In February 2026, Bilt replaced its single no-annual-fee credit card with three new cards — the Bilt Blue, Bilt Obsidian and Bilt Palladium.
The issuer changed from Wells Fargo to Cardless (with Column N.A. as the underlying bank). The rewards structure changed completely. And for the first time, you can earn points on mortgage payments.
I had the original Bilt card and used it mostly for dining and Rent Day spending. When the 2.0 transition hit, I upgraded to the Bilt Palladium — the top-tier card with a $495 annual fee. My wife is an authorized user on it. It’s now our everyday card.
That might sound like a big jump from a no-fee card. Here’s why the math works for us, and how the new Bilt lineup compares to what came before.
What Changed With Bilt 2.0
The short version: almost everything.
The old Bilt card earned 1x on rent (up to 100,000 points per year), 3x on dining, 2x on travel and 1x on everything else. You needed to make five transactions per month to earn any points. There was no annual fee. It was issued by Wells Fargo.
That card no longer exists. If you didn’t pick one of the three new cards by January 30, 2026, your account was converted to a Wells Fargo Autograph card on February 7.
The three new cards share a few things in common.
All three let you pay rent or mortgage through Bilt with no transaction fee. All three have no foreign transaction fees. And all three have a 10% introductory APR on new purchases for the first 12 billing cycles.
The biggest addition is mortgage rewards. Previously, Bilt was only useful for renters when it came to housing payments.
Now homeowners can earn points on their mortgage too — which is the main reason this card went from a nice-to-have to a must-have for me.
The Three New Bilt Cards
Bilt Blue ($0 Annual Fee)
The entry-level card.
Earns 1x points on all non-housing purchases. Welcome bonus is $100 in Bilt Cash.
Includes cellphone protection and no foreign transaction fees. This card is fine if you want to stay in the Bilt ecosystem without paying an annual fee, but earning 1x on a no-fee card isn’t competitive on its own.
Bilt Obsidian ($95 Annual Fee)
The mid-tier card.
Earns 3x on either dining or grocery (you pick one annually — grocery is capped at $25,000 per year), 2x on travel and 1x on everything else.
Welcome bonus is $200 in Bilt Cash.
Comes with a $100 annual hotel credit through the Bilt Travel portal ($50 twice a year, two-night minimum stay). The bonus category structure is similar to the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Bilt Palladium ($495 Annual Fee)
The premium card.
Earns 2x points on all non-housing purchases. Welcome bonus is 50,000 Bilt points after spending $4,000 in three months, plus $300 in Bilt Cash and Gold status.
Comes with a $400 annual hotel credit through Bilt Travel ($200 twice a year, two-night minimum), Priority Pass lounge access and $200 in annual Bilt Cash.
Why I Chose the Palladium
In year one, the Palladium costs $400 more than the Obsidian in annual fees.
But the 50,000-point welcome bonus alone — worth roughly $625 at 1.25 cents per point in the travel portal, or closer to $1,000 if you transfer to partners like Hyatt — more than covers that gap.
After year one, the value depends on how you use the card.
For me, the 2x flat rate on everything is simpler and more valuable than managing bonus categories.
I was previously using the Capital One Venture X as my everyday card for its flat 2x earn rate. The Palladium earns the same 2x, but Bilt points are worth more per point because of the transfer partners. More on that below.
There’s also the Point Accelerator.
On the Palladium, you can spend $200 in Bilt Cash to earn an extra 1x on the next $5,000 in spending — turning your 2x card into a 3x card.
You can do this up to five times per year, covering $25,000 in spending. The Bilt Cash to fund these activations comes from the card’s own earn rate and annual credits, so the cycle is roughly self-funding.
The Mortgage Angle
No other credit card lets you earn points on mortgage payments without a transaction fee. With Bilt, I can earn up to 1x on my roughly $2,500 monthly mortgage. That’s up to 30,000 points per year on an expense I’m already paying.
To put that in perspective: 30,000 Hyatt points is enough for four or five nights at a Category 1-4 property, or two nights at a Category 5. It’s meaningful value on money that would otherwise earn nothing.
There are two options for earning housing rewards, and they’re both more complicated than they need to be.
- Option 1 links your housing point earnings to how much you spend on the card each billing cycle. Spend at least 25% of your housing payment amount and you earn 0.5x on housing. Spend 50% and you get 0.75x. Spend 75% for 1x. Spend 100% or more and you earn 1.25x. If you don’t hit 25%, you still get 250 points as a floor.
- Option 2 earns 4% Bilt Cash on all your card purchases instead of tracking spending tiers. You then use that Bilt Cash to unlock housing points at a rate of $30 Bilt Cash per 1,000 points. This works out to roughly an extra 1.33x on your spending, capped at 1x on your housing payment.
I chose Option 2.
My spending varies month to month, and I don’t want to stress about hitting a specific threshold by the statement close date.
Option 2 also lets me bank Bilt Cash during higher-spend months and use it during lower-spend months. The difference between the two options is roughly 5% in most scenarios — not enough to lose sleep over.
Bilt Points: Transfer Partners and Value
The reason I care about earning Bilt points, rather than generic cash back, comes down to the transfer partners.
Bilt now has 23 airline and hotel transfer partners — the largest list in the industry. All transfer at a 1:1 ratio except Accor Live Limitless, which transfers at 3:2.
The full list of airline partners:
- Aer Lingus (Avios)
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways (Avios)
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Iberia Plus (Avios)
- JAL Mileage Bank
- Qatar Airways (Avios)
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Spirit Airlines Free Spirit
- TAP Air Portugal
- Turkish Miles&Smiles
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Hotel partners include:
- Accor Live Limitless
- Hilton Honors
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
A few things stand out.
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards (which now includes the old Hawaiian Airlines program) is only available as a transfer partner through Bilt — no other credit card program transfers to Alaska.
JAL Mileage Bank transfers at a 1:1 ratio, which is better than Capital One’s rate.
And Hyatt remains the best hotel redemption in the industry.
I redeem most of my Bilt points through Hyatt.
We used them for trips to Miraval Austin, Grand Hyatt Kauai and the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome in 2024, getting well above 2 cents per point in value each time.
Bilt also runs transfer bonuses on Rent Day (the 1st of each month).
In 2025, eight out of 12 months had a transfer bonus, some as high as 100% — meaning your points doubled when transferred to that month’s featured partner. The double points promotion on Rent Day spending (up to 1,000 bonus points) also continues through January 2027.
If you don’t want to deal with transfer partners, Bilt points are worth 1.25 cents each in the Bilt Travel portal. That’s lower than the 2+ cents I get through Hyatt transfers, but still a reasonable fallback.
Who the New Bilt Cards Make Sense For
- Renters or homeowners who want to earn on housing payments. This is the core value proposition. If you pay rent or a mortgage, no other card lets you earn transferable points on that expense without paying a processing fee.
- People who value Hyatt, Alaska or United as transfer partners. If you regularly book award stays or flights through these programs, Bilt points are among the most valuable points you can earn. Hyatt in particular offers redemption values that cash back can’t match.
- Anyone willing to consolidate spend on one card. The Palladium’s 2x on everything (boostable to 3x) combined with housing rewards can yield an effective 3-3.25x return per dollar on spending up to your housing payment amount. That’s better than any other single-card strategy I’m aware of.
Who They Don’t Make Sense For
- People who prefer cash back. Bilt’s cash-out options are poor — roughly 0.55 cents per point as a statement credit. If you don’t want to learn transfer partners, a flat 2% cash back card will serve you better.
- Those without rent or mortgage payments. Without housing rewards, the Palladium is a decent 2x card with a $495 annual fee. The $400 hotel credit and welcome bonus help, but you lose the main differentiator.
- Anyone who doesn’t want to think about it. This is a fair objection. The housing rewards system has two options, each with different math. Bilt Cash has monthly caps on various redemptions. The earning structure is more complicated than any other card I’ve used. If you value simplicity, this isn’t it.
Verdict: Why the Palladium Replaced My Venture X
The old Bilt card was a solid no-fee card for dining and Rent Day. The Palladium is something different — it’s my primary everyday card.
With 2x on all purchases, boostable to 3x through the Point Accelerator, plus earning on my mortgage, I’m getting an effective return of roughly 3-3.25x on spending up to my housing payment amount.
Those points transfer 1:1 to Hyatt, where I consistently get 2+ cents per point. Even if you just use the travel portal at 1.25 cents per point, the math comes out to over 4% back on everyday spending.
Is the system too complicated? Yes.
I’ve spent more time understanding Bilt 2.0 than any other card I’ve ever owned. But the earning potential is real, and for homeowners who were previously shut out of housing rewards, the mortgage angle is genuinely new.
If you value transferable points and you pay rent or a mortgage, the Bilt Palladium is worth a hard look. You can learn more or apply on the Bilt website.
