Bilt Credit Card Review 2024: Is Bilt Credit Card Worth It?

The first big responsibility I faced straight out of college was (no brownie points for guessing) paying rent. The first time felt great—after all, I was finally “adulting”. But as each due date came by, even my friendly landlord did little to brighten my mood as I saw my money slip away.

But now, times have changed. 

Rent day is no longer doomsday—thanks to the Bilt Mastercard®—the only credit card that lets you pay rent for free while earning you travel rewards.

Is this legit? Or is it too good to be true? Whether you’re a skeptic or a fan, read on to find out if the Bilt Card is worth your time.

This article will include:

• A detailed explanation of how the Bilt Card works.
• The pros and cons of getting this card.
• Important FAQs about this credit card.

Read more:

• Best Business Credit Cards 
• Credit Cards for Free Travel and Cash Back
• Credit Card Perks 

Quick Facts

Our Verdict

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4.2

Welcome Bonus

N/A (can't find this in QMP)

Annual Fee

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Regular APR

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Credit Score

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Bilt World Elite Mastercard®: On FIRE Score

What is the Bilt Credit Card?

Choosing to pay rent with a credit card sounds plain stupid because of the added transaction fees. But the Bilt Credit Card changes the game entirely. 

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With this black card in hand, you not only get to pay your rent without any extra fees but also rack up valuable rewards points in the bargain. 

But what truly sets this card apart is that it fetches you transferable travel rewards and tons of insurance benefits—two features you’ll rarely spot in a no-annual-fee credit card. 

How Does the Bilt Credit Card Work?

At first glance, Bilt’s rewards program can seem overwhelming. But a closer look will show just how efficient and practical it is. 

Here’s a detailed breakdown:

Flexible rent payments with the Bilt Rewards Program

The Bilt Rewards Program and the Bilt World Elite Mastercard are two separate offerings. So, anyone who lives in a Bilt Rewards Alliance home can jump into the Bilt Rewards program, whether or not they have the card.

The Bilt Rewards Alliance is a network of over 3.5 million premium rental homes across the US. If you live in one of these homes, you can sign up for the rewards program by setting up a Bilt Rent account on the Bilt Rewards app. 

Once done, you’ll receive a routing and account number. And if your landlord doesn’t do credit cards, Bilt lets you pay through ACH transfer, Venmo, or a good old check without fees.

Note: You can use the Bilt Rewards Program to pay rent for free, even if you don’t live in a Bilt Alliance Home. But you won’t earn any rewards.

Exclusive benefits for Bilt cardholders

I know what you’re thinking—how can you get your hands on Bilt reward points without living in a Bilt property?

Simple—get the Bilt Mastercard and unlock exclusive reward points and benefits. 

Here’s what the rewards system looks like:

• Earn 1 point per $1 spent on rent (up to 100,000 points annually).
• Get 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• Access 2 points per $1 spent on travel.
• Earn 3 points per $1 spent on dining.
• Access 5 points per $1 spent on Lyft (when you link your accounts).

While reward points on travel and dining are common, earning points on paying rent is a new (and impressive) perk. Let’s say you’re paying $3,000 in rent each month. With the Bilt Card, you can earn 3,000 reward points in a month and close to 36,000 points a year.

Keep in mind: You’ll need to hit a minimum of five transactions on your Bilt Mastercard monthly to score points on all spending, including rent.

Double the fun on Rent Day

There’s more in store for renters—Bilt’s “Rent Day” promotion will double all the points you earn on the first of the month, excluding rent purchases. That’s up to 10,000 bonus points every month! 

How Much are Bilt Points Worth?

Rewards on big expenses like rent sound tempting. But the next big question is what these points are worth. 

Based on my research, I can safely estimate that Bilt Credit Card points value is between 0.7 cents to 2 cents each, with the average being 1.5 cents per dollar. 

These reward rates top the charts, alongside other excellent credit cards, like the Platinum Card from American Express and the Capital One Venture X Card. 

That’s impressive (to say the least) for a no-annual-fee credit card.

But what are these redemption categories? Here’s a detailed breakdown:

Bilt travel portal

Your Bilt points can play hero for flights, stays, cars, or activities you book on Bilt’s travel portal. The redemption rate stands at a solid 1.25 cents per point.

Transferring points to Bilt’s travel partners

Bilt currently boasts 15 airline and hotel partners, with almost all partners offering a 1:1 transfer ratio. Points typically hop over to your travel account in minutes. My top picks for point transfers include American Airlines AAdvantage, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Air Canada Aeroplan, to name a few.

Extra travel perks

You can bag an additional 100 points every time you link a travel loyalty program to your Bilt Card. Depending on the program, expect to earn up to 2.05 cents per point for each dollar spent.

Tip: Look out for surprises. Bilt is known to offer valuable point bonuses on different occasions. For example, one of their promotions—Rent Day bonuses—gave cardholders 100% extra points for transfer partners like Flying Blue and HawaiianMiles.

Redemptions on rent payment

Use your points to pay for rent as long as you’re living in a Bilt Rewards Alliance property. This is a cool feature but I don’t recommend this route as you’re only redeeming at the rate of 0.55 cents per point.

Down payment for a new home

With Bilt, you can score big by saving up points for your dream home’s down payment. Going this way means your Bilt points pack a punch, with a redemption value of 1.5 cents each.

Amazon purchases

Using Bilt points for an Amazon purchase will give you a redemption value of 0.7 cents per point. So, a $100 Amazon spree will cost you a whopping 14,300 points. This isn’t the best value but the route gives you more flexibility to use your Bilt points. 

Bilt Collection

You can redeem your points to shop from the Bilt Collection (a carefully curated mix of art, home decor, and trendy apparel). While the value per point may dance around, it usually doesn’t go above 1 cent. So, you may want to give this option a friendly pass. 

Fitness classes

Fitness fanatics can swap their Bilt points for front-row spots at top-notch classes like SoulCycle, Solidcore, Y7 Studio, and Rumble Boxing. The value varies based on your pick but usually hovers around 1 cent per point. 

Bilt Rent Credit Card Fees

Bilt Rewards Mastercard: Pros and Cons

Here’s a glance at all the pros and cons of getting this card:

Pros

• You can earn rewards for paying rent.
• Competitive rewards rates (1x–5x per dollar).
• Supercharged earnings on Bilt Rent Day.
• Flexible redemption options.
• Free award searches on Point.me.
• Earn interest on your points.
• Extra perks like auto insurance and cell phone protection.
• No annual fee.

Cons

• No sign-up bonus.
• Requires five card transactions per statement period to earn rewards.

Why I like it

Earn rewards for paying rent

Paying rent with a credit card can be a hassle since most landlords don’t dig plastic payments, and if they do, the fees can be a budget-buster. Some third-party options like Plastiq can help, but they also come with more fees.

This is where the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card comes in. There are no processing fees, no annual fees, and to top it off, you can rack up rewards on your rent payments. It’s a killer combo you won’t find anywhere else.

Competitive rewards rates (1x–5x per dollar)

The Bilt Credit Card isn’t limited to rent payments. It’s a Mastercard, so you can swipe it almost anywhere that takes credit cards. 

And that brings in a set of rewards—5 points for every buck spent on Lyft, 3 points for each dining dollar, 2 points for travel splurges, 1 point per $1 on rent (with a cap), and 1 point per $1 on everything else.

Of course, this card isn’t the only no-annual-fee player with decent rewards for everyday spending. Take the card_name, for instance—it hooks you up with 5% cash back on Chase-booked travel, 3% back on dining and drugstore buys, and 1.5% points on everything else. 

But here’s the kicker: most cards in this league won’t toss rewards your way for rent unless you’re cool with biting the bullet on processing fees (that pretty much cancel out the rewards’ value).

Supercharged earnings on Bilt Rent Day

For many renters, the first of the month can feel like doomsday—a reminder that your rent check is due. But with Bilt Rewards, your rent day has the potential to turn into a reward day.

Bilt Rent Day offers double points in certain categories on the first of each month. Typically you’d get 3 points per dollar on dining, 2 points on travel, and 1 point on other purchases, including rent. But on the first, it jumps to 6, 4, and 2 points respectively. The only exception is rent payments, which still earn 1 point per dollar.

You want to leverage this deal as much as possible—whether it’s stocking up on a gift card, making a deposit to your laundry app, or treating your partner to a dinner.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to use your Bilt Mastercard at least 5 times per statement period to qualify for these points.

Flexible redemption options

Bilt provides tons of flexibility in how you can redeem points:

• Statement credits: 0.55 cents per point
• Rent payments: 0.55 cents per point
• Amazon purchases: 0.7 cents per point
• Bilt Collection: Up to 1 cent per point
• SoulCycle: Around 1 cent per point
• Bilt travel portal: 1.25 cents per point
• Down payment on a home: 1.5 cents per point

Arguably, the best way to get value from Bilt points is by transferring points to its travel partners.

Here’s a glance at the extensive list of the Bilt Credit Card transfer partners:

Take a look at the top travel cards with better travel and cash back rewards.

Award searches on Point.me

Scoring sweet travel deals just got easier thanks to Bilt’s partnership with Point.me. 

This handy site launched in early 2023 and lets you search for award availability and the best redemptions across Bilt’s 15 airline and hotel partners—all in one place. 

It’s been a total game-changer for me when booking award flights.

Earn interest on your points

Bilt offers three tiers beyond basic Blue status—Silver, Gold, and Platinum Elite—unlocked by how many points you rake in each calendar year. Once you score enough, your shiny new status kicks in immediately and lasts through the end of the next year.

The perks start at Silver. Bilt pays you monthly interest on your points based on your average daily balance over 30 days. The rate mirrors the National Deposit Rate for savings from the FDIC. It’s like your points become a high-yield savings account!

Scoring elite status also lowers the transfer minimum with airline and hotel partners from 2,000 points to just 1,000. So you can score seats or rooms faster.

Here’s a table detailing what you get after achieving each new statue tier:

Trivia: Bilt talks extensively about a “Gift from Collection” when you hit the Platinum Tier. Now, I don’t know anyone who has crossed this threshold yet, so I looked for answers on Reddit. Turns out the gift is an Alexander Mcqueen coffee table book. I’m not an artistic person, so this isn’t my cup of tea.

Extra insurance perks

For a no-annual-fee card, Bilt offers an impressive selection of insurance and protections:

Phone insurance: Up to $800 coverage if your cell gets damaged, lost, or stolen when paying the bill with your Bilt card. Just a $25 deductible.

Purchase protection: Items bought with the card are covered for 90 days against damage or theft.

Concierge service: Bilt hooks you up with your own personal assistant to help book travel, restaurants, events, and more.

Trip cancellation/interruption: Get reimbursed for non-refundable trips if you need to cancel or cut it short for a covered reason. But you need to book it originally with the Bilt card.

Trip delays: If your travels get held up 6+ hours for a covered reason, Bilt reimburses up to $200 a day ($600 max) for reasonable expenses like hotels, meals, and transport.

Rental car coverage: Decline the rental company’s overpriced insurance as Bilt offers primary coverage when you pay with the card.

No annual fee

I’ve mentioned this (a couple of hundred times) already. But the fact that the Bilt Card brings so much to the table without an annual fee is very impressive.

Why you may want a different card

No sign-up bonus

The one bummer with the Bilt Card is the lack of a signup bonus.

Other $0 annual fee travel cards like the annual_fees offer a decent welcome bonus. You can earn a $200 cash back if you spend $500 in the first three months. Plus, you get 2% back on everything, which is nice—though the card lacks airline/hotel partners.

Here’s some insider information: I did some digging and turns out the Bilt Card may have an “unofficial welcome offer”. Some cardholders claim they were offered a signup bonus of 5x points on eligible purchases (excluding rent) for the first five days of card ownership. That’s 5x on meals, online purchases, trips, gas, and much more.

Five card transactions per statement period to earn rewards

Another caveat with the Bilt World Elite Mastercard is that you need to make five purchases every billing cycle to qualify for rewards. This may not be a big deal for most of us—especially because there’s no specific minimum purchase amount.

However, this means that you’ll need to go beyond using the card just for rent if you want to snag rewards. If you happen to forget and only use the card once or twice, you won’t be racking up any rewards from those transactions.

How to Maximize the Bilt Rewards Program

I’ll break down my top two ways to milk the most out of your Bilt Credit Card. 

Transfer your points to hotel/airline partners

Transferring Bilt points to loyalty programs is hands down the sweetest way to reap the rewards. I’m talking posh first-class seats, 5-star hotel suites, the whole nine yards.

Bilt partners with 15 major airlines and hotels—they’ve even got an exclusive deal as the only transfer program with American Airlines AAdvantage. Joining these programs is 100% free, even if you’ve never flown with them or stayed at their hotels.

When you link memberships to your Bilt account, you score 100 bonus points per program. That’s a quick and easy 1,500 extra points! 

Moving points to any partner is a simple 1:1 transfer ratio, but the value can shoot through the roof (as much as 2 cents per point), depending on the transfer partner. 

The right redemptions could mean a $3,000 business class ticket to Asia or a week in an overwater villa for $600. 

One of my favorite partners is World of Hyatt. Their free nights start at just 3,500 points, or you can book all-inclusive from $12,000 per night.

Here’s a glance at all of Bilt’s transfer partners:

Leverage Bilt’s Rent Day Promotion

One major perk of Bilt is its sweet monthly Rent Day promotion. Always falling on the first of the month, Rent Day doubles points earning rates across purchases like dining, travel, and bills (rent itself is the exception). 

But it also unlocks killer transfer bonuses. In May 2023, Bilt offered 100% bonuses to loyalty programs like Flying Blue and HawaiianMiles—easily the highest bonuses I’ve seen.

Best Credit Cards to Pair With the Bilt Mastercard

Rent and dining expenses? Use the Bilt card, no question. But pairing it with the right credit card for everything else can take your earnings into overdrive.

I recommend the card_name for daily spending. You get 6% cash back at US supermarkets and select streaming services, 3% on transit and US gas stations—all with a $0 intro annual fee the first year (then $95).

Between rideshares, Netflix, and buying groceries, I’d stack up serious savings that help offset the fee after year one.

Explore the best business credit cards for more pairing options.

Next, there’s the card_name, which still reigns supreme for travel rewards. You can earn 5x points on flights, and hotel stays, and 10x on Lyft rides through March 2025. And the 60,000 point signup bonus after spending $4,000 in 3 months? That’ll score you $750 in travel if redeemed through Chase.

The $95 annual fee is worthwhile, given the stacked perks like airport lounge access, travel protections, and 25% point boosts for rewarding redemptions.

Alternatives to the Bilt Rewards Credit Card

Technically, no other credit card lets you pay for rent, so the Bilt Card doesn’t have any real alternatives. 

However, I’m comparing Bilt to other cards that either come with $0 annual fees or offer the same rewards as the Bilt Card.

card_name Score: 4.2	card_name Score: 3.4	card_name Score: 5
Learn More	Learn More	Learn More
Annual fee annual_fees	Annual fee annual_fees	Annual fee annual_fees
Intro APR intro_apr_rate,intro_apr_duration	Intro APR intro_apr_rate,intro_apr_duration	Intro APR intro_apr_rate,intro_apr_duration
Regular APR reg_apr,reg_apr_type	Regular APR reg_apr,reg_apr_type	Regular APR reg_apr,reg_apr_type
Recommended credit credit_score_needed	Recommended credit credit_score_needed	Recommended credit credit_score_needed
Bonus Intro Rewards bonus_miles_full	Bonus Intro Rewards bonus_miles_full	Bonus Intro Rewards bonus_miles_full

Wells Fargo Bilt Credit Card: Useful Links

• Contact Bilt Credit Card’s customer service.
• Apply for the Bilt Credit Card.
• Check your Bilt Credit Card application status.
• Access the Bilt Credit Card login page.

Bilt Credit Card Reviews

Adithya Reddy, a software engineer and friend from Ohio, absolutely loves this card. 

Here’s what he has to say, “Rent is my single biggest expense. I’m stoked that I can make some points on paying it off every month. Bilt also gives me free access to Point.me, a real-time search engine that lets me find flight deals for my miles. I don’t have the time to hunt for the best deals online, so I appreciate this feature.”

But that’s where the fawning ends. Adithya goes on to express some concerns: “Some of Bilt’s top benefits, like the Bilt dining program, are restricted to bigger cities. I live in Columbus, Ohio, so I’m missing out.”

I also managed to quiz Adithya about how the application process panned out for him. He says, “I’ve been using the card for months now, so my memory may be a little foggy. But I think I was almost immediately approved for the digital card. And the physical one arrived about a week later. I have a FICO score in the 800’s—I’m pretty sure that helped speed things up.” 

My renter friend here is satisfied with the Bilt Card. 

But what about folks who aren’t paying rent with this card? Would they still recommend Bilt?

My curiosity took me to Reddit—and here are some of the answers I got:

“I’m a homeowner now, so obviously I’m not paying rent. But I use the Bilt Card to clear my HOA dues. Bilt doesn’t charge a fee and just sends a check.”

“Bilt is still a pretty decent no-annual-fee credit card with 3% dining and 2% travel rewards. You can find these elsewhere, sometimes even better, even with no annual fee. What stands out for me is that the first of each month is Rent Day—so all rewards double in value (except for rent).”

Is Bilt Credit Card Worth It?

For renters, the Bilt card is a total game-changer—finally, a way to pay rent with a credit card sans fees and rack up rewards points. Stack that with earnings on dining, travel, etc, and it’s a no-brainer win.

Apply for the Bilt Card here.

But what if you don’t pay rent? The math gets a little fuzzier. Don’t get me wrong—Bilt can still pay off, but you may find better options based on spending habits.

Do you think you can time big purchases for the first of every month? If yes, you can leverage Bilt’s Rent Day offer and get double rewards. 

But if loading up expenses once a month doesn’t fit your style, I’d probably look elsewhere. The card_name offers 2x miles on all purchases with a solid signup bonus and transfers to loyalty programs.

FAQ

Is Bilt Rewards legitimate?

The Bilt credit card, along with the Bilt Rewards program, is a well-regarded Mastercard provided by Wells Fargo. The Bilt Alliance, after which the card is named, is a company responsible for the ownership and management of more than 2 million rental Bilt properties throughout the United States.

Is Bilt a good credit card?

Yes, Bilt is a good credit card, especially for renters. This is the only credit card that lets you rack up points on rent with no fees.

But even if you don’t pay rent, don’t sleep on Bilt. For a $0 annual fee card, it delivers a ton of perks normally seen on premium $100+ cards. 

This includes bonus points on dining & travel, double points on the 1st of each month, cell phone insurance, travel protections when things go south, Lyft discounts…the list goes on.

Can you pay a mortgage with a Bilt Credit Card?

Unfortunately, you can’t pay mortgages with the Bilt Card. The card still lets you pay your monthly rental charges without any sketchy processing fee.

Plus, you can cash in Bilt points (at a value of 1.5x points) toward a future down payment when buying a home. So, building travel rewards today can help build homeowner savings tomorrow.

Also, note that Bilt is reserved for people renting residential spots, so you can’t pay for commercial properties with this card. 

What is the credit score needed for Bilt Card?

You’ll need good to excellent credit (a FICO score of 670 and above) to qualify for the Bilt Mastercard. 

Does Bilt do a hard pull?

Yes, Bilt does do a hard inquiry on your credit when applying for their World Elite Mastercard. Their website says they will pull your credit history, aka a hard pull, to make a decision. As expected with all credit applications, that hard inquiry could impact your credit score.

Who owns Bilt Credit Card?

Ankur Jain, an American entrepreneur and investor, is the Founder and CEO of Bilt Rewards. He’s a serial entrepreneur who started two other companies before Bilt—Kairos (an investment firm) and Humin (a tech company).

Does Bilt have foreign transaction fees?

No, Bilt does not levy any foreign transaction fee.

Our Methodology

Our credit card reviews aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of both quantitative and qualitative factors. The quantitative analysis focuses on the financial costs and benefits associated with each card, including interest rates, fees, rewards programs, cash back offers, and other monetary perks. However, we also consider qualitative aspects that impact the everyday use and value of the card. These include the simplicity of the application process, the structure of the rewards program, the likelihood of utilizing certain card features, and the suitability of the card for frequent or infrequent use. Our On FIRE rating system allows for quick comparisons between cards within a particular category. When choosing a new credit card, consumers should weigh the quantitative dollar amounts along with qualitative ease-of-use factors to select the best overall option for their needs.

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