. I use it so that I don’t lose any points.
Benefits of the Bilt Reward Program Once your account is set up, you can earn up to 50,000 points per calendar year by using the Bilt credit card to pay your rent. If you play your cards right, that many points could get you a free round-trip flight from New York to London, even though the required mileage for free flights varies greatly depending on numerous factors.
You will also earn two points for every dollar spent on travel (when booked directly or through the Bilt Travel portal), three points for every dollar spent on dining, and up to five points for every dollar spent on Lyft, in addition to earning points for rent payments. On all other purchases, you will earn one point for every dollar.
Keep in mind that these rewards can only be earned by making five purchases per month—there is no minimum spending requirement.
You can move focuses 1:1 to travel accomplices, including American Carriers, Joined together, Emirates, Hawaiian, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Hyatt, and IHG.
Apart from the rent issue, the fact that you can transfer Bilt points to Hyatt and American Airlines sets this card apart. Nobody moves to America, so this is an immense selling point for this card, since it’s the best way to get AA focuses without having an AA card. Additionally, accumulating Hyatt points grants you access to a way out of the Chase system.
Because Bilt is integrated directly with a point.me, the points booking search engine, it is simple to determine the best way to make use of your Bilt points when booking flights. Simply enter your desired location into the travel portal of the app, and the point. the me-powered search function will display all flights that can be booked using Bilt points. You can transfer your Bilt points to the appropriate travel partner within the app once you have selected an option.
You can likewise reclaim focuses for wellness classes, such as SoulCycle, Solidcore, Thunder, and Y7, and for things in the Bilt Assortment, an organized choice of craftsman home-style things. However, the redemption rate for fitness classes is less than one point percent, and the redemption rate for travel purchases is superior.
Based on the total points you earn each year, making purchases also helps you advance in the Bilt Rewards program.
The following are the tiers for those Bilt Rewards, with everything in the following tiers:
Blue: Acquire directs on lease and the capacity toward move them 1:1 to travel accomplices
Silver (25,000 focuses each year): Gold (50,000 points per year): When you sign a new lease or renew an existing lease, you get ten percent bonus points and interest on your points balance at the FDIC’s published national savings interest rate.
Platinum (100,000 points per year): 25% bonus points for new leases and renewals, as well as access to a home ownership concierge who will guide you through the home-buying process.
The perks in the higher tiers aren’t particularly exciting, but they are a nice way to earn even more points if they apply to you. They include a gift from the Bilt Collection of home décor items and 50% bonus points for new leases and renewals. Be that as it may, even at the base level, you can in any case exploit Bilt’s fundamental fascination: earning rent-related points.
The card gives you, in addition to earning points, the following:
- Trip undoing assurance and interference inclusion
- Trip postpone repayment (for deferrals of six hours or more)
- Vehicle rental impact inclusion
- Phone insurance (up to USD 800)
- No unfamiliar exchange expenses
- DashPass credits for a free three months and USD 5 off your most memorable DoorDash request every month
- USD 5 in Lyft credits every month in the wake of requiring three rides that month
- Click here for a full breakdown of Remuneration and Advantages Rates Charges.
Who can use this card?
Anyone who wants to earn points on their monthly rent can use this card. It’s mostly a “set it and forget it” card once you set up online payments (you can also set up auto-pay) and use it five times a month. You only stand to gain points because there is no annual fee.
The card is particularly intended for voyagers and café attendees since it offers 2x focuses spent on movement and 3x brings up on feasting. However, it works best when combined with other travel credit cards with better benefits, attractive welcome bonuses, and higher earning rates.
I will likely begin utilizing the Bilt card rather than my Pursuit Sapphire since I get a ton of Pursue focuses through business spending, and I’m expecting to travel to Japan one year from now, so I need that AA focuses (AA is a collaborative with Japan Carriers).
Who else won’t use this card?
The Bilt card should not be applied for if you already have a balance or intend to carry a balance, as with any travel credit card. The Bilt card is one of many travel credit cards with notoriously high-interest rates. If you have to pay interest every month, the points are just not worth it.
Also, this card isn’t for people with bad credit because you have to have good or excellent credit to get it.
Besides, the Bilt card will not be for anybody searching for one with a major invite reward (as there is none), and it figures in with Pursue’s 5/24 rule (you can’t open more than five Pursue cards in 24 months or less). To open more, you should avoid this one for the present.
In conclusion, the Bilt card is something you should think about if you rent and want to earn points on this significant monthly expense. There’s nothing to lose because it’s free and easy to set up. The Bilt card could be a useful additional resource for earning those coveted points and miles—especially if you fly American Airlines, as this is one of their only transfer partners—even if your rent isn’t particularly high.
As the main prizes card that offers focuses on leasing totally for nothing, Bilt is a welcome new player in the movement space. If you pay rent, it is a no-brainer, in my opinion, so you can begin working toward free hotel stays and flights!
