Complete Guide to Bilt Rewards

Bilt Rewards… the new(er) kid on the block that’s shaking things up in the points and miles world.

With its unconventionally cool Bilt Mastercard® and a rewards program that lets you earn points on rent, Bilt is doing things differently — and we’re here for it.

It sets itself apart from programs like Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards by making everyday spending more rewarding, even if you don’t have the card.

Let’s dive into how Bilt Rewards works, what makes it unique, and how to get the most value from your points.

What are Bilt Rewards Points?

Bilt Rewards Points — or “Bilt Points” — are the currency of the Bilt Rewards ecosystem.

Bilt is most widely known for letting you earn points by paying rent, but it’s also a multifaceted program that extends beyond this perk, including offering points on many everyday activities.

You can earn Bilt points by simply becoming a member of the program (free to join!) or by using the Bilt Card to pay your rent and make other purchases.

You can then redeem those points for a variety of rewards, including:

• Travel (through the Bilt travel portal or via transfer partners)

• Pay Rent (only available if you live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance property)

• A down payment for a home

• Amazon (use your points to cover purchases)

• Student loans (new!)

Yep — Bilt lets you redeem points to chip away at student debt or help you buy a home.

You can already tell how unique Bilt’s ecosystem is, and we’re just getting started.

What are Bilt Points Worth?

On average, Bilt Points are worth about 1.8–2.0 cents each, though like most loyalty currencies, the value of Bilt Points depends on how you redeem them.

Here’s a ballpark idea:

When you consider one of our favorite redemption options (travel!), Bilt is pretty on par with some of the strongest point currencies out there, like American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Having an idea of their value can be helpful when deciding whether to redeem your points for a travel experience or just pay for it with cash.

We use a simple calculation to figure this out:

(cash price) - (taxes and fees) / (points cost) = value per point

In this example, we are comparing the cash price of a flight to its equivalent point redemption value on Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue 👇

If we use the equation above, we would get:

($1,017) - ($86.50) / 12,750) = .073

That means that if we transferred Bilt points to Flying Blue and booked this flight, we would receive a value of 7.3 cents per Bilt point.

That’s a ton of value!

Remember, Bilt points are generally valued at around 1.8 to 2 cents each, so getting a redemption within that range is considered good.

However, if you can get yourself a redemption that is upwards of seven cents? That’s incredible. 

You might be thinking, “Whoa, I don’t even understand how you’re transferring points over to do this…”

That’s a fair question, and it’ll be thoroughly answered in a later section. For now, we need to learn how to earn Bilt points in the first place.

How to Earn Bilt Points

Bilt currently offers just one credit card, the Bilt Card. Except… the most bonkers part about this whole thing is you don’t actually need their credit card to earn Bilt points.

It’s true. You do not technically need that sexy metal to rack up some Bilt points, but if you do want to add this card to your wallet, it offers some additional perks worth knowing about.

Here are the most common ways to earn Bilt points.

1. Get the Bilt Mastercard

We have seen people shy away from this card because of its lack of welcome offer (or so you think 😉), but for a no-annual-fee card (see terms), it brings a lot to the miles and points table.

The card’s straightforward earning structure includes:

• 3x points per dollar on dining

• 2x points per dollar on travel

• 1x point per dollar on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year)

• 1x point per dollar on all other purchases

• *Use the card at least five times each statement period to earn points

I’m not gonna lie… that’s comparable to some of the other big-name cards out there.

I think we all dine out, right? And because you’re here reading Daily Drop, you also probably travel, so having solid earning rates on those two categories already makes it a valuable card in my book!

You must use your card at least five times during each statement period to keep earning points, but five swipes a month is pretty reasonable.

2. Look for Bilt’s “non-welcome offer” incentive

Bilt may not offer an official welcome bonus for its card, but it does offer its cardmembers a sort of secret unofficial “non-welcome offer” incentive… sometimes.

If you’re just as confused reading that sentence as I was writing it… Let me explain further.

Once you’re approved and you receive your physical card in the mail, you might also find an email from Bilt offering you a boosted spending bonus.

This will give you the opportunity to earn 5x points on all eligible purchases for the first five days after receiving your card (up to 50,000 points!). 😮

So if you strategically have a large expense coming up, you could earn a fat stack of points if you receive this offer.

But that’s the thing… It’s hard to say who receives it and who doesn’t. One theory is that Bilt looks at those who will be high-quality customers before sending out this offer… but it’s just a theory.

So, if you do sign up for the Bilt Card, keep an eye out for an email to come through that will detail this unofficial offer to earn a healthy chunk of points.

3. Pay your rent

This is Bilt’s biggest push, making them unique among the other card issuers.

Currently, you can earn an easy 250 points per on-time rent payment at Bilt Alliance properties through ACH or even non-Bilt cards.

Additionally, you can earn 1x point per dollar on rent, without any transaction fees, for any property if you make that payment on the Bilt Card (up to 100,000 points each calendar year).

You can do this online via the Bilt app, or if your landlord only accepts checks, you can still pay online via the app, and Bilt will mail your landlord a rent check each month — pretty cool! 

4. Maximize Rent Day earning rates

On the first of each month, Bilt hosts what it calls Rent Day. It often releases a cool (and sometimes super valuable) perk in addition to fun trivia and other games that can earn you some fast points.

Additionally, if you have the Bilt Card, you will earn double the points you normally would on the regular spending categories — but just for that day (and capped at 1,000 points).

So on the first of each month, those spending categories look like:

• 6x points per dollar on dining

• 4x points per dollar on travel

• 2x points per dollar on all other purchases

Note that this “double points bonus” excludes rent payment. And remember, you must also use the card five times each statement period to earn these points (see rewards and benefits).

5. Use the Bilt travel portal

Bilt has its own travel portal that allows you to book flights, accommodations, car rentals, and various travel experiences.

As a Bilt member, you will earn 1x point per dollar on travel booked through their portal.

However, that earning rate will increase to 4x points per dollar if you’re a Bilt Card holder (2x for general travel purchases, plus 2x bonus points for holding the card)!

6. Link up with Lyft

You will earn 2x points per dollar on Lyft rides just by linking your Lyft and Bilt accounts. You don’t even need the Bilt Card to earn these points.

But if you do have the card, you will earn an additional 3x points per dollar on top of this!

7. Double dip with Bilt Dining

Bilt has its own dining program, and you can link any other credit card to your Bilt Wallet within the app. If you pay with your eligible card to eat at a participating restaurant, you will earn 3x points per dollar.

These 3x points are in addition to what you normally earn on your card.

For instance, if you linked your American Express® Gold Card, which earns 4x points on restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1x points thereafter), you would be raking in a whopping 7x total points per dollar. 🤯

How to Redeem Bilt Points

We are officially one step closer to traveling!

Be aware that there are several low-value ways to redeem your Bilt points, but you don’t really want to do this… because they are low-value.

These ways include using points for Amazon purchases, (sadly) paying your rent with points, and some other random redemptions.

The two main ways I would recommend you redeem your points include:

1. Transfer to airline and hotel partners

2. Fixed-value travel bookings via Bilt’s travel portal

1. Transfer to airline and hotel partners (best value)

As with most banks and cards, this is the way to go if you want to maximize the value of your points.

Bilt has an excellent list of transfer partners where most transfer at a 1:1 ratio. This means that 10,000 Bilt points will equal 10,000 miles or hotel points — though you’ll see there are a couple of exceptions.

Here are Bilt’s current airline transfer partners:

And here are Bilt’s hotel transfer partners:

Transfers are typically instant, but once you transfer your points, you can’t transfer them back, so make sure you have a particular redemption in mind first!

It’s also important to know that you can only transfer Bilt points within the Bilt app.

Want a step-by-step walkthrough of how to do this? Check out our Go-To-Guide for Credit Card Transfer Partners.

2. Fixed-value travel via the Bilt travel portal

The simplest way is to keep your points within Bilt’s ecosystem and redeem them for travel directly in Bilt’s travel portal, but understand that this will not yield the greatest value.

If you hold the Bilt Card, your points will be worth 1.25 cents apiece if redeemed in the portal. This is comparable to the Chase Travel^SM portal if you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

However, if you don’t have the Bilt Card and are just a Bilt member, your points will only be worth one cent each if you redeem them in this way.

If you want simplicity, use the Bilt portal. If you want the maximum value, transfer your points to Bilt’s travel partners.

Bottom Line

Bilt is a unique program with a unique earning structure that sets it apart from the others — you technically don’t even need to sign up for its credit card (though we’d recommend doing so!).

Regardless of some of its unconventional ways, it has become a solid contender to the big-name banks, and many travelers have found tremendous value in getting involved with the program!