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The new Bilt Rewards and Bilt Credit Card program will help you get more from paying your rent.
When it comes to earning points and miles, there’s one category of spend that can really help boost your points balance: your home. Many people strive to pay their rent with a credit card, but are often discouraged due to high fees. It isn’t worth it to pay a 3% fee if you’re only getting 1.5% back in rewards. Bilt set out to change this, and is announcing the launch of Bilt Rewards and the Bilt Credit Card.
Bilt is launched with your future in mind. They understand that maybe you don’t want to rent forever, and the rewards program is set up to help make your transition from renter to homeowner even more valuable.
Let’s take a look at how Bilt Rewards can play an integral role in building towards your future, and all the benefits that come with the new Bilt Rewards program and Bilt credit card.
What Is the New Bilt Rewards Program?
Bilt Rewards is a new awards program that allows renters to start earning points on your largest monthly expense. Why shouldn’t you get rewarded for paying rent on time?
When you rent from a Bilt Rewards property, you can earn points simply by paying your rent. The property can also offer incentives in the form of rewards points for things like tenant referrals or lease renewals.
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card
The centerpiece of the new Bilt Rewards program is the Bilt Rewards Credit Card. There are quite a few features of this card that make it uniquely beneficial to renters.
For starters, if you live at a Bilt participating property you won’t pay any fees on rent payments. At the same time, you’ll be earning rewards. New cardholders are eligible to receive 3X points on your first rent payment after account approval, up to a maximum of 10,000 points.
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card is issued as a World Elite Mastercard, so you’ll get all the same perks that come with other World Elite cards.
How Bilt Helps Your Credit
When you use your new Bilt Rewards Credit Card for rent payments, you can utilize the BiltProtect feature to avoid using your credit line. When turned on, BiltProtect makes your card function like a debit card for rent payments. It pulls the funds from your bank account when you make the payment on your card. This helps you keep your credit utilization down while earning points on your rent payment.
Additionally, the Bilt Rewards credit card helps you boost your credit score. Traditionally, rent payments don’t get reported to credit bureaus. This is pretty unfair, since you’re making the payment on time every month. Bilt sought out to fix this. When you pay your rent on-time with your Bilt card, Bilt will report this to the credit bureaus. This can really help boost your credit score and can come in handy if you’re looking to buy a home in the future.
How to Earn Bilt Rewards Points
For starters, you’ll earn Bilt Rewards Points when you pay your rent on-time every month with your Bilt Rewards card. You’ll earn 250 base points per month for rent payments at in-network properties. Currently, Bilt’s partner network includes 2 million rental units across the U.S. Apartment properties including Camden, Veritas, Blackstone and others are all part of the Bilt partner program.
We’ve talked a lot about rent, but the Bilt card also affords you the opportunity to earn rewards points on other purchases as well. For all non-rent purchases you’ll earn one point per dollar. There’s no cap to the number of points you can earn on non-rent purchases with your Bilt Rewards credit card.
Understanding the Bilt Rewards Tier Program
We mentioned that you’ll earn 250 points per month on rent payments, but how can you earn more? You’re eligible to receive more points based on your status within the Bilt program. There are four levels of status after you’ve opened your card:
- Bilt Blue
- Bilt Silver
- Bilt Gold
- Bilt Platinum
Your status is determined by the amount of non-rent purchases you put on your card every month. Remember, you’ll get one Bilt Reward point for every dollar of non-rent spend put on your card.
Blue requires $250 in non-rent monthly spend, silver is $1,000, Gold is $2,000 and Platinum is $3,500. Remember, this Is based on a calendar month, so your tier can change month to month.
Each tier comes with more rewards points on rent. Once you reach Blue, you’ll earn one point for every $2 spent on rent. Silver bumps up to one point for every dollar spent on rent. Gold earns 1.5 points for every dollar spent on rent, and Platinum earns 2 points for every dollar spent on rent.
How Many Bilt Rewards Points Can I Earn?
You can earn an unlimited number of Bilt Rewards points for non-rent payments, but rent payments are capped at 4,000 points per month. Let’s take a look at how many points you’ll earn at each level assuming a rent payment of $1,500 a month.
| Membership Type – | Points Earned on Rent – | Amount Earned on $1,500 Rent Payment | Non-Rent Spend Needed | Amount Earned From Non-Rent Spend | Total Monthly Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | 250 | 250 | $0 | 0 | 250 |
| Blue | 1 point for every $2 | 750 | $250 | 250 | 1,000 |
| Silver | 1 point for every $1 | 1,500 | $1,000 | 1,000 | 2,500 |
| Gold | 1.5 points for every $1 | 2,250 | $2,000 | 2,000 | 4,250 |
| Platinum | 2 points for every $1 | 3,000 | $3,500 | 3,500 | 6,500 |
Those who reach the Platinum tier with a $1,500 a month rent payment can earn 6,500 Bilt rewards points every month. If you spend even more than $3,500 in non-rent payments you’ll earn even more. At a minimum, that’s 78,000 Bilt Rewards points every year.
Redeem Bilt Rewards Points
In a vacuum, the amount of points you earn means nothing. What matters is how you can redeem them. Bilt Rewards has a number of different ways that you can redeem your points.
Travel
For most people reading this, you’ll likely want to redeem your points for travel. Bilt has partnered up with seven airline partners and one hotel partner. Your points transfer 1:1 to all transfer partners. Let me tell you, Bilt has a few partners that you’ll definitely be interested in.
Bilt’s airline partners include:
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Aeroplan
- Emirates Skywards
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Turkish Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
Bilt’s hotel partner includes:
- World of Hyatt
Bilt has really built a great network of travel partners. Of significance are American Airlines and World of Hyatt. Up until the launch of the Bilt Rewards program, there has not been a transfer partner of American Airlines AAdvantage program. Plus, there’s other great value to be found in Aeroplan, Turkish and Virgin Atlantic.
The ability to transfer points to World of Hyatt is another great addition for a hotel partner. The ability to transfer to some high value programs is another benefit of Bilt.
Fitness
If you’d rather redeem your rewards for lifestyle, then you can use your Bilt Rewards Points for fitness classes. You can book a class with the following fitness partners:
- SoulCycle
- Rumble
- Y7
Classes start at 3,500 Bilt points.
The Bilt Collection
Bilt has put together the Bilt Collection of home decor, art & novelty items. If you’d prefer to redeem your points for tangible items, you can redeem them in the Bilt App. Items in the Bilt Collection start at just 5,000 points.
Rent Credit
Although we don’t have the full details, you can use your Bilt points towards your next rent payment. This is a great way to pay yourself back for paying your rent on time.
Bilt Rewards Helps Renters Prepare for Homeownership
One of the most interesting aspects of Bilt is how they help renters transition into homeowners. This unique feature really helps Bilt stand out, adding more value than just the points you receive.
For starters, Bilt helps you build your credit by reporting on-time rent payments to credit bureaus. When it comes time to apply for a mortgage, better credit means lower rates. Lower rates means lower payments, making the threshold to home ownership easier.
Additionally, first time home buyers are often shocked by the fees associated with buying a home. Between your down payment and closing costs, it adds up. Rather than redeem your Bilt Rewards points for travel or rent credits, you can save up. When you go to buy a house, get your financing through Bilt and you can redeem your points towards offsetting your closing costs.
Final Thoughts
Bilt rewards and the Bilt Credit Card offer a unique value proposition to renters. The ability to help build your credit and be rewarded for making on-time rent payments helps prepare renters for the future of homeownership. Plus, there are no additional fees for paying your rent through Bilt, unlike with other cards.
Whether you redeem your Bilt Rewards points for travel with their valuable transfer partners, or save them to apply towards a future mortgage, the flexibility is invaluable. Bilt Rewards is a game changer for renters, and should be on your list of cards to check out to help prepare you for the future.
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