Bilt 2.0: Now Earning Points on Your Mortgage
Is your largest monthly expense your mortgage? Would you like to earn travel points on that massive bill? Bilt 2.0 has officially arrived to make it happen.
Bilt, the company that changed the rules making it possible earn points on rent without fees, has now expanded to homeowners. Following the end of their partnership with Wells Fargo, Bilt has partnered with Cardless to launch three new credit cards on the Mastercard network (all with no foreign transaction fees).
Instead of just one card, you now have a choice of three tiers. Let’s break down which card might be the best for you and your family.
The New Card Lineup
1. Bilt Blue Card
The Entry-Level Choice
Does paying an annual fee make you feel a bit squeamish? Bilt is offering a no annual fee option with the new Bilt Blue Card.
World Elite Mastercard
- Annual Fee: $0
- Welcome Offer: $100 Bilt Cash
- Earning Rate: 1x points on all spending; excluding housing
- Bonus: 4% Bilt Cash on all spending; excluding housing
- Authorized Users: No fee for up to 5 authorized users
2. Bilt Obsidian Card
The Mid-Tier Value Card
Does most of your spend go toward dining or groceries? Are you willing to tolerate a low annual fee? The Bilt Obsidian Card might be the right fit for you.
World Elite Mastercard
- Annual Fee: $95
- Welcome Offer: $200 Bilt Cash
- Earning Rate: Varies based on category.
- 3x on Dining OR Groceries (choice made within first 30 days of approval and annually in January; cap of up to $25k/year on groceries)
- 2x on Travel
- 1x on everything else
- Bonus: 4% Bilt Cash on all spending; excluding housing
- Perks: $100 annual travel portal hotel credit ($50 biannually)
- Authorized Users: $50 fee per user (up to 5)
3. Bilt Palladium Card
The Premium Powerhouse
Want to get the most of your card and don’t mind the $495 annual fee? Check out the premium Bilt Palladium Card!
World Legend Mastercard
- Annual Fee: $495
- Welcome Offer: $300 Bilt Cash + 50,000 Bilt Points + Bilt Gold Status after spending $4,000 in 3 months (Bilt Gold status valid for remainder of year in which it is earned and the following year)
- Earning Rate: 2x points on everyday spend (some category limitations)
- Bonus: 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spend; excluding housing + $200 annual Bilt Cash credit
- Perks: $400 annual Travel Portal hotel credit ($200 biannually), Priority Pass for cardholder and authorized users
- Authorized Users: $95 fee per user (up to 5)
To learn more about the cards, visit the Bilt website.
What is Bilt Cash?
Bilt Cash is a new currency designed to replace Milestone Rewards. While Bilt is still rolling out full details (causing a delay in our posting), it appears the likely best use is “buying” the ability to earn points on your mortgage. You also earn $50 Bilt Cash for every 25,000 Bilt Points earned toward status. Let’s take a look at opportunities Bilt has provided so far if you choose to use Bilt Cash for something other than housing costs or if you have additional Bilt Cash.
Key 2026 Bilt Cash Redemptions:
- Mortgage and Rent
- Utilize Bilt Cash to improve Rent Day transfer bonus opportunities up the next status tier
- Travel:
- Up to $1,200/year in hotel credits via Bilt Travel (2-night minimum).
- Bilt Blue and Silver Members up to $50 per month
- Bilt Gold and Platinum Members up to $100 per month.
- Priority Pass extra guest credits. (Up to $768 pear year)
- Palladium Card holders get two free guests per month with at $32 per guest up to $64 statement credit per month.
- Unlock Home Away from Home Benefits where Bilt Blue and Silver members can unlock Gold and Platinum benefits for $95 Bilt Cash
- Up to $1,200/year in hotel credits via Bilt Travel (2-night minimum).
- Delivery, Dining and Grocery:
- Up to $300/year via Mobile Dining Checkout ($25 per month)
- Up to $600/year toward Bilt Dining experiences ($50 per month)
- Up to $120/year GrubHub ($10 per month)
- Up to $60/year for Gopuff home delivery ($5 per month); Up to $100 on Gopuff FAM Membership
- Lifestyle:
- Up to $120/year Lyft ($10 per month)
- Up to $480/year in fitness class credits with participating fitness studios ($40 per month)
- Up to $60/year at Bilt Neighborhood Parking locations ($5 per month)
- Up to $700/year Blade credits on up to two bookings ($350 per booking)
- Up to $10 per month at Walgreens
- Up to $120/year on Bilt Design Collection Credits ($10 per month)
- Up to $600/year toward Bilt comedy experiences ($50 per month)
- Blacklane Rides with up to $50/year for Blue and Silver Members, $100/year for Gold Members, and $150/year for Platinum Members.
- Point Accelerator On Every Day Spend: Palladium and Obsidian cardholders can use $200 in Bilt Cash up to 5 times pear year to enable an extra 1x points on spend for the next $5,000.
Note: Bilt Cash expires annually. You can only roll over $100 to the following year.
How to Earn Points on Rent & Mortgage
Bilt has provided two ways to pay your rent or mortgage with the Bilt ecosystem. Bilt 2.0 uses ACH payments from your linked bank account rather than charging your credit. You can now pay multiple mortgages or rents. You must choose between one of two options each month to pay your housing costs:
Option 1: The Tiered Spend Path (Simplified)
If you don’t want to mess with Bilt Cash, you can opt for a tiered multiplier based on your monthly non-housing spend instead of earning Bilt Cash. In this particular scenario, if you don’t meet the minimum spend, but still wish to pay your housing costs via Bilt. You will still earn a minimum of 250 points per month.
Monthly Spend (% of Housing Cost) | Points Earned on Housing |
Less than 25% | 250 points flat |
25% of Mortgage/Rent | 0.5x points |
50% of Mortgage/Rent | 0.75x points |
75% of Mortgage/Rent | 1x points |
100%+ of Mortgage/Rent | 1.25x points |
Option 2: The Bilt Cash Path
You use your earned Bilt Cash to unlock points on your housing with no out of pocket cost/fee. There is no minimum Bilt Cash amount required, but to earn 1 point per dollar on your mortgage, you need Bilt Cash equal to 3% of that payment. Every $30 of Bilt Cash can unlock 1,000 points on rent and mortgage.
- Example: For a $2,000 mortgage, you need $60 in Bilt Cash to earn 2,000 Bilt points.
- The Math: Since you earn 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spend, you’d need to spend $1,500 on your card (75% of your mortgage cost) to generate enough Bilt Cash to cover a $2,000 mortgage at 1x points.
If you are going use your Bilt card as your primary card, it may make more sense to go with option 2 with Bilt Cash. If you go with option 1, you will not earn any more than one your 1.25x and will miss out on all your additional Bilt Cash that could be redeemed in other ways.
Bilt Status
How do you earn Bilt status? Earn points via qualifying spend or specific spending thresholds in Bilt Ecosystem.
- Blue: Base member
- Silver: 50,000 qualifying points/$10,000 eligible spend
- Gold: 125,000 qualifying points/$25,000 eligible spend/spending $4,000 in the first 3 months with Palladium card
- Platinum: 200,000 qualifying points/$50,000 eligible spend
Once earned, status is good for the year in which it was earned through the end of the following year. Bilt status grants access to better promotions. For example, platinum members get Air-France-KLM Flying Blue Gold status for 12 months for 10,000 points. Other perks for status member include things like: Blade lounge access and benefits, the ability to gain interest on your points balance, bonus points on new lease or lease renewals, and access to a Bilt home ownership concierge.
Transfer Partners
Bilt may have the best collection of transfer partners. Bilt has a 1:1 transfer to the following airlines: Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue, Alaska/Hawaiian Atmos program, Aviance, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Spirit, TAP Air Portugal, Southwest, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin Red. Bilt points can also be transferred to the following hotel programs which vary in their transfer rates: Accor (3:2), Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and I Prefer (1:2).
Other Considerations
- Rent Day promotions will continue on the 1st of every month.
- Rent Day promotions should continue to double points on everyday spend. This includes bonus categories, but is capped at earning 1,000 per Rent Day
- Rent day promotions often include special transfer bonuses
- One big drawback to Bilt Cash is that it expires at the end of every year, and you can only roll over $100. Hopefully this will change in the future to provide more flexibility at the end of the year.
- Bilt currently partnered with the shopping portal Rakuten with a 1:1 transfer for everyone until May 15, 2026. Once the promotional period ends, only Bilt members with elite status will keep the 1:1 transfer or 1000 points per $10.00 cash back. All non-elite members (blue), will then have transfer rate cut in half to 1:2 or 500 points for every $10.00 cash back.
- Some types transactions do not count as an eligible purchase for every day spend on the new cards. These transactions that may not earn BILT Points or Bilt Cash include: Crypto or other digital currencies; betting transactions (e.g., lottery tickets, casino chips, race track wagers); tax payments; special transfers; cash advances; money orders; travelers checks; wire transfers; balance transfers; person to person payments (e.g., Zelle, Venmo, Paypal, Cash App); gift cards; prepaid cards; fees and interest posted to account; checks that access account
The Verdict: Is It Worth It?
The Bilt Blue is a tough sell for most unless you are strictly anti-annual fee. The real value lies in the Obsidian and the Palladium. Earning at least 2x points on everyday spend and possibly 3x on grocery or restaurants rivals Capital One and Chase.
Bilt’s transfer partners remain the best in the business. You can transfer 1:1 to World of Hyatt, Alaska Airlines, United, and Air France-KLM.
If you choose Option 2 (Bilt Cash), your effective earn rate on the Palladium card is roughly 3.33x on everyday spend when you factor in the mortgage points (up to 75% of your mortgage). That is a market-leading return and could really be a plus for those with multiple mortgages or rent.
Even if you decided none of these cards work for you, we highly recommend signing up for a Bilt account, and using their ecosystem with your other credit cards. We have previously used Bilt along with Capital One Savor card and Chase Freedom Flex to increase our point earning potential at Walgreens and our participating local restaurants.
All this said, if you are looking for simplicity, this card probably isn’t the best for you, but it can provide amazing value if you put in just a little work. If you are going for a simple set up only, consider sticking with the Capital One Venture X and pair it with a Savor. You can read more about this option in our previous Capital One blog post. If you want to maintain that 2x on everyday spend and pick up additional points on your mortgage, the Palladium card just might be for you…if you can stomach the annual fee and this complicated reward structure.
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