Is a Bilt Credit Card Worth It?
As an everyday spending card, Bilt credit cards can be very rewarding. Earning points on rent is complicated, though.
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Updated · 4 min read
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Bilt Rewards, a loyalty program known for offering points on rent payments, has three co-branded credit cards. These cards still allow cardholders to earn some Bilt Points on rent and, now, mortgage payments, but it’s probably not worth it to get a Bilt credit card if that’s your only goal.
The complexity of Bilt’s rewards structure and the bumpy rollout make these Bilt cards difficult to recommend to beginners looking for simplicity. It's also no longer an easy choice for people interested in getting the Bilt card because it's a "role player" (to use a sports term). In the past, some Bilt cardholders would carry the card and primarily use it to earn points on rent payments.
But with the new rewards structure, earning points on rent or mortgage payments requires cardholders to make a decent amount of non-housing purchases. So the Bilt credit cards are better as everyday spending cards for people who want to go all-in on the Bilt ecosystem, which can be incredibly valuable if you learn about it and utilize Bilt's partners.
Bilt points are still an incredibly valuable currency for travelers. They can be redeemed in Bilt’s travel portal for flights and hotels at a flat rate of 1.25 cents per point, which is higher than the typical redemption rate in other credit card travel portals. They can also be transferred to other travel partners, such as Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines’ Atmos Rewards or World of Hyatt, for even higher-value redemptions.
On this page
Comparing the Bilt cards
How the cards compare
Annual fee
- $0
- $95
- $495
Bilt Points on rent/mortgage payments
Up to 1.25x points.
Up to 1.25x points.
Up to 1.25x points.
Bilt Points on other spending
- 1x points on everyday purchases. (You'll also earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on these purchases, if you choose that option.)
- 3x points on your choice of dining or grocery (on up to $25K in spending per year in the grocery category). Your choice category may be changed once a year.
- 2x points on travel.
- 1x points on everyday purchases.
- (You'll also earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on these purchases, if you choose that option.)
- 2x points on everyday purchases. (You'll also earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on these purchases, if you choose that option.)
Welcome offer
$100 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.
$200 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.
50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash.
Anniversary bonus
None.
None.
Annual $200 Bilt Cash credit.
Additional perks
- Multiple transfer partners.
- Multiple transfer partners.
- $100 Bilt Travel portal hotel credit, split semi-annually, per calendar year. (Minimum two-night stay required.)
- Multiple transfer partners.
- $400 Bilt Travel portal hotel credit, split semi-annually, per calendar year. (Minimum two-night stay required.)
- Access to participating Priority Pass lounges and landings. (Two guests allowed on every visit.)
Authorized user fee
$0.
$50.
$95.
APR
The ongoing APR is 26.74%-34.74% Variable APR
The ongoing APR is 26.74%-34.74% Variable APR
The ongoing APR is 26.74%-34.74% Variable APR
Foreign transaction fee
- $0
- $0
- $0
Learn more
Option 1 vs. Option 2: Which one is better?
With all three Bilt cards, you have two options to earn additional rewards on top of the Bilt points you earn through everyday spending — but the math isn’t simple.
Option 1: Earn Bilt points on housing
With this option, you can earn points on housing payments through a tiered rewards system. The amount earned depends on how much your monthly housing payment is and how much you spend on the card.
| Points on housing | Minimum everyday spend as a percentage of monthly rent/mortgage | Minimum spend amount based on $2,000 example rent | Number of points earned based on that spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5x points | Spend at least 25% of monthly rent. | $500. | 1,000 points. |
| 0.75x points | Spend at least 50% of monthly rent. | $1,000. | 1,500 points. |
| 1x points | Spend at least 75% of monthly rent. | $1,500. | 2,000 points. |
| 1.25x points | Spend the same or more as your monthly rent | $2,000. | 2,500 points. |
If cardholders do not reach the 25% minimum spend under this earning structure, they’ll receive a flat 250 points for paying for their rent or mortgage through Bilt.
Who should choose Option 1: This tiered option makes sense for cardholders who spend 25% to 50% of their monthly rent or mortgage payment amount on everyday purchases. For those people, it essentially increases their rewards rate on everyday purchases by 2x or 1.5x points. For the Bilt Palladium Card, which earns 2x points on all purchases except rent or mortgage payments, hitting the 25% tier doubles the card’s effective rewards rate.
Who should skip Option 1: Cardholders who can hit the higher tiers would be better off with the other rewards option. At the 75% or 100%+ spending tier, the effective rewards rate is more diluted, falling to just an extra 1 or 1.25x points.
Option 2: Earn Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
With the second option, you can earn 4% Bilt Cash on all purchases except rent and mortgage payments, in addition to the Bilt points you would earn for that purchase. For example, if you have the Bilt Obsidian Card card, you would earn 2 Bilt points and 4 cents of Bilt Cash for every $1 you spent on travel purchases.
Bilt Cash is a separate type of currency from Bilt points. It cannot be transferred to travel partners, but it can be redeemed for a variety of rewards within the Bilt ecosystem, including:
- A points accelerator on everyday spend for the next $5,000 (only available to Bilt Palladium Card and Bilt Obsidian Card cardholders). This redemption requires $200 of Bilt Cash to activate.
- Extra Bilt points on housing payments. Three cents of Bilt Cash will unlock 1 point per $1 of rent. The maximum amount of points you can earn through this redemption is the total amount you spent on housing through Bilt. For example, if you pay $4,000 per month for rent through Bilt, you’d be able to earn an extra 4,000 points/month by redeeming $120 worth of Bilt Cash.
- Various credits with merchants like GrubHub and Lyft, subject to monthly caps.
- For a full list of options, see NerdWallet’s Bilt Cash article.
There are some limitations to keep in mind before you choose this earning option:
- Bilt Cash expires at the end of the calendar year, and only $100 can be rolled over to the following year. If you aren’t using your Bilt Cash every month, you might scramble in December to use your remaining Bilt Cash.
- There are monthly caps on many redemption options, and some are available only to Bilt members with certain cards or elite status levels.
- Not all Bilt Cash redemption options offer a dollar-to-dollar value. For example, the option to earn extra Bilt points on housing payments essentially means you’re buying extra Bilt points at a rate of 3 cents per point. Unless you’re redeeming those Bilt points for 3 cents per point or more with transfer partners, you’re not getting dollar-for-dollar value. You’d probably get slightly better value for your Bilt Cash by redeeming it for the monthly credits with certain merchants, though you’d have to deal with the headache of tracking expiration dates and credit maximums.
Who should choose Option 2: The Bilt Cash option makes sense for people who do not want to make housing payments through Bilt and want to take advantage of some of the Bilt Cash redemptions, such as the points accelerator. If you pay your rent or mortgage through Bilt, this option still makes sense for cardholders who want to redeem Bilt Cash for at least some points on those payments.
Who should skip Option 2: Bilt cardholders who pay their rent or mortgage through Bilt and don’t want the complexity of redeeming Bilt Cash would likely choose Option 1 instead.
A closer look at each Bilt card
Bilt Blue Card - $0 annual fee
The $0-annual-fee Bilt Blue Card is a low-commitment entry into the world of Bilt’s co-branded cards. The card gives cardholders access to both options to earn points on housing or points and Bilt Cash on non-housing spending, but the earning rate of 1 point per $1 on everyday purchases is low.
Considering you could earn more points on other $0-annual-fee cards or you could join the Bilt Rewards program without getting a credit card at all, this card probably isn’t worth it unless you’re dead set on paying your rent or mortgage through Bilt and want to earn Bilt points without paying an annual fee.
Compare to other $0-annual-fee travel cards, such as the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card or Citi Strata℠ Card.
Bilt Obsidian Card - $95 annual fee
The Bilt Obsidian Card is the midtier option, and it’s decent if you want a card that earns bonus 3x Bilt points on groceries or dining to diversify your collection of travel reward currencies.
The Bilt Obsidian Card offers a sign-up bonus of $200 in Bilt Cash. That’s enough to activate the 1x points accelerator on the first $5,000 of spend. That could mean you could earn up 4x points on groceries or dining (depending on which one you chose), 3x on travel and 2x on everything else in the first $5,000 of spend. NerdWallet values Bilt points at 1.8 cents each, meaning you could get about 7.2 cents of return on every $1 you spend on groceries or dining.
The card also comes with $100 in hotel credit to use on the Bilt travel portal, which could more than offset the annual fee. However, to maximize the credit, you need to book at least two stays of at least two nights each per year: one from January to June, and the other from July to December.
Compare to other mid-tier cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Bilt Palladium Card - $495 annual fee
The Bilt Palladium Card has a premium annual fee, but the flat 2x points per $1 earning rate could make this a particularly lucrative card for people who want to put most of their everyday spending on it.
It’s also the only Bilt card with a sign-up bonus of Bilt points: 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash. Since Bilt points are worth 1.8 cents according to NerdWallet’s valuation, the sign-up bonus is worth $1,200, including the value of the Bilt Cash.
The card also comes with annual benefits that might make it possible to offset the fee, including $200 in Bilt Cash each year and two $200 hotel credit for bookings made in the Bilt Travel portal. Again, the hotel credits are doled out as one $200 hotel credit in each half of the calendar year for two-night minimum stays.
Like many other premium cards, the Bilt Palladium Card offers complimentary airport lounge access through Priority Pass. Notably, this Priority Pass membership also allows two guests to enter for free with the cardholder. Depending on whether you usually travel with others and visit Priority Pass lounges, this perk might also make the Bilt Palladium Card worth it.
Compare to the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which also offers a flat 2 miles per dollar earning rate on all purchases, along with some bonus categories for travel bookings made in the Capital One Travel portal. Read our comparison of the two cards.
So is a Bilt card worth it?
Getting a Bilt card could still be worth it if you want to earn points on your everyday spending and redeem those with Bilt’s excellent list of transfer partners or in Bilt’s travel portal.
You don’t necessarily need to pay your rent or mortgage through Bilt to be able to get value from these cards because the rewards structure is so heavily dependent on the spending you do on all other purchases besides housing.
Keep in mind, though, that you might have to juggle two rewards currencies if you choose Option 2 or track your spending to hit the 25% of housing payment threshold each month if you choose option 1. Plus, Bilt Cash redemptions and some of the other benefits of Bilt credit cards come with monthly or semiannual expiration dates.
If you want to avoid that complexity, a different general travel card that earns transferable points could be a better fit.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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