Your rent or mortgage is probably the single biggest payment that leaves your account every single month. And for most people it earns absolutely nothing in return.
Bilt changed that. And in 2024 they launched Bilt 2.0, a complete overhaul of the programme that added new cards, new earning structures, new transfer partners, and new ways to get value from your biggest monthly expense.
If you have been hearing about Bilt and wondering whether it is worth it, this post breaks down everything you need to know.
The three cards, how earning actually works, how to pay your rent or mortgage through Bilt, the airline co-branded card options, and the transfer partners that make Bilt points genuinely exciting for travel.
WHAT IS BILT ?
Bilt is a loyalty programme that lets you earn fully transferable travel points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee on housing payments when you use a Bilt-branded card.
Those points transfer to some of the most valuable airline and hotel programmes available, including World of Hyatt, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
The programme is free to join. You do not need a Bilt card to become a member, though having one unlocks the full earning potential on housing payments.
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MEET THE 3 BILT CREDIT CARD OPTIONS
The Bilt credit card lineup includes 3 options:
Bilt Credit Card Blue
Welcome offer: $100 Bilt Cash
Annual fee: $0
The Bilt Blue is the entry point into the programme and the right card for anyone who wants to start earning on rent and mortgage without any annual fee commitment.
Earning rates: 1x on rent payments, 1x on everyday purchases, 2x on travel, 3x on dining. Note that you must make at least five transactions per statement period for points to post on that month’s rent payment.
Bilt Credit Card Obsidian
Welcome offer: $200 Bilt Cash
Annual fee: $95
The Obsidian sits in the middle of the lineup and adds a meaningful earning upgrade over the free card.
Earning rates: 1x on rent and mortgage, 2x on travel, and you choose either 3x on dining or 3x on groceries as your bonus category. It also includes a $100 annual hotel credit through Bilt’s hotel booking platform.
Bilt Credit Card Palladium⭐
Annual Fee: $495
The Palladium is the card for serious points earners who want to maximise every dollar that leaves their account. The welcome offer alone: 50,000 points, Gold Status, and $300 Bilt Cash delivers significant first-year value before you earn a single point from spending.
Earning rates: 1x on rent and mortgage, 2x on everyday purchases, 3x on dining, 3x on travel. It also includes a $400 annual hotel credit, $200 annual Bilt Cash, and Priority Pass lounge access.
When you subtract the $400 hotel credit and $200 Bilt Cash from the $495 annual fee, the card effectively costs negative $105 before you earn a single point from spending. That is the math that makes the Palladium worth a serious look for anyone who travels regularly.
How Earning on Rent and Mortgage Actually Works
This is the section most people find confusing, so I want to walk through it as clearly as possible.
When you set up your Bilt card for housing payments, you choose one of two reward options. You can switch between them at any time.
Option 1: Housing-Only Rewards
Under this option, you earn points directly on your rent and mortgage payments. How much you earn depends on how much everyday spending you put on the Bilt card that same month relative to your housing payment.
Here is how the tiers work. If you spend 25% of your housing payment on everyday purchases that month, you earn 0.5x on your housing payment. If you spend 50% of your housing payment on everyday purchases, you earn 0.75x on housing.
If you spend 75% of your housing payment on everyday purchases, you earn 1x on housing. And if you spend an amount equal to or greater than your housing payment on everyday purchases, you earn 1.25x on housing.
If your rent is $2,000 a month and you want to earn 1x on your housing payment, you need to put $1,500 in everyday spending on your Bilt card that month. Do that and you earn 2,000 points on rent plus points on your everyday spending.
Option 2: Bilt Cash
Under this option, you earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on your everyday spending rather than points. You then redeem that Bilt Cash to unlock points on your housing payment at a rate of $30 in Bilt Cash per 1,000 points.
So if you spend $1,000 on everyday purchases you earn $40 in Bilt Cash. You can then use $30 of that Bilt Cash to unlock 1,000 points on your housing payment. The remaining $10 in Bilt Cash can be saved toward your next month’s unlock or redeemed directly.
This option works well for people who want a more predictable earning structure without tracking their spending ratio each month.
How to Actually Pay Your Rent or Mortgage Through Bilt
One of the most common questions people have is how this works in practice, especially if their landlord does not accept credit cards.
Bilt has three payment paths depending on your situation.
If you live in a Bilt Alliance property: Your apartment building is already partnered with Bilt. Pay directly through the My Home tab in your Bilt account and points post automatically.
If your mortgage is serviced by UWM: You can also pay directly through the My Home tab in your Bilt account.
For everyone else: Bilt uses BillPay, which lets you pay your landlord or mortgage servicer through a third party portal or by Venmo, PayPal, or check. Even if your landlord only accepts checks, Bilt will issue the check on your behalf. This covers virtually every rental and mortgage situation.
Rent Day: The Best Day to Use Your Bilt Card
Every 1st of the month is Rent Day, and it is one of the most valuable days in the Bilt calendar.
On Rent Day, every non-housing purchase on your Bilt card earns double points. Dining earns 6x instead of 3x. Travel earns 4x instead of 2x. Everyday purchases earn 2x instead of 1x. The double earning applies for the entire day.
A few important Rent Day details worth knowing. Authorized users each get their own separate earning cap on Rent Day, so if your partner is an authorized user on your account you are effectively doubling the household earning potential. The double earning applies to purchases, not to housing payments. And Apple Pay qualifies for Rent Day earning.
Stack your larger purchases on the 1st of the month whenever you can. It is one of the simplest ways to accelerate your Bilt points balance without any extra spending.
Earning Airline Miles on Rent Without a Bilt Card
Even if you do not want to open a Bilt-branded card, you can still earn airline miles directly on your rent payments through Bilt by linking certain airline co-branded credit cards to your Bilt account.
You link an eligible airline card to Bilt and pay your rent through Bilt using that card. You earn airline miles directly into your frequent flyer account at boosted rates. Because these are third-party airline cards rather than Bilt-branded cards, a 3% transaction fee applies to rent payments. The 3% fee does not apply to mortgage payments, only rent.
Here are the airline partners and earning rates currently available:
Air France-KLM Flying Blue: 3 Flying Blue miles per dollar on rent, on up to $50,000 per year. That is up to 150,000 Flying Blue miles annually from rent alone.
Cards: eligible Flying Blue Visa Signature card.
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards: 3 Atmos Rewards miles per dollar on rent, on up to $50,000 per year.
Cards: Alaska Atmos Summit or Ascent card.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club: 3 Avios per dollar on rent, on up to $50,000 per year. This partnership is brand new as of August 2026 and one of the most exciting additions to the Bilt ecosystem.
If you pay $2,000 a month in rent using the Qatar Airways card through Bilt, you earn 6,000 Avios every single month, 72,000 Avios per year from rent alone. Those Avios can be used to book Qatar Qsuites business class, which starts from 70,000 Avios one way.
Cards: Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa Signature or Visa Infinite.
United Airlines MileagePlus: 2 MileagePlus miles per dollar on rent, on up to $50,000 per year.
Cards: any eligible United MileagePlus card.
Is the 3% Fee Worth It?
Here is how to think about whether the fee makes sense for your situation. On $2,000 of monthly rent, the 3% fee is $60. That same $2,000 in rent earns you 6,000 miles at the 3x rate. You are effectively paying $60 for 6,000 miles, roughly 1 cent per mile.
For premium cabin redemptions where miles consistently deliver 2 cents or more per mile in value: Qatar Qsuites, Air France business class to Europe, Alaska partner business class, paying 1 cent per mile to earn them is a genuinely good deal. For economy redemptions the math is tighter and you should run the numbers against your specific redemption before committing.
Bilt Transfer Partners
Bilt transfers to all of the following programmes at a 1:1 ratio with no transfer fees:
Airlines: American Airlines AAdvantage, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, Emirates Skywards, Avianca LifeMiles, TAP Air Portugal Miles and Go, Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles, United Airlines MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Air Canada Aeroplan, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, ITA Airways Volare
Hotels: World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards
Hyatt’s award chart is one of the most generous in the hotel world, particularly for luxury properties that would otherwise cost hundreds or thousands of dollars per night. And Hyatt does not charge resort fees on award stays, which adds even more value to every redemption.
Transfers typically process within 24 hours or less. Most transfer instantly.
The Best Ways to Use Bilt Points
World of Hyatt for luxury hotel stays. Park Hyatt properties, Alila resorts, and Thompson Hotels are all available through Hyatt’s award chart at rates that are often dramatically lower than the cash price.
Our family used 75,000 Hyatt points transferred from Bilt to cover five nights at the Hyatt Regency Koh Samui in Thailand, a stay that would have cost nearly $6,000 in cash.
United Airlines for Star Alliance business class. Bilt transfers to United at 1:1 and United’s award chart covers Star Alliance partner flights including Lufthansa, ANA, and SWISS, some of the best business class products available.
Virgin Atlantic for ANA and Delta redemptions. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has some of the most competitive pricing available for ANA business and first class to Japan and Delta One business class from the US.
American Airlines for oneworld partner flights. AAdvantage covers British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and other oneworld partners. Bilt’s 1:1 transfer to American makes it a useful path to these carriers.
Want to Go Deeper on Bilt and Build a Full Points Strategy Around It?
Your rent or mortgage is going to leave your account every single month no matter what. The only question is whether it earns anything when it does.
Bilt is the only programme that lets you earn fully transferable travel points on both rent and mortgage with no transaction fee on housing payments.
The three Bilt cards cover every level of commitment from zero annual fee to premium. The airline co-branded card options add flexibility for people who want to earn airline miles directly. And the transfer partners particularly Hyatt, United, and Virgin Atlantic make Bilt points genuinely valuable toward real travel.
If your biggest monthly expense has been earning nothing until now, this is the most direct fix available.
Want to build a strategy around Bilt and the rest of your card portfolio?
Come join us inside Miles and Memories, our community of families actively building toward real trips every week. This is exactly the kind of strategy we break down together inside the community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Bilt card to earn on rent?
No. You can earn airline miles on rent by linking an eligible airline co-branded card to your Bilt account. However, a 3% fee applies and the Bilt-branded cards earn on both rent and mortgage with no transaction fee.
Is there a minimum number of transactions required?
Yes. You must make at least five transactions per statement period on your Bilt card for points to post on that month’s rent payment. This applies to the Bilt-branded cards.
Can I earn on mortgage payments?
Yes. All three Bilt-branded cards earn on both rent and mortgage. The airline co-branded cards through Bilt only earn on rent — not mortgage.
Do Bilt points expire?
Bilt points do not expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing.
Does applying for a Bilt card affect my Chase 5/24 count?
No. Bilt cards are issued by Wells Fargo and do not count toward Chase’s 5/24 limit.
Can I use Bilt if I own my home?
Yes. The Bilt-branded cards earn on mortgage payments as well as rent payments. If your mortgage is serviced by UWM you can pay directly through Bilt. Everyone else uses BillPay.
Related Reading:
- How to Earn 2X United Miles on Bilt Rent Payments (And Whether It’s Actually Worth It)
- Earn Bilt Travel Points Through Rakuten Online Shopping Portal
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