8 Things to Know About the Bilt Rewards Mastercard

Posted: 2/8/2023 | February eighth, 2023

Since popping out in 2021, the Bilt Rewards Mastercard has been an absolute game-changer for renters that like to journey. It’s the one bank card that permits you to earn factors in your month-to-month lease fee — as much as 50,000 factors per 12 months, (which might pay for a round-trip flight to Hawaii, for instance).

You can use these factors like another journey rewards factors (reminiscent of these from Chase, American Express, or Capital One), transferring them to airline or lodge companions or paying for journey straight via a selected portal.

But whereas the points-for-rent perk will get all the eye (and rightfully so), the Bilt Rewards Mastercard is greater than a one-trick pony.

To really get essentially the most out of this beneficial card (one which I feel each renter ought to have of their pockets), listed here are some key issues to know in regards to the Bilt Mastercard:

1. There’s no annual payment

One of an important issues to think about when opening a brand new bank card is whether or not there’s an annual payment, and in that case, whether or not paying it is smart in keeping with your spending habits and objectives.

Most of the greatest journey bank cards have annual charges, and for frequent vacationers, they’re normally value it. You can get way more worth out of a card than its annual payment in case you’re an avid flier who enjoys lounge entry, precedence boarding, checking additional baggage, or different frequent perks.

But you don’t have to fret about that with Bilt, as the cardboard presently has no payment. You can earn factors in your lease fully at no cost!

2. There’s additionally no welcome supply

However, the flip facet of there being no annual payment is that there’s additionally no welcome supply on the Bilt Rewards Mastercard.

Welcome provides (also referred to as sign-up bonuses) are the factors you earn by spending a certain quantity inside a specified time-frame after opening a bank card. For instance, you would possibly be capable to earn 60,000 factors in case you spend $3,000 USD inside the first three months of opening a specific card.

These provides jump-start your factors “fund” and may typically quantity to a free round-trip flight proper off the bat. Welcome provides are so very important to any good journey hacking technique that I normally advise towards signing up for a card until there’s a sizable one. The proven fact that I wholeheartedly suggest the Bilt card, even and not using a welcome supply, ought to present you simply how nice I feel this card is.

3. There is a minimal transaction requirement to earn factors

After opening the Bilt Mastercard, maybe an important factor to know is that you will need to make a minimal of 5 transactions every assertion interval to earn factors. That goes for all factors, together with the factors you’ll obtain for paying your lease.

That means in case you don’t make 5 purchases in your card that interval, you gained’t earn any factors in any respect — even in case you’ve paid lease via Bilt.

The excellent news is that there’s no minimal buy requirement, solely a minimal transaction requirement. As lengthy as you make 5 purchases — of any measurement — in your Bilt card every month, you’ll get your factors.

4. You can earn factors on extra than simply lease

While incomes factors on lease is the primary promoting level, the cardboard provides further methods to earn factors too:

• 2x factors on journey
• 3x factors on eating
• 1x factors on all different purchases

(These incomes classes are the identical as fan-favorite Chase Sapphire Preferred, for which there’s an annual payment of $95 USD).

So, for instance, in case you use your Bilt card throughout the month on journey or eating purchases, you’ll not solely get 2-3 instances the factors, however you’ll additionally hit your minimal five-purchase requirement.

5. You can max out on factors earned for lease

It’s additionally value utilizing your card for purchases apart from lease due to the truth that you possibly can max out on the variety of factors earned for lease (factors for lease are capped at 50,000 per 12 months). After that, you gained’t earn any extra factors on lease for that 12 months.

However, contemplating you earn at a price of 1 Bilt level per $1 spent on lease, you’ll solely attain the restrict in case you spend over $4,166/month in lease. If your rental fee is below that, you don’t have to fret about hitting the restrict.

6. You can earn much more factors on lease day

On the primary day of the month, your factors incomes energy is doubled, which means that you simply’ll earn 6x factors on eating, 4x factors on journey, and 2x on different purchases (besides lease) made on the primary of the month.

If you get into the behavior of utilizing your Bilt card for all the pieces you purchase on the primary day of the month, you’ll already be that a lot nearer to hitting your 5 minimal transactions, all whereas getting much more factors to your purchases.

And whereas nobody needs extra apps on their telephones, you’ll want to obtain the Bilt app for possibilities to earn much more factors. Every lease day, there are new methods to simply earn factors within the app. These change each month, however up to now have included enjoying Point Quest, by which you earn factors for proper solutions to trivia questions.

There’s additionally the Rent Day Challenge, in which you’ll be able to enter to win a free month’s lease by accurately finishing a fill-in-the-blank phrase throughout the day.

While a few of these alternatives don’t supply many factors, they take little or no time to finish, and so they all add up!

7. Bilt factors = American Airlines factors

Another cause to amass factors is as a result of Bilt has American Airlines as a switch associate — and it’s the one card that does. Since no different card provides factors that switch to American, Bilt is the one strategy to get AA factors with out having an AA card.

This is nice information for American Airlines loyalists or vacationers with particular journeys in thoughts for which they need to use AA factors. For instance, I’m presently prioritizing my Bilt card as an alternative of my Chase Sapphire, as a result of I would like these AA factors for a visit I’m planning to Japan this 12 months (AA is a associate with Japan Airlines).

In addition to American Airlines, you possibly can switch your Bilt factors on a 1:1 foundation to many different journey companions, together with:

• Air Canada
• Air France
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Hyatt
• IHG
• Turkish Airlines
• United
• Virgin Atlantic

You can even redeem factors for health lessons, like SoulCycle, Solidcore, Rumble, and Y7, and for objects within the Bilt Collection, a curated choice of artisan dwelling décor objects. However, I’d advise towards this, as redeeming factors for health lessons comes out to round one level per cent — and you may get a a lot better redemption on journey purchases.

8. Bilt provides nice journey safety

Beyond its points-earning capabilities, Bilt provides strong journey safety, particularly for a no-fee card. Just take into account that you will need to guide journey utilizing the Bilt card as a way to obtain these advantages. The protections are just like that of different “starter” journey bank cards, just like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Here are the journey protections that Bilt presently provides:

• Trip cancellation safety and interruption protection
• Trip delay reimbursement (for delays of six hours or extra)
• Car rental collision protection
• Cell telephone safety (as much as $800 USD)
• No international transaction charges

Click right here for a full breakdown of rewards and advantages and charges and charges.

While these protections — like that of any card — aren’t an alternative choice to journey insurance coverage (which it’s best to all the time get!), they’re nice perks, and also you get them at no additional price.

All in all, getting the Bilt card is a no brainer for anybody who pays lease within the US, because it’s presently the one strategy to earn factors at no cost on this obligatory month-to-month expense.

But, whereas it’s value getting for simply that profit alone, the Bilt card provides a variety of different superior options that make it much more beneficial. The capability to switch to American Airlines, double factors on Rent Day, new methods to earn further factors, and a well-rounded roster of journey advantages and protections make the Bilt card greater than worthy of house in your pockets. It’s grow to be one in every of my favourite playing cards and I discover myself reaching for it so much!