Bilt Rewards: How the Program Works
Earn Bilt Points on rent, mortgage payments, dining and travel, plus a new Bilt Cash currency for more redemptions.
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Updated · 6 min read
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The Bilt Rewards program is best known for letting you earn points by paying rent — and more recently, mortgages. But with its 2026 overhaul, those options have become more complicated and, for many users, less rewarding.
In February, the loyalty program will go from one credit card to three, while also adding a new currency called Bilt Cash (which exists alongside its other currency, Bilt Points). Here’s everything you need to know about Bilt Rewards, including what’s new for 2026.
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Bilt 2.0: What’s changing in 2026
Bilt completely revamped its offerings with three new credit cards, which launched on Feb. 7, 2026.
The Wells Fargo Bilt Mastercard is going away
As of Nov. 5, 2025, the Wells Fargo Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card stopped accepting new applications. Existing cardholders can continue using their cards as normal through Feb. 6, 2026.
Between now and Jan. 30, 2026, they can select one of the new Bilt 2.0 cards to receive them in time for the card launches (more on those later). Those cards will be activated on Feb. 7, 2026.
After Feb. 6, 2026, you can still access statements and make payments on your Wells Fargo card balance by visiting wellsfargo.com or calling 1-833-404-2272. When you transition to a Bilt 2.0 card, you can transfer your balance from the Wells Fargo account. Your Wells Fargo account will be closed automatically if you choose that option.
If you keep the Wells Fargo account open, it will convert to a Wells Fargo Autograph® Card with a different card number. Note that the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card earns Wells Fargo Rewards points, not Bilt points.
The new Bilt card lineup is going live
Bilt announced three new credit cards with different annual fees, earning rates and benefits: the Bilt Blue Card ($0 annual fee), the Bilt Obsidian Card ($95 annual fee) and the Bilt Palladium Card ($495 annual fee). Current Bilt cardholders are able to preorder these cards.
All three Bilt cards will offer:
- Ways to earn rewards on housing payments.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Ability to earn across multiple homes.
- No annual cap on housing rewards.
You'll have two ways to earn rewards on housing payments
Initially, Bilt's new card lineup included just one way to earn points on housing payments. On Jan. 16, 2026, just two days after the cards were announced, the company's founder and CEO, Ankur Jain, announced modifications to how cardholders earn rewards on rent or mortgage payments. Bilt cardholders now have two options:
Option 1: Tiered rewards system. This option lets you earn up to 1.25 points per dollar on housing payments based on how much you use your Bilt credit card for non-housing spending. The more you spend on everyday purchases relative to your monthly rent or mortgage payment, the higher your earning rate on housing:
| Non-housing spending as % of monthly housing payment | Points earned per $1 on housing |
|---|---|
| 25%. | 0.5x points. |
| 50%. | 0.75x points. |
| 75%. | 1x points. |
| 100% or more. | 1.25x points. |
For example, if you have a $2,000 monthly rent payment and spend $1,500 on your card for non-housing purchases (75%), you'll earn 1 point per dollar, or 2,000 points on your rent. If you have a $2,000 rent payment but spent just $500 on your card besides your rent purchases (25%), you’d earn 1,000 points from the rent payment.
If you don't meet the minimum spending requirement at all, you'll earn 250 points per month on housing payments.
Option 2: Bilt Cash system. If you choose to ditch the tiered rewards system, you’ll instead earn 4% back in Bilt Cash, the company's new rewards currency, on all non-housing purchases. That’s in addition to your base point earnings. You can then use Bilt Cash to cover a 3% processing fee if you want to earn points on your housing payments. Or, you can redeem it with merchants in Bilt’s network ($1 of Bilt Cash is equal to $1 of eligible Bilt network purchases).
Going back to that example where your rent was $2,000, you'd need $60 in Bilt Cash to earn 1x points on that payment. To accumulate $60 in Bilt Cash, you'd need to spend $1,500 on your card (since you earn 4% back). That means you need to spend 75% of your monthly rent on card purchases to cover the fee with Bilt Cash.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
Bilt Cash expires on Dec. 31 of each calendar year, though Bilt allows you to roll over $100 onto the next year. On the other hand, Bilt points don’t expire. You can choose the option that works best for you when you activate your card, and switch between options at any time. Changes take effect the following month.
How the cards compare
Annual fee
- $0
- $95
- $495
Rewards on rent/mortgage payments
Up to 1.25x points.
Up to 1.25x points.
Up to 1.25x points.
Rewards on other spending
- 1x points on everyday purchases.
- 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.
- 2x points on everyday purchases.
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.)
- Priority Pass airport lounge access. (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
How to earn Bilt points
To start earning Bilt points, you'll need to sign up for a free Bilt Rewards account through the Bilt app or website.
Spend money on your Bilt card
Earnings rates vary by card. You’ll get 1x to 3x points per dollar spent on non-housing purchases, depending on the card and bonus categories.
All the cards offer two options for earning points on rent and mortgage payments. Both choices are relatively complicated and require some serious tracking. But in general, the more everyday purchases you put on these cards, the more you can earn on these housing payments.
Dine or Shop with Bilt Neighborhood Partners
Bilt partners with more than 45,000 businesses, including restaurants and fitness studios to offer bonus rewards when you pay with your Bilt card — or even a non-Bilt card linked to your Bilt account.
You can find Bilt’s partners in the Neighborhood tab in the Bilt app or website. Offers vary by exact business, but you may find the ability to earn 3x Bilt points at your local pizza joint, or perhaps 100 Bilt points when you refill a prescription at an eligible pharmacy.
Purchase a home through eXp Realty
Bilt lets you earn 1 Bilt point for every $2 spent on the total closing price of your home when you make a house purchase through an eXp Realty agent. You can find qualifying homes through the Buy a Home tab on Bilt’s app or website. You can also simply connect with any eXp agent and mention that you’re using them to earn Bilt points. Points will be distributed 30 days after closing on your home.
Book a Lyft ride
Bilt members can earn 2 points per $1 spent with Lyft when you link your Lyft and Bilt accounts through the Bilt app.
Bilt elite status
The Bilt Rewards elite status program provides benefits like increased transfer bonuses to travel partners on Rent Day. Elite status can be earned in two ways — through the total number of points earned throughout the year (including from rent and mortgage payments) — or through eligible total spend on a Bilt credit card and within the Bilt ecosystem with any linked card (excluding rent and mortgage payments). Points earned from referrals, surveys or campaign bonus points do not count toward elite status qualification.
The status tiers, qualification requirements and benefits of each tier include:
| Status tier | How to qualify? | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Enroll in Bilt Rewards. |
|
| Silver | Earn 50,000 Bilt points or spend $10,000 in the Bilt ecosystem (excluding rent or mortgage payments). | All Blue level benefits, plus:
|
| Gold | Earn 125,000 Bilt points or spend $25,000 in the Bilt ecosystem (excluding rent or mortgage payments). | All Silver level benefits, plus:
|
| Platinum | Earn 200,000 Bilt points or spend $50,000 in the Bilt ecosystem (excluding rent or mortgage payments). | All Gold level benefits, plus:
|
Palladium perk: The Palladium card offers a shortcut to Gold status when you spend $4,000 in the first three months. Gold status is valid for the rest of the year earned plus the following year.
The best ways to redeem Bilt points
Transfer Bilt points to hotel and airline loyalty programs
Bilt points are generally most valuable when transferred to its list of more than 20 airline and hotel loyalty programs.
Complete list of Bilt transfer partners
- British Airways Club (Avios).
Of the transfer partners, some are more valuable than others. Here are some of the best Bilt transfer partners:
| Transfer partner | Estimated value |
|---|---|
| World of Hyatt | 1.8 cents. |
| Alaska Airlines | 1.2 cents. |
| Southwest Airlines | 1.3 cents. |
| British Airways Avios | 1.2 cents. |
| United MileagePlus | 1.2 cents. |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1.1 cents. |
» Learn more: The guide to Bilt transfer partners
Use the Bilt Travel portal
Your Bilt points are worth 1.25 cents each when you use them to book flights, stays and other travel through Bilt’s travel portal. That means 10,000 points are worth $125; an OK value, but not as good as you can get with transfer partners. For example, NerdWallet values World of Hyatt points at 1.8 cents each, or 44% higher than the value you’ll get from using Bilt’s travel portal.
Redeem for a home down payment
Bilt lets you redeem points towards a home down payment at an outstanding value of 1.5 cents per point (where 10,000 points equals $150). That’s not as good as you’ll find with some travel partners, but down payments require paying a lump sum of cash, so exchanging points to preserve cash could be a great value. You’ll need to submit lease or home purchase verification before you can redeem points.
Other OK ways to redeem Bilt points
Besides transferring points to partners, Bilt offers many other ways to redeem points, including for gift cards, Amazon purchases, Lyft rides and fitness classes. These typically don’t make for great redemptions in terms of maximizing value, but they can make sense particularly if you don’t intend to travel any time soon.
How to redeem Bilt Cash
Beginning Feb. 1, 2026, members can redeem Bilt Cash on eligible purchases at checkout in the Bilt app or on bilt.com. But here's the catch: Bilt Cash isn't actual cash back. Instead, it functions more like a coupon book filled with restrictions. Most benefits come with monthly limits that reset whether you use them or not, and many won't be available until March 2026.
Because of that, the best options for redeeming Bilt Cash are the ones that let you use up your Bilt Cash before it expires at the end of the year. (Only $100 of Bilt Cash rolls over to the next calendar year.)
Options for redeeming Bilt Cash include:
- $120/year toward grocery or restaurant delivery, which you can redeem toward restaurant and grocery delivery fulfilled by GrubHub as a $10 credit each month (available March 1, 2026).
- Up to $1,200 hotel credit/year: A two-night minimum stay is required to redeem this, and you can only use $50-$100 per month depending on your elite status.
- Up to $700 of BLADE credit/year: BLADE offers helicopter flights. You can get up to $350 per seat, up to two seats per year.
- $600 toward comedy experience bookings per year: This grants you up to $50 per month for exclusive Bilt comedy experiences (available March 1, 2026) and might be useful if you go to regular comedy shows. Then again, you might find the real comedy in figuring out how to maximize all the Bilt Cash so it doesn’t just go to waste.
If redemptions like these aren't appealing, using Bilt Cash to earn more points could be a smarter, easier option. You can get:
- More points on non-housing spend. $200 Bilt Cash enables 1x additional bonus points on the next $5,000 following activation. On the Bilt Palladium Card, for example, that would get you 3x points on everyday spend on up to $5,000. You can activate this benefit up to five times per year.
- Points on housing spend. As mentioned earlier, every $30 of Bilt Cash unlocks 1x points on $1,000 of housing payments.
If you don't have time to think about monthly caps, merchant restrictions, and expiration dates, consider using Bilt's Option 1 rewards structure instead.
All information about the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card is no longer available through NerdWallet.
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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