NEW BILT 2.0 CARDS

Earning credit card points on your mortgage or rent sounds great and Bilt has made that possible though not necessarily easy.

On January 14, 2026 Bilt introduced three new credit cards branded to allow you to earn points on your housing expenses.  The terms were complicated and disappointing to many, including myself.

Based on the backlash Bilt received, just days later they pivoted and added an additional rewards earning option, which further complicates the entire program, but may make applying for one of these cards more appealing for some people.

Let’s break it down.

IN SHORT

➜ Three new Bilt cards are officially hitting the market on February 7, 2025 with annual fees ranging from $0 to $495.

➜ With a Bilt credit card you have the ability to earn points on housing costs (mortgage or rent).

➜ To earn 1x points on housing, you’ll need to put a significant amount of non-housing expenses on the card. 

➜ You don’t need a Bilt card to earn Bilt points through other Bilt rewards programs (like Rakuten).

➜ You can only hold one Bilt card at a time and can pay multiple housing payments per month with no cap on how many points you can earn.

BILT CASH VS. BILT POINTS

BILT POINTS are transferrable to travel partners like Hyatt, Alaska Atmos and Japan Airlines.  They can also be redeemed within the Bilt ecosystem.

BILT CASH is brand new and can only be used within the Bilt program.  It can be used to unlock earning Bilt points on housing costs, boost earnings rates on everyday spending or redeemed for experiences in your neighborhood.

If you choose to earn Bilt Cash you will receive 4% Bilt Cash on your non-housing purchases.

➜ Bilt Cash expires – only $100 of Bilt Cash can be carried forward into the next year so be sure to use it or lose it.

BILT STATUS

Your level of Bilt status will determine the level of benefits you have in the Bilt ecosystem.

The higher status you have the better transfer ratio you may have when transferring Bilt points to travel partners.

If you have Silver status or higher, you will be able to continue transferring points earned on Rakuten to Bilt at a 1:1 ratio after the May 15, 2026 payment.  If you don’t have Silver status or higher the ratio will drop down to 0.5:1 after May 15.

Tier status earned at any point in a year remains active through the end of the following year.  So if you earn Silver status by the end of 2026, you’ll keep that status in 2027.

Status is earned at the following non-housing spend:

• Blue – anyone enrolled in Bilt Rewards with under $10,000 of spend or 50,000 Bilt points earned
• Silver – $10,000 of spend or 50,000 Bilt points earned
• Gold – $25,000 of spend or 125,000 Bilt points earned
• Platinum – $50,000 of spend or 200,000 Bilt points earned

The new Bilt Palladium card includes Gold status.  The Blue and Obsidian cards do not include status.

CARD DETAILS

Bilt Blue Card

• $0 annual fee
• Welcome bonus: $100 Bilt Cash 
• 1x point on everyday spend
• Up to 1x point on mortgage and rent payments

My Take:  The Bilt Blue card works best for cardholders who want to earn points on rent/mortgage without paying an annual fee and appreciate the simplicity of the 1x earning rate. There are several other no-annual fee cards that earn 1.5-2x on everyday spend – the Bilt Blue will earn just 1x on everything. 

Bilt Obsidian Card

• $95 annual fee
• Welcome bonus: $200 Bilt Cash
• 3x on dining OR grocery purchases (up to $25,000 per year)
• 2x on travel 
• 1x on everyday spend
• Up to 1x point on mortgage and rent payments
• $100 annual Bilt Travel portal hotel credit ($50 available biannually per calendar year) – 2 night minimum stay

My Take:  Unfortunately, you have to choose between 3x on dining OR groceries and that can only be changed once a year, in January or within 30 days of card approval.  The default will be set to dining.  

The $50 hotel credit requires a two-night stay which is more restrictive than the hotel credit included on the most popular travel card.  Bilt has weak travel protections so I don’t recommend booking flights and hotels for the 2x on travel.  

If you don’t plan on using the Obsidian card on non-housing expenses (especially dining or groceries) then skip it. If you plan to maximize that 3x earning category it is a great option.

Bilt Palladium Card

• $495 annual fee
• Welcome bonus: 50,000 points after $4k of spend (non-housing) in 3 months
• $300 in Bilt Cash on approval
• 2x on everyday spending
• Up to 1x point on mortgage and rent payments
• $200 in Bilt Cash annually
• $400 annual Bilt Travel hotel credit ($200 semi-annually) – 2 night minimum stay
• Bilt Gold Elite status
• Priority Pass membership with guest access

My Take:  The welcome bonus alone makes up for the annual fee in the first year and you’ll have enough Bilt Cash to earn 22,000 points on $22,000 of housing payments even if the only spend you put on the card is the $4k spend requirement in the first 3 months. If you can use the additional perks you can make up for the higher annual fee.

Several cards have added hotel credits to their cards.  The Palladium includes two, $200 hotel credits per year for hotel stays of 2 nights or more.  Must be booked in the Bilt Travel portal.

The Priority Pass membership included allows the cardholder and up to 2 guests into traditional lounges.

The Palladium card is the only card of the three that earns 2x on all everyday expenses.  

TWO OPTIONS TO EARN POINTS ON RENT AND MORTGAGE PAYMENTS

Bilt cardholders can choose from the following two options and you can switch between the options each month:

OPTION 1: TIERED EARNING & NO BILT CASH (new):

Instead of Bilt Cash you will opt to earn points on your housing costs based on a tiered system that rewards points on housing payments based on how much NON-HOUSING spend you put on the card.

The more you spend the higher your points multiplier will be each month.

You will earn a minimum of 250 points if you pay your rent or mortgage with Bilt; regardless of how much you spend.

If you want more than 250 points you need to put NON-HOUSING spend on the card each month.  

• Spend 25% of housing payment in everyday purchases ➜ earn 0.5 points per dollar
• Spend 50% of housing payment in everyday purchases ➜ earn 0.75 points per dollar
• Spend 75% of housing payment in everyday purchases ➜ earn 1 point per dollar
• Spend 100% of housing payment in everyday purchases ➜ earn 1.25 points per dollar

It’s still a lot of additional spend to earn the expected 1x point per $1 on housing; however, you can still earn some points within the various tiers.

If you’ve used all your Bilt Cash choosing this option will earn 250 points per month even if you don’t put any spend on the card.

OPTION 2: BILT CASH (based on the original announcement): 

When you choose this option, you will earn 4% “Bilt Cash” on NON-HOUSING spend which you can use to earn points on your rent or mortgage expenses put on the card.  

$30 of Bilt Cash unlocks 1,000 points on housing costs

To earn enough Bilt Cash to earn points on your entire mortgage or rent, you’ll need to charge 75% of your housing payment in NON-HOUSING spend each month.

That means: (Rent or Mortgage x 0.75 = spend required)

• $2,000 housing payment ➜ $1,500 in other spend
• $3,000 housing payment ➜ $2,250 in other spend
• $4,000 housing payment ➜ $3,000 in other spend
• $5,000 housing payment ➜ $3,750 in other spend

If you don’t hit that 75%, you won’t earn points on any portion of your housing payment that is not covered with Bilt Cash.

All three cards include some Bilt Cash to start with so most people should choose the Bilt Cash option until they have used the Bilt Cash included on the card.  This is also a good option to choose when you have a big purchase and want to earn Bilt Cash to apply to future housing expenses put on the card.

EXAMPLE ON THE BILT PALLADIUM CARD

You will earn a 50,000 points welcome bonus after putting $4,000 of NON-HOUSING expenses on the card in the first 3 months.  

You will earn 2x on that $4,000 of spend which will earn you 8,000 additional points.

• 50,000 + 8,000 = 58,000 points

You will be given $300 in Bilt Cash on approval with an additional $200 in January (or on approval date) = $500 in Bilt Cash

The $4,000 you put on the card to earn the bonus will give you an additional $160 in Bilt Cash.

• $500 Bilt Cash + $160 Bilt Cash = $660 Bilt Cash

If you put more non-housing expenses in the card you’ll end up with more Bilt Cash.

$30 of Bilt Cash unlocks 1,000 points on housing costs

So you can unlock 22,000 points on $22,000 of housing expenses in 2026

If your first housing payment is in March 2026 that breaks down to $2,200 of housing expenses per month across the 10 months left of the year at 1x point = 22,000 Bilt points

Keep in mind you can only carry-forward $100 of Bilt Cash into 2027.

Total points earned in the first year with no extra spend:

• 58,000 on everyday expenses + 22,000 on housing = 80,000 points 

I value Bilt points at 2 CPP+ when transferred to travel partners so those 80,000 points would be worth at least $1,600 in travel.

The annual fee is $495.

Will you get additional benefit from these other card perks?

• $400 annual Bilt Travel hotel credit ($200 semi-annually) – 2 night minimum
• Bilt Gold Elite status (allows 1:1 transfer from Rakuten to Bilt)
• Priority Pass membership with guest access

TO NOTE

➜ Applying for (or transitioning to) a new Bilt card will take a 5/24 spot.  For those of us that applied for Bilt 1.0 in the last two years that’s TWO 5/24 spots for one card. 

➜ If you put your rent or mortgage on the Bilt card it will come directly from your bank account within 24 hours instead of against the credit line on the card, due on a later date.  This is no different than how you are likely paying your housing already (unless you had Bilt 1.0).

➜ The higher your housing payment is, the more NON-HOUSING expenses you will need to put on the card to earn a decent amount of points on your housing payment. If you have multiple housing costs consider using the lower housing expense on the Bilt card.

➜ You can NOT earn points on tax payments, gift cards, person-to-person payments, betting transactions or digital currency purchases.  

➜ All three card options include cell phone insurance, purchase protection, car rental coverage and do not charge any foreign transaction fees.

➜ The travel protections included on the Bilt cards are weak compared to other credit cards.  I recommend using a different card for booking flights or hotels.

➜ There are currently no options to upgrade or downgrade your Bilt card so plan on sticking with the card you apply for or closing it after the first year if you decide not to keep it long-term.

OPPORTUNITY COST

If you want to use the Bilt card to earn 1x point on your housing expenses you will need to put NON-HOUSING expenses on the card.

If you choose to put those expenses on the Bilt card each month, you will be less likely to earn as many welcome bonuses on other new cards.

Bilt has fantastic travel partners and earning up to 2x on all your non-housing expenses is great.  However, opening a new card with a sweet welcome bonus is the quickest way to maximize the rewards you earn on your everyday expenses and will far surpass the 2x earned by using the Bilt card exclusively.

The Bilt cards were designed to reward loyalty.  If you want to prioritize the Bilt rewards program, I recommend applying for the Palladium card so you earn 2x on your non-housing expenses which is comparable to other premium cards.

ALTERNATIVE RENT OPTION (ALASKA ATMOS CARD)

Bilt has a partnership with Alaska Atmos that will allow you to earn 3x points on rent by paying through Bilt with your Alaska Atmos card.  There is a 3% fee and is not available on mortgages.

If you have the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card or the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card, you can pay your rent through Bilt and earn 3x points on up to $50,000 per year.

The 3% fee is offset by the 3x points, plus you earn 3x points on the fee.  You’re essentially buying Alaska Atmos points at slightly less than 1 CPP (cent per point).

This option can put you on the fast-track to earning Oneworld status.  The advantage of using the Summit card is you earn 1 status point per $2 spent.  The Ascent card earns 1 status points per $3 spent.

Send me a DM if you’d like more information on any of the Alaska cards.

IN CLOSING

It’s unfortunate that the new Bilt cards require guides and calculators to try to make sense of all the details.  Even with a background in finance and a degree in accounting these cards require brain power.

Can they offer great rewards with amazing transfer opportunities?  Absolutely.

When comparing the three Bilt card options, be sure to consider:

• How much do you spend on housing?
• How much everyday spend do you expect to put on the card?
• Will you benefit from the additional card benefits?
• Will the value received justify the annual fee?
• Is the complexity of the program worth dealing with?
• Will the Bilt card limit the card bonuses you earn going forward?

If you have any questions or you are interested in applying send me a DM and I can provide additional information.