Frequently Asked Questions About My New Favorite Card

Posted: 9/15/23 | September 15, 2023

The Bilt Mastercard® is one in every of my favourite journey bank cards. While I’ve a handful of others in my pockets, Bilt is my go-to for many of my day-to-day spending.

Plus, it’s nonetheless the one bank card that permits you to earn factors on hire (as much as 100,000 in a calendar yr) totally without cost — no annual charges, tips, or gimmicks. You simply pay your hire every month and earn factors you should use without cost journey.

I’ve already written an in-depth assessment of the Bilt card and highlighted the important issues to find out about it, but there are nonetheless a number of misconceptions. I get emails about it each week.

So right now I needed to take the chance to reply some steadily requested questions on Bilt. Hopefully, it will clear up any confusion you may need — and persuade you enroll and begin incomes your individual factors right now!

Why is Bilt my present favourite journey bank card?

Bilt is the one bank card that permits you to earn factors on hire — as much as 100,000 per yr. Plus, there isn’t a annual charge. If you reside within the US and hire (particularly in pricey cities like NYC or SF), it’s a no-brainer.

Another cause I really like Bilt is as a result of it’s the one non–American Airlines card that transfers to American Airlines. This is nice information for frequent AA fliers, or vacationers with particular upcoming journeys for which they need to use AA factors.

For instance, this yr, for my birthday, I flew to Japan on JAL in top quality (one in every of my favourite first-class experiences) by optimizing my spending to amass a number of Bilt factors. AA is a companion with Japan Airlines, so I may switch my Bilt factors to AA, after which use these for a seat on a flight operated by JAL.

Finally, Bilt makes it straightforward to earn factors, with 3x on eating, 2x on journey, and 5x on Lyft — and double these figures on all classes (besides hire and Lyft) on the primary of the month (aka Rent Day). You’ll additionally earn 2,500 factors per referral (with each fifth profitable referral getting you an extra 10,000 factors) – as much as 2 million bonus factors. Plus, you’ll get the factors on a rolling foundation, so that you don’t have to attend till your assertion closes to make use of them.

Just notice that you should make 5 purchases every assertion interval (with no minimal spending requirement) to earn factors. (Further information on rewards & advantages right here.)

In abstract, Bilt has numerous strong bonuses. But the principle draw is incomes factors on hire. If you aren’t doing that, you’re actually leaving cash on the desk.
 

How do you earn factors paying hire with Bilt?

Once you open a Bilt Mastercard, you merely go to the Bilt app or web site to arrange your recurring month-to-month rental funds.

First, you’ll arrange a Bilt Rent Account with Wells Fargo (the financial institution behind Bilt). This is mainly a authorized “dummy” account created as a workaround for bank card processing charges. You don’t use it for the rest (you don’t withdraw cash from it or deposit into it).

Whenever these distinctive routing and account numbers are used to pay hire (whether or not you employ a web-based portal, Venmo, or PayPal), your Bilt Mastercard is charged for a similar quantity. You then repay the steadiness every month (in full!) by connecting it to your common checking account, as you’d every other bank card.

If your landlord solely accepts checks, you possibly can nonetheless pay together with your Bilt card by means of the Bilt Rewards app, and Bilt will ship a verify in your behalf.

My rental fee portal prices a processing charge for paying by bank card. Will I get charged a charge for utilizing Bilt to pay my hire?

Nope! With a Bilt Rent Account (see above), you’re technically paying your hire with a checking account, not a bank card. So you received’t incur any charges!
 

What’s the annual charge for Bilt?

There is NO annual charge, which is a part of what makes Bilt so superior! (Full card phrases right here.)
 

What are the most effective switch companions for Bilt?

My favourite switch companion is American Airlines, as a result of, moreover AA bank cards, that is the one strategy to earn AA factors.

You also can switch factors 1:1 to 13 different journey companions:

• American Airlines
• AerMembership (Aer Lingus)
• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates
• Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia
• IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group)
• Turkish Airlines
• United
• Virgin Atlantic
• World of Hyatt

It’s straightforward to seek out the most effective use of your Bilt factors when each reserving flights and lodges, because of Bilt’s partnerships with each Point.me, the search engine for locating award flights (study extra about Point.me in my assessment), and Awayz, which helps you discover award lodge stays (extra in my Awayz assessment right here). Just put your required vacation spot into the Bilt app’s journey portal, and the search perform will show flights and lodges that you would ebook with Bilt factors.

Once you’ve determined, you possibly can switch your Bilt factors to the required journey companion proper throughout the app.
 

What is Rent Day?

Rent Day is the primary day of the month (when hire is normally due). On at the present time, Bilt affords double factors for the principle spending classes, which means that you just’ll earn 6x (not 3x) on eating, 4x (not 2x) on journey, and 2x on different purchases (besides hire) made on the primary of the month. (Lyft factors are additionally not doubled.) This is my favourite strategy to simply rack up Bilt factors. (Just do not forget that you should use the cardboard 5 instances every assertion interval to earn factors. Rewards & Benefits right here.)

There are much more bonuses on Rent Day within the Bilt app, the place you possibly can play varied video games with the intention to earn factors. For instance, in Point Quest, a mainstay of the Rent Day extravaganza, you possibly can earn factors for proper solutions to (fairly straightforward) trivia questions.

There’s additionally a Rent Day Challenge that adjustments each month, through which you full a problem for an opportunity that Bilt pays your hire for one month. Past challenges have included a fill-in-the-blank one and a picture search (discover Bilt blocks inside a picture).
 

Does Bilt work if I pay a mortgage as a substitute of renting?

No. You at present can’t get factors in your mortgage, solely hire funds.

However, even householders may need to contemplate getting the Bilt card for the plethora of different advantages. It’s no doubt the finest no-fee journey bank card on the market, no matter whether or not you’re utilizing the points-for-rent characteristic or not. The ease of incomes factors which can be transferable to a variety of journey companions, Rent Day advantages (out there to all cardholders), free Point.me and Awayz entry (for locating award flights and lodges), and strong journey insurance coverage make it onerous to beat.
 

What credit score rating is required for Bilt?

The really helpful credit score rating to use for Bilt is within the good-to-excellent vary (670–850), although this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Other elements in your credit score historical past could come into play when your utility is evaluated.
 

How do you apply for a Bilt bank card?

Simply click on this hyperlink to use! For most candidates, it takes simply a few minutes to obtain a response. Keep in thoughts that this can be a onerous inquiry in your credit score, which means that it would trigger a short lived dip in your rating.
 

Can I exploit Bilt with out the bank card?

If you reside in a Bilt Alliance property (properties with an official partnership with Bilt), you received’t want the Bilt Mastercard to earn factors in your hire. However, even for those who dwell in one in every of these properties, I nonetheless assume it’s effectively value it for all the opposite methods to earn much more!
 

Is Bilt value it?

Yes! Considering there’s no annual charge and solely factors to achieve, Bilt is completely value having in your pockets.

Bilt is a must have for anybody who rents within the US — however particularly vacationers. I actually can’t advocate it sufficient. As the one card that allows you to earn factors from paying hire, and because the solely non–American Airlines card that allows you to earn AA factors, it’s my favourite for a cause.

Don’t go away cash on the desk — get your Bilt card right now!