The Bilt Credit Card allows you to pay your rent with a credit card and earn rewards points, without any payment processing fees being tacked on to the final amount.
The card is a good deal for renters looking to earn transferable points.
Yet, as a homeowner, I got the card.
One of the perks of their rewards program is that Bilt pays double rewards when you use the card on the 1st of every month, which they call “Rent Day.”
You could receive two points per dollar for general spending, four points for travel, and six points for dining (up to $10,000 in total spending).
So, you could spend up to $10,000 on a non-bonus category on the 1st of the month and earn 20,000 Bilt points.
This worked for me because many of my larger expenses, such as insurance, utilities, and taxes, have flexible payment dates.
So, I would strategically pay these bills on the 1st to get the double points. (I’ll discuss using a credit card to pay taxes later in this article.)
Many credit cards offer bonus rewards in specific categories like dining or travel, while all other purchases earn a base rate of typically 1 point per dollar. These other purchases are called “non-bonus categories.”
Before getting the Bilt card, I was putting non-bonus category spending on either the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which pays 1.5% in all categories, or the Capital One Venture X, which pays 2% in all categories but doesn’t have as good of transfer partners as Bilt.
However, Bilt capped the bonus points you can earn on Rent Day at just 1,000 points, effective October 1st, 2024.
For me, carrying this card to get 2X points on non-bonus spending up to $1,000 no longer justifies the effort. While it’s a reasonable deal for renters, it no longer offers the same value for homeowners leveraging Rent Day to maximize their rewards.
The Value of Bilt Points
Bilt Rewards stands out among credit card programs thanks to two key features: promotions that can significantly boost your points’ value and an unrivaled lineup of travel partners.
While they vary from month to month, past promotions have featured incredible transfer bonuses to airline and hotel partners.
Some notable examples include the following:
- February 2023: 100% transfer bonus to Hawaiian Airlines.
- May 2023: 100% transfer bonus to Flying Blue (KLM/AirFrance).
- August 2023: Up to 150% transfer bonus to Virgin Red.
- November 2023: Up to 150% transfer bonus to Emirates Skywards.
- February 2024: Up to 150% transfer bonus to Aeroplan.
Let’s say you spend $100 on non-bonus category purchases on Rent Day. This would earn you 200 Bilt points.
If you transfer those points to an airline partner during a 150% bonus promotion, your 200 points become 500 points (200 x 2.5).
This means you’ve effectively earned 5 points per dollar in a loyalty program on your original $100 purchase, which is an exceptional earning rate for a no-annual-fee credit card.
Of course, transfer bonuses are only valuable if they’re for programs you use. Fortunately, Bilt has what I consider to be the most valuable list of transfer partners in the space.
The current list includes:
- AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Alaska Airlines
- Aviance Lifemiles
- Cathay Pacific
- Emirates Skywards
- Flying Blue (Airfrance/KLM)
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Iberia
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles
- United Mileage Plus
- World of Hyatt
Transfer partners that stand out on the list to me are:
- Aeroplan. This is Air Canada’s loyalty program, which allows you to book flights on Air Canada and its partner airlines, including United Airlines, Lufthansa and many others. It’s an excellent option for international travel.
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. Alaska Airlines miles are highly valuable but notoriously hard to earn. Bilt is the only credit card rewards program that transfers to Alaska.
- World of Hyatt. This is the loyalty program of Hyatt Hotels, which includes brands like Park Hyatt, Andaz and Thompson Hotels. Hyatt allows you to book these high-end properties for as low as 21,000 points per night when cash rates can exceed $1,000 per night.
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles. This is the loyalty program of Turkish Airlines, which has a unique way of pricing award flights based on the distance you fly. For example, you can use Turkish Airlines miles to fly from anywhere in the mainland United States to Hawaii for just 10,000 miles one-way.
Previously, I could use the Bilt Card for my largest expenses, such as taxes, to reach higher status levels and unlock better transfer bonuses.
Bilt Rewards status is earned based on the total Bilt Points accumulated:
- Blue: Anyone enrolled in Bilt Rewards with under 50,000 Bilt Points earned.
- Silver: 50,000 Bilt Points earned.
- Gold: 125,000 Bilt Points earned.
- Platinum: 200,000 Bilt Points earned.
For instance, the Aeroplan transfer bonus structure was as follows:
- Blue: 75% transfer bonus.
- Silver: 100% transfer bonus.
- Gold: 125% transfer bonus.
- Platinum: 150% transfer bonus.
I could achieve the highest possible transfer bonuses by spending my way to Gold or Platinum status with Bilt.
However, with the recent changes, my desire to spend significantly on the card has been reduced. This limits my ability to reach higher status levels and, consequently, to access those high transfer bonuses. As a result, the overall value of the points has significantly decreased for me.
Using the Bilt Card to Pay Taxes
Paying taxes with a credit card can be a smart way to earn rewards points, but it’s not free.
The IRS offers payments through several providers, with a minimum fee of 1.82%. This fee essentially means you’re buying the rewards points you earn.
So, if the fee is 1.82% and you use the Bilt card on Rent Day, you’ll earn 2 points per dollar spent. In this case, you’re buying Bilt points at 0.91 cents each.
Whether that’s a good deal depends on how much value you can get when redeeming those points. If you can redeem them for more than 0.91 cents per point, paying the fee to earn the points can be worth it.
According to The Points Guy, Bilt points are valued at 2.05 cents per point. So, when transferring your Bilt points to one of their transfer partners, you can often get more than 0.91 cents in value.
Final Thoughts
As a self-employed person with taxes and health insurance to pay, I was part of a minority of people who don’t pay rent but still benefited from using the Bilt Card. However, Bilt recently capped the bonus points you can earn on Rent Day at just 1,000 points, effective October 1st, 2024. This change significantly reduces the card’s value for those like me who used it to maximize rewards on large expenses.
The effort to earn only 1,000 Bilt Points just isn’t worth it.
For me, it’s more worthwhile to use my Capital One Venture X, which earns 2% on all purchases and has a solid list of transfer partners, or to earn Chase Points using the Freedom Unlimited, which offers 1.5% on all purchases.
While I don’t value Capital One Miles as high as Bilt Points or only get 1.5% with the Chase Freedom Unlimited, these cards aren’t capped, making it a lot easier to accumulate points.
Have questions or comments? Let me know in the comments section below.
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