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 suite of cards 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 one of their cards.

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 best 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 one of their cards 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)

• Lyft rides

• Paying your rent

• A down payment for a home

• Fitness classes (at Pure Barre, SoulCycle, and Y7)

• 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 three credit cards: Bilt Blue Card, Bilt Obsidian Card, Bilt Palladium Card. (See rates & fees.)

Except… the most bonkers part about this whole thing is you don’t actually need their credit cards 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 one of these cards to your wallet, they offer some additional perks worth knowing about.

Here are the most common ways to earn Bilt points and Bilt Cash, Bilt’s own rewards currency (note that up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year, but more on that below).

1. Get a Bilt Card

Each card has a slightly different earning and rewards structure, though all have the same core benefit: no transaction fees on housing payments.

Of their three cards, choose the one that best suits your needs and spending habits:

Bilt Blue Card

• 1x on everyday spend

• 4% back in Bilt cash or up to 1.25 points on housing payments

Bilt Obsidian Card

• 3x on your choice of dining or grocery (up to $25K per year for grocery, then 1x in that category for the rest of the year)

• 2x on travel

• 1x on everyday spend

• 4% back in Bilt cash or up to 1.25 points on housing payments

• $100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit (applied twice a year as $50 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings)

Bilt Palladium Card

• 2x on everyday spend

• 4% back in Bilt cash or up to 1.25 points on housing payments

• $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit (applied twice a year as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings)

• $200 of Bilt Cash (Awarded annually. Up to $100 of Bilt Cash rolls over into the next calendar year.)

• Priority Pass (worth $469/year)

Depending on which card you get, it can be comparable to some of the other big-name cards out there.

2. Pay your rent

This is Bilt’s biggest push and sets them apart from 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 up to 1x point per dollar on rent, without any transaction fees, for any property if you make that payment on Bilt’s cards.

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! 

3. 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 a 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). As you can imagine, these extra points could add up fast, especially if you hold the Palladium or Obsidian cards.

Note that this “double points bonus” excludes rent payment and is currently set to continue until January 1, 2027.

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 points per dollar on travel booked through their portal.

These rewards stack, so if you also hold one of their cards, you’ll earn even more!

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 a Bilt card to earn these points.

But if you do have the Bilt Obsidian Card or Bilt Palladium Card, you will earn an additional 2x 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, with most transfers 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 a Bilt card, your points will be worth 1.25 cents apiece if redeemed in the portal.

However, if you are just a Bilt member, your points will be worth only 1 cent each if you redeem them 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 one of their cards (though we’d recommend doing so!).

Despite some of its unconventional ways, it has become a solid contender against the big-name banks, and many travelers have found tremendous value in joining the program!