Link: Apply for a Bilt credit card, with three options to choose from
Bilt is the rewards platform that potentially helps people earn rewards on their housing payments, whether paying rent or a mortgage. While a lot has changed about Bilt in recent times, there’s still value to be had for many, especially thanks to the Bilt rewards points currency. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at the basics of Bilt points, and how to maximize value.
The basic value proposition of Bilt’s credit card ecosystem
The easiest way to rack up Bilt points is with the three co-branded credit cards, issued by Cardless, including the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card, $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card, and $495 Bilt Palladium Card (read my Bilt credit card review and comparison). Not only do these cards earn points, but they also earn you Bilt Cash, which can be redeemed to earn even more points.
I think the Bilt Palladium Card is the most lucrative card in the portfolio, despite its high annual fee. The card earns 2x points on all spending, plus 4% back in the form of Bilt Cash. Bilt Cash can be used to earn points on your housing payments (rent, mortgage, and/or HOA), and as a general rule of thumb, you need to spend about 75% as much as your housing payment on the card to earn 1x points per dollar spent on housing (there’s a bit more nuance to that).
Bilt Cash can also be redeemed for spending accelerators, so that you earn an additional 1x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, up to a certain limit.
Long story short, the card will be netting me well over 3x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, which is pretty unrivaled (assuming you have enough spending that doesn’t qualify for good bonus categories on other cards, and can make the annual fee work — admittedly those are two major caveats).
The ways to redeem Bilt points, from best to worst
Earning lots of points is one thing, but how can you actually redeem points earned in the Bilt ecosystem? Bilt points are quite competitive with the other major transferable points currencies out there, so there are lots of great uses of them.
Let me go over the different ways to redeem Bilt points, ranked from most valuable to least valuable (in my opinion).
Transfer Bilt points to 23 airline & hotel partners
For those of us into miles and points, the good news is that Bilt has 23 travel transfer partners, as the program partners with 18 airline loyalty programs and five hotel loyalty programs. Points transfer to most currencies instantly.
Bilt partners with the following 18 airline loyalty programs:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Alaska Atmos Rewards
- Avianca Lifemiles
- British Airways Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Iberia Plus
- Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Spirit Airlines Free Spirit
- TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Bilt partners with the following five hotel loyalty programs:
- Accor Live Limitless (ALL)
- Hilton Honors
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
The transfer ratios for these programs are 1:1, with two exceptions:
- With Accor Live Limitless, the transfer ratio is 3:2, so that’s not quite as good as a 1:1 ratio
- With Marriott Bonvoy, members can receive a bonus of 5,000 Bonvoy points for every 20,000 Bilt points transferred; so in the right increments, the transfer ratio is 1:1.25
There’s quite a bit of overlap here with other transferable points currencies, though I should call out three things:
- Accor Live Limitless is interesting, since it’s a revenue-based program, and 2,000 Accor points gets you €40 of spending with the brand; this means you can redeem 3,000 Bilt points for €40 off an Accor stay, which is an easy way to cash out points at a not-bad value
- Alaska Atmos Rewards is a useful program for redemptions on both oneworld partner airlines, as well as on non-oneworld partners, like Condor, Starlux, and more
- World of Hyatt is otherwise only transfer partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards, and there are lots of great uses of World of Hyatt points
Redeem Bilt points toward a home downpayment
Since Bilt is designed largely for people who rent, here’s a cool way you can redeem your Bilt points. If you buy a home, you can redeem your Bilt points toward a downpayment at the rate of 1.5 cents each, which is quite good. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $150 toward a downpayment.
To use this option, you just email Bilt with proof of a home purchase, and include how many points you’d like to redeem. That’s pretty straightforward, and a good value!
Redeem Bilt points with the Bilt Travel Portal
Bilt has a travel portal, and you can choose to either earn or redeem points when booking travel through the portal. If you’d like to redeem points, Bilt points are worth 1.25 cents each toward a travel purchase. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $125 toward a travel purchase.
The Bilt Travel Portal allows you to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities, so you have quite a bit of flexibility.
Redeem Bilt points for shopping, fitness, and lifestyle
There are a variety of other ways you can redeem Bilt points, though personally I wouldn’t recommend these:
- You can redeem Bilt points through Amazon, at the rate of 0.7 cents per point
- You can redeem Bilt points toward select fitness classes, typically at the rate of somewhere around 1.0 cents per point
- You can redeem Bilt points toward the Bilt Collection (which includes apparel, art, home decor, and more), but the value is generally around 1.0 cents per point
Redeem Bilt points to pay your rent
Bilt lets you redeem your points to pay rent. However, each point will only get you 0.55 cents toward a rent payment. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $55 toward rent. This is a very poor use of points, so it’s not how I’d recommend redeeming Bilt points.
My strategy with redeeming Bilt points for best value
If you’re looking to maximize value (hopefully you are!), you shouldn’t redeem your Bilt points for any of the options that get you one cent of value per point or less. In other words, avoid paying rent with your Bilt points, and don’t use them for Amazon purchases, or for any of the fitness classes or lifestyle options.
Then there are two options that aren’t necessarily the best way to redeem your points, but which could still prove to be worthwhile:
- Redeeming Bilt points for 1.5 cents each toward a home downpayment could be a good deal, though admittedly this is pretty niche
- Redeeming Bilt points for 1.25 cents each toward a travel purchase could be a decent option, assuming you’re struggling to otherwise get more value with your points
My preference is to transfer Bilt points to the program’s airline and hotel partners. After all, you can get such outsized value, especially for premium travel (first and business class flights, and five star hotels).
There are potentially deals to be had with most of Bilt’s transfer partners, though personally here’s my strategy with these points:
- On the hotel front, I think World of Hyatt is the most exciting transfer partner for Bilt, given all the amazing uses of these points, and also given that the only other partner for World of Hyatt is Chase Ultimate Rewards; I think Accor Live Limitless is also interesting, in terms of a decent “cash out” value of points toward a hotel stay (based on current exchange rates, you’re getting over 1.5 cents of value per point that way)
- On the airline front, Alaska Atmos Rewards is the program that excites me the most, given that no other major transferable points currency partners with the program, and I use the points all the time, particularly for redemptions on American; I also see value with Emirates Skywards and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, as no other transferable points currencies have 1:1 transfers to those programs
- We see a monthly Bilt Rent Day promotion, and we’ve seen some amazing transfer bonuses, especially for those who have Bilt elite status; members should keep an eye on these offers, as they could be worth a speculative transfer, and I think that’s the other best way to maximize Bilt points
Up until now, I’ve exclusively used my Bilt points for situations where there are transfer bonuses. I hope these offers continue, as that’s how I’ll continue to use my points.
Bottom line
In recent years, Bilt has created a really competitive transferable points currency, and there are lots of ways to get value with the points. In particular, Bilt has 23 airline and hotel transfer partners, and I’d say it’s about the best portfolio of partners that you’ll find. In particular, I appreciate Alaska Atmos Rewards and World of Hyatt, and I also often take advantage of Rent Day offers.
You can also redeem your Bilt points for 1.5 cents each toward a downpayment for a home, or for 1.25 cents each through the Bilt Travel Portal. While there are further lower value redemptions, I wouldn’t recommend redeeming your points that way.
If you do want to rack up Bilt points, I’d recommend the Bilt Palladium Card, given the 2x points on all eligible spending, plus the 4% back in Bilt Cash, which can be used to earn even more points.
What’s your favorite use of Bilt points?
