Bilt Palladium Card: Rewards on Housing Are Almost Secondary
The Bottom Line
4.8
The card can be a good fit for those willing to put in the work, which may include managing two rewards currencies, determining how exactly you earn and burn them, and doing some monthly math.
Rates, fees and offers
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$495
Rewards rate
1x-2x
Bonus offer
50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash.
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 26.74%-34.74% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 31.74%-34.74%, Variable
Balance Transfer APR: 26.74%-34.74%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
5% or $5, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
$0
More details from Bilt
More details from Bilt
- Earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments.
- 1X points + 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases.
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Redeem Bilt Cash for dollar-for-dollar value toward fitness classes, hotel bookings, Home Delivery orders, Lyft rides, and more. Bilt Cardholders can also use Bilt Cash to cover transaction fees on rent and mortgage payments. At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.
- Earn additional points through Bilt Neighborhood Benefits™ when you use your Palladium Card at Bilt's network of 50,000+ merchants
Pros and Cons
Pros
New cardholder bonus offer
High rewards rate
Anniversary bonus
Airport lounge access
Flexible rewards redemption
Cons
High annual fee
Complicated redemptions
Detailed Review
The $495-annual-fee Bilt Palladium Card is the most expensive of Bilt's three credit cards and, like all Bilt cards, it can earn you rewards on rent or mortgage payments.
But considering how complex it can be to snag those housing-related rewards — and given the various other generous benefits that the pricey Bilt Palladium Card has to offer, independent of housing rewards — you may be better off using the card for anything but housing.
It earns 2x Bilt Points on non-rent/mortgage spending, making it an excellent "daily driver," especially since Bilt Points are among the most valuable, flexible reward currencies on the market. And as you'd expect from a card at its price point, it also offers the most robust set of perks in Bilt's portfolio, including a sizable welcome offer of Bilt Points, an anniversary bonus and multiple travel-related credits.
Yes, it can also earn up to 1.25x back on your rent or mortgage payments, but it's far from a straightforward process and will involve tracking your spending and potentially two different rewards currencies. You'll have to decide if the juice is worth the squeeze.
Bilt Palladium Card: Basics
Annual fee: $495.
Sign-up bonus: 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash.
Rewards:
Option 1:
Earn 2x Bilt Points on everyday (non-housing) purchases.
Earn up to 1.25x Bilt Points on housing payments — but it depends on how much non-housing spending you put on the card:
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. |
If you don't meet the minimum spending requirement at all, you'll earn 250 Bilt Points per month on housing payments.
Option 2:
Earn 2x Bilt Points + 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday (non-housing) purchases.
Earn 1x Bilt Point on housing payments — though to "unlock" these points, you'll need to have amassed Bilt Cash.
There are multiple ways to redeem Bilt Cash (see below). But to earn any rewards on housing under this option, you'll need to use your Bilt Cash to cover a 3% transaction fee on those housing payments. (For every $30 in Bilt Cash you spend for this purpose, you’ll earn 1,000 Bilt Points on your rent or mortgage payment.)
You'll pick one of these options when you activate your Bilt card, but you can change it at any time.
Redemption options:
Bilt Points may be redeemed for a statement credit (at a value of 0.55 cents per point), a credit toward a home down payment (1.5 cents per point), booking travel in Bilt’s travel portal (1.5 cents per point), and more. Cardholders can also transfer their points to one of Bilt’s excellent travel partners for outsized value. When used this way, NerdWallet values Bilt Points at about 1.8 cents each.
Bilt Cash, on the other hand, is more limited in terms of redemption. $1 in Bilt Cash typically equals $1 you can use toward offsetting the 3% fee you'd otherwise incur to earn rewards on your housing payments (under Option 2 above). But you can also use Bilt Cash — again, typically on a dollar-for-dollar basis — toward things like hotel bookings, Lyft rides, fitness classes, GoPuff orders and access to partner transfer bonuses. Bilt Cash can be used to "buy" Bilt Points, but you can't directly transfer Bilt Cash to travel partners.
If you select Option 2, you can also use Bilt Cash up to five times per year to earn an extra Bilt Point per $1 spent on everyday spending categories. This is available only for the Bilt Obsidian Card and Bilt Palladium Card. Once activated, you’ll earn extra points on up to $5,000 in spending.
Only $100 of Bilt Cash rolls over from year to year. Any remaining amount expires after Dec. 31.
APR: The ongoing APR is 26.74%-34.74% Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fee: $0.
Other benefits:
$400 Bilt Travel portal hotel credit split semi-annually per calendar year. Minimum two-night stay required.
Annual $200 Bilt Cash credit.
Priority Pass. Two guests are allowed on every visit.
Secondary rental car insurance.
Travel protections.
The three Bilt cards at a glance:
There are three Bilt credit cards, all of which are serviced by Cardless and can earn rewards on rent and mortgages. The Bilt Palladium Card is the most expensive option, and as you'd expect, it offers the most robust rewards and perks.
Bilt Blue Card
Bilt Obsidian Card
Bilt Palladium CardUp to 1.25x points.
Up to 1.25x points.
Up to 1.25x points.
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.
$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.
None.
None.
Annual $200 Bilt Cash credit.
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.)
$0.
$50.
$95.
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
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Excellent, high-value, flexible rewards
Aside from its ability to earn rewards on housing (in a complicated way), the Bilt Palladium Card’s ongoing rewards on daily spending are comparable with or better than other premium credit cards. No matter which rewards-earning option you choose (above), you'll earn 2 Bilt Points per $1 spent on non-rent/mortgage spending — and if you choose Option 2, you'll also earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on that spending.
For comparison, the $395-annual-fee Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card also earns 2x miles per $1 spent on most purchases, and it, too, has multiple transfer partners to which you can transfer those rewards.
But that card obviously doesn't also allow you to earn Bilt Cash on purchases, and Capital One's transfer partners are largely less familiar international carriers. Bilt's partners are much stronger, including well-known U.S. chains like Alaska Airlines, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Southwest and United.
Outstanding welcome offer
New Bilt Palladium Card holders can earn a terrific welcome bonus: 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash.
That's a lot of upfront value that you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else: 50,000 Bilt Points could go a long way toward funding your next vacation; $300 in Bilt Cash could "buy" you several months of "free" rewards on housing payments; and Gold Status with Bilt includes, among other things, higher transfer bonuses to partners.
Multiple credits that can justify the card's cost
Bilt Palladium Card holders can more than offset the card’s $495 annual fee with just two of the card's recurring perks: a $400 credit that can be used to book hotels through Bilt’s travel portal, and $200 of Bilt Cash.
Both credits are renewed annually. Note that a minimum two-night stay is required for the hotel credit to post to your account. The $400 credit is issued semi-annually, in two $200 increments.
Drawbacks and Considerations
It’s (very) complicated
If you value simplicity in a credit card, run — don’t walk — away from the Bilt Palladium Card.
One of the first things you'll need to decide when you get this card is what rewards-earning option is best for you. Bilt allows you to change your preference whenever you want, a tacit acknowledgment that the right choice may vary from month-to-month. Will you have enough bandwidth to regularly monitor what option is most suited to your changing spending habits throughout the year?
If you choose Option 1 (the non-Bilt Cash option), spending on your Bilt card is critical to getting the maximum amount of housing rewards. But tracking spending can be a tedious chore, and putting all of it on one card comes with an opportunity cost; any number of other rewards cards might feature similar or better ongoing rewards on that non-housing spending.
Option 2 isn't any easier. With it, you'll have to juggle two currencies (Bilt Points AND Bilt Cash) that work in different ways — and to get the best value from each, math will likely be required. Example: For a $2,000 mortgage payment, you’d need to redeem $60 of Bilt Cash to earn the full 2,000 Bilt Points.
If you don’t have enough Bilt Cash to earn that tranche of Bilt Points on the full value of your housing spending, you can just redeem what you have. Using that same $2,000 mortgage example, let's say you have only $45 of Bilt Cash. That's enough to cover the transaction fee on $1,500 worth of your housing payment (3% of $1,500 is $45). You would earn only 1,500 Bilt Points, instead of the full 2,000.
Oh, and one more thing to remember: You'll on the clock to use your Bilt Cash. (Only $100 of it rolls over from year to year.)
Bottom line: To earn rewards on what is likely your biggest monthly expense, Bilt is going to make you work for it.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
To make an informed decision on whether the Bilt Palladium Card is a fit for your wallet, you probably need to do some math. If you’re planning to use the card to pay your rent or mortgage, figure out how much Bilt Cash, or non-housing spending, you’ll need to earn the maximum amount of Bilt Points.
For instance, given a $5,000 rent, you’d need $150 in Bilt Cash to cover the processing fee. To get $150 in Bilt Cash at a 4% earning rate on non-housing spend, you’d need to charge $3,750 in expenses to your Bilt Palladium Card every month. For some, that’s doable; for others, it may be way over budget.
Or maybe you don't care about housing rewards at all and instead are considering using the Bilt Palladium Card as a tool to rack up those valuable Bilt Points on all other spending. After all, given the card's other perks and credits, you can easily come out ahead, despite the triple-digit annual fee. That math, at least, is a little easier to work out.
Either option is valid. But before applying, figure out what role you want the card to play in your wallet setup, and whether you’re willing to manage the card toward that end.
Earn 2 miles per $1 on purchases
For a lower annual fee than the Bilt Palladium Card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earns excellent rewards on non-travel spending. It also comes with an easy-to-use annual $300 travel credit and access to Capital One lounges to delight frequent travelers.
Looking For Something Else?
Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
About the author
Jae Bratton
Lead Writer & Content Strategist
