How to Earn Points By Paying Your Rent

Posted: 11/7/22 | November seventh, 2022

As an avid journey hacker, I’m at all times searching for new methods to earn extra factors and miles by means of my on a regular basis spending. As a consequence, I earn over a million factors yearly, permitting me to take pleasure in all types of free flights and resort stays, upgrades, lounge entry, elite standing, and extra.

Travel hacking has saved me 1000’s and 1000’s of {dollars} through the years, and I wouldn’t have the ability to journey as a lot with out it.

However, there’s historically been one enormous expense that has at all times been exhausting to earn factors for: hire.

For years, journey hackers have taken benefit of momentary presents that waive bank card charges or gone by means of advanced procedures to pay their hire so they may get factors.

But these maneuvers have been all hit and miss and by no means lasted lengthy. Thousands of potential factors continued to be left on the desk.

Until now.

Earlier this 12 months, a card referred to as Bilt got here out. And it has modified the sport.
 

What is Bilt?

Bilt is a bank card that means that you can earn factors if you pay your hire (in addition to on on a regular basis purchases). You then use these factors such as you would every other rewards program: you should utilize them to guide journey instantly, you’ll be able to switch them to journey companions, or you should utilize a number of the different redemption choices.

There are two methods to earn factors with the cardboard: by renting a Bilt Alliance property, or through the use of the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®.

Bilt Alliance properties kind a community of two million items throughout the US. But I’m not going to concentrate on that. I’m going to speak about its bank card.
 

How does the Bilt reward card work?

Once you open a Bilt Mastercard® (which is issued by Wells Fargo and has no annual price), you go to the Bilt app or web site to arrange your recurring month-to-month rental funds.

Bilt then creates a singular checking account tied to your Bilt bank card in order that your hire is paid with an e-check fairly than by means of your bank card. This checking account is mainly a authorized “dummy” account created as a workaround for bank card processing charges. You don’t use it for the rest, and you don’t withdraw or deposit cash from it.

Whenever these distinctive routing and account numbers are used to pay hire, your Bilt Mastercard® is charged for a similar quantity. (You nonetheless have to attach your private checking account to repay the cardboard every month.)

And, in case your property is old-school and solely accepts checks, you’ll be able to nonetheless pay along with your Bilt card by means of the Bilt Rewards app, and Bilt will ship a examine in your behalf.

It all takes about 5 minutes to arrange. When you’re performed, you’ll be incomes factors in your hire. I take advantage of it, so I don’t depart any factors on the desk.

Bilt Reward Perks

Once your account is about up, you’ll begin incomes one level per greenback spent utilizing the Bilt bank card on hire funds, as much as 50,000 factors every calendar 12 months. While the mileage wanted totally free flights varies drastically relying on many components, if you happen to play your playing cards proper, that many factors may get you a free round-trip flight from New York to London.

And, whereas incomes factors for hire funds is Bilt’s most important draw, you’ll additionally earn two factors per greenback spent on journey (when booked instantly or by means of the Bilt Travel portal) and three factors per greenback spent on eating. You’ll get one level per greenback on all different purchases.

Just observe that it’s a must to make 5 purchases monthly (with no minimal spending requirement) to earn these rewards.

You can switch factors 1:1 to journey companions, together with American Airlines, United, Emirates, Hawaiian, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Hyatt, and IHG.

The incontrovertible fact that they switch to American Airlines and Hyatt actually units this card aside (apart from the hire factor). No one transfers to American, so it is a enormous promoting level for this card, as a result of it’s the one solution to get AA factors with out having an AA card. And incomes Hyatt factors means that you can have a approach out of the Chase system.

You may redeem factors for health courses, like SoulCycle, Solidcore, Rumble, and Y7, and for objects within the Bilt Collection, a curated collection of artisan residence décor objects. But redeeming for health courses comes out to round one level per cent — you get a greater redemption on journey purchases.

Additionally, purchases additionally allow you to earn standing within the Bilt Rewards program, primarily based on the whole factors earned yearly.

The tiers for these Bilt Rewards are as follows (subsequent tiers embrace all the things within the aforementioned ones):

• Blue: Earn factors on hire and the flexibility to switch them 1:1 to journey companions
• Silver (25,000 factors per 12 months): 10% bonus factors if you signal a brand new lease or renew your lease, and curiosity in your factors steadiness (on the FDIC printed nationwide financial savings rate of interest)
• Gold (50,000 factors per 12 months): 25% bonus factors for brand spanking new leases/renewals and entry to a house possession concierge (who will stroll you thru the home-buying course of)
• Platinum (100,000 factors per 12 months): 50% bonus factors for brand spanking new leases/renewals and a free present from the Bilt Collection of residence décor objects

While the perks within the larger tiers aren’t terribly thrilling, they’re a pleasant solution to earn much more factors in the event that they apply to you. But, even on the base stage, you’ll be able to nonetheless benefit from Bilt’s most important attraction: incomes factors on hire.

In addition to incomes factors, the cardboard additionally provides you:

• Trip cancellation safety and interruption protection
• Trip delay reimbursement (for delays of six hours or extra)
• Car rental collision protection
• Cell cellphone safety (as much as $800 USD)
• No international transaction charges
• A free three-month DashPass and $5 USD off your first DoorDash order every month
• $5 USD Lyft credit score every month after taking three rides that month

Who is that this card for?

This card is suited to anybody who desires to earn factors on their month-to-month hire. Once you arrange the web funds (it’s also possible to arrange auto-pay) and use your card 5 instances a month, it’s largely a “set it and forget it” sort of card. With no annual price, you don’t have anything to lose and solely factors to realize.

The card is very geared towards vacationers and restaurant-goers, because it presents 2x factors spent on journey and 3x factors on eating out. It’s finest paired with different journey bank cards which have higher perks, good welcome bonuses, and better incomes charges, although.

I’ll in all probability begin utilizing the Bilt card as a substitute of my Chase Sapphire, as a result of I get loads of Chase factors by means of enterprise spending, and I’m aiming to fly to Japan subsequent 12 months, so I would like these AA factors (AA is a accomplice with Japan Airlines).

Who is that this card not for?

As with any journey bank card, you shouldn’t get the Bilt card if you happen to’re already carrying a steadiness or plan to hold a steadiness. Interest charges for journey bank cards are notoriously excessive, and the Bilt card isn’t any completely different, with hefty APRs of 19–27%. The factors simply aren’t value it if you happen to’re paying curiosity every month.

This card can also be not for anybody with poor credit score, as you want good or wonderful credit score to qualify.

Furthermore, the Bilt card received’t be for anybody searching for one with an enormous welcome bonus (as there’s none), and it does depend towards Chase’s 5/24 rule (you’ll be able to’t open greater than 5 Chase playing cards inside 24 months). If you’ve already opened 5 Chase playing cards or wish to open extra, you would possibly wish to skip this one for now.

In sum, in case you are a renter and wish to earn factors on this main month-to-month expenditure, then it’s value contemplating the Bilt card. It’s utterly free, and straightforward to arrange, so there’s actually nothing to lose. Even in case your hire isn’t significantly excessive, factors are factors, and the Bilt card may very well be a pleasant further useful resource for incomes these coveted factors and miles (particularly if you happen to fly American Airlines, as that is one among their solely switch companions).

As the one rewards card that gives factors on hire utterly totally free, Bilt is a welcome new participant within the journey house. In my opinion, it’s actually a no brainer if you happen to pay hire, so you can begin working towards some free flights and resort stays!