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If you've been keeping up with credit card rewards news — and hey, you're here, so you probably have — you've likely heard rumblings about the new Bilt cards and the confusion they're causing.
Over the course of rolling out its Bilt 2.0 revamp, the renowned rent-for-rewards program has left a lot of existing and prospective customers scratching their heads, especially when it comes to the cards that are replacing the now-discontinued Bilt Mastercard®.
One major improvement is that members can now earn on mortgage payments as well as rent, but buckle up. Figuring out whether any one of the new Bilt cards is worth its weight in your wallet isn't easy, but we're here to untangle things a bit and help you make an informed decision.
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Cash back credit cards can offer tremendous value. The best cash back cards offer high rates in useful categories like gas and groceries.
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Bilt card comparison
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Bilt Blue Card
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Bilt Obsidian Card
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Bilt Palladium Card
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| Who it's best for | Those who are okay with few perks beyond earning rewards on housing | Foodies who want to earn rewards on housing | Frequent travelers who want to earn rewards on housing |
| Annual fee | $0 | $95 | $495 |
| Welcome offer | Get $100 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved | Get $200 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved | Get $300 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved, plus earn 50,000 Bilt Points and Gold Status when you spend $4,000 on purchases outside of rent and mortgage in your first 3 months |
| Rewards rates | 1X on everyday spend | 3X on dining or grocery (your choice), up to $25,000 per year on grocery, 2X on travel, and 1X on everyday spend | 2X on everyday spend |
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| Card benefits |
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How earning on housing payments works
Like we said above, Bilt's made its name by offering consumers a way to earn rewards on rent payments without paying a credit card transaction fee.
But now, under the Bilt 2.0 reboot, there are two different ways you can earn rewards — and two different types of rewards currencies you could earn — on your housing payments: housing-only rewards or Flexible Bilt Cash.
Housing-only rewards
If you choose the housing-only option, you'll earn Bilt points for every dollar spent on housing using your card, no transaction fee charged.
But critically, the rate at which you'll earn those points will vary based on the amount of non-housing spending you do on your card each billing cycle as a percentage of your monthly housing costs.
| Percentage of non-housing spending on your Bilt card | Earn rate |
| At least 25% of monthly housing costs | 0.5X |
| At least 50% of monthly housing costs | 0.75X |
| At least 75% of monthly housing costs | 1X |
| 100% or more of monthly housing cots | 1.25X |
It's not just you; that's a lot to keep track of. Essentially, in exchange for optimized earning on housing payments, Bilt is forcing you to use your card as much as possible for regular spending.
For example, if you pay $1,800 per month in rent, you'll need to put at least $1,350 in everyday spending on your Bilt card to earn even one point per $1 spent on housing — the base rate earned with the old Bilt Mastercard. You could earn more than one point per $1 if you put more than $1,800 in non-housing expenses on your Bilt card every month.
Flexible Bilt Cash
If you choose the Bilt Cash option, you'll earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on your everyday, non-housing spending, but you won't earn any Bilt points on your housing payment if you put it on your card.
One of the primary factors that's always made Bilt points appealing is the ability to transfer them to travel partners, potentially unlocking increased value by finding sweet-spot redemptions. Bilt Cash, however, can't be transferred to partners, so why choose this option at all?
Essentially, the tradeoff here is earning predictable, fixed-value rewards (Bilt Cash) or having the potential to optimize the value of your earnings through transfers to travel partners (Bilt points).
For certain redemptions, Bilt Cash has a 1:1 real-dollar value. But that's all each Bilt Cash dollar will ever be worth: a flat $1. Bilt points, however, could potentially be worth a lot more as they can be transferred to the program's airline partners, which opens a whole world of value.
But unless your expenses are extremely predictable every month and you're okay putting a significant amount of them on a Bilt card rather than another, potentially higher-earning credit card, the rate at which you'll earn Bilt points from month-to-month could vary, whereas you'll always earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on non-housing expenses no matter how much you put on the card.
Who should skip the Bilt cards
One thing the Bilt 2.0 reboot has accomplished is making it abundantly clear who shouldn't get any of the Bilt cards. If you're not attached to earning rewards on your housing expenses, there's no compelling reason to apply.
And even if you do like the sound of earning rewards on your rent or mortgage, you should still skip these cards if you're not the type of person who is willing to put in a whole lot of effort to optimize the value you get out of your credit cards.
Even existing Bilt cardholders may want to reconsider transitioning to one of the new cards if the new rewards structure sounds like too much to keep track of.
Bilt card welcome offers
Bilt Blue Card welcome offer
The bar is low for earning the Blue card's welcome offer of $100 Bilt Cash. All you have to do is get approved for the card.
Now, using that Bilt Cash may prove a little less simple. You can read more about why that might be in our Bilt Rewards review. Even so, you're getting something for essentially nothing more than a credit inquiry and the time it takes to apply and get approved.
Bilt Obsidian Card welcome offer
Like the Blue card, the Obsidian comes with a welcome offer that only requires getting approved for the card to earn. At $200 Bilt Cash, the welcome offer more than justifies the annual fee for the first year if redeemed for one of the Bilt Cash program's many dollar-for-dollar credits (we'll go into that a little more below).
Bilt Palladium Card welcome offer
Applicants for the Palladium card can get $300 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved, plus earn 50,000 Bilt Points and Gold Status when you spend $4,000 on purchases outside of rent and mortgage in your first 3 months.
While the points component leaves something to be desired when compared to similarly-priced travel rewards cards, combining it with the potential value of that Bilt Cash should do more than enough to outweigh the annual fee in your first year.
Bilt card benefits and perks
With the 2.0 reboot, Bilt's card offerings are beginning to look more like the roster of travel cards you'd find with a more traditional rewards program. But that's not surprising — if users are going to pay an annual fee for any of these, there ought to be a good reason (or two) to do so.
Benefits the cards share
No transaction fees on housing payments
Bilt gets that the primary reason people have flocked to the rewards program is the opportunity to earn rewards on housing payments without incurring the transaction fees that would typically come with putting your payment on a credit card.
There's no change to that perk under Bilt 2.0, so rent or mortgage payments made on a Bilt card won't include transaction fees, regardless of which card you hold. Well, technically. To better understand how it all works, you'll need a primer on Bilt's new housing-only/flexible Bilt Cash value prop.
Jump ahead to a more detailed breakdown if you'd like.
Neighborhood Benefits™
When you use your Bilt card, you could unlock exclusive benefits at local restaurants, gyms, and Walgreens. You'll also be able to earn 2X Bilt points on Lyft rides when you link your accounts.
The availability of Neighborhood Benefits varies based on where you live, of course. To get a sense of what dining perks are available, I searched for eligible restaurants in a few cities and the options seem to run the gamut from local gems like Down North Pizza in my home city of Philadelphia to national chains like Boston Market.
While the Bilt website promises dining deals like complimentary items, all the restaurants I looked at simply offered an elevated earn rate — 1X to 3X, from what I could find — on top of your typical card rewards without indicating what other perks may be available, if any.
Though as much as I would have liked to spend my morning working up an appetite while I checked every restaurant in my tri-state area for free bites, I (of course) didn't look at every eligible restaurant in the program, so your mileage may vary.
Regardless, all that does mean that Bilt Obsidian cardholders could earn an effective 6X rewards rate on spending with the right restaurants if they've selected dining for their 3X bonus category — a pretty noteworthy perk for foodies who don't mind limiting their roster of regular spots a little.
General Mastercard perks
In addition to Bilt-specific perks, each of the new cards comes with a set of benefits that cardholders can enjoy simply by nature of them being Mastercards. These include but aren't limited to:
- Cellular telephone protection: Receive up to $800 (subject to a $50 deductible) per claim in cell phone coverage against lost or damaged phones, with up to two paid claims ($1,000 max) in a 12-month period.
- MasterRental rental car coverage: This perk is available to all Bilt cardholders who book rentals with their card and decline the rental company's coverage.
- Travel insurance perks (Obsidian and Palladium only): Obsidian and Palladium cardholders are eligible for trip cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay, and lost or damaged luggage benefits. Note, though, that coverage levels and claims-per-year are limited.
Benefits unique to the Bilt Blue Card
The Bilt Blue Card is the Bilt 2.0 program's base level offering. It doesn't feature any perks that you can't get on the Obsidian or the Palladium, but with no annual fee, the ability to pay your rent or mortgage by credit card without incurring transaction fees makes holding the card extremely easy to justify.
What's more, the chance to bump your effective earn rate from 1X to as much as 4X on qualified Neighborhood Benefits program spending significantly increases the card's earning power.
Benefits unique to the Bilt Obsidian Card
As with most credit card programs, the real perks kick in once you're willing to pay an annual fee. In addition to all the benefits you'd get with the Blue card, Obsidian cardholders get one additional benefit of note.
$100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit
Cardholders can access a $100 annual Bilt Travel Hotel credit, which can be applied in two installments of $50 every year to cover qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel booking.
Is it a big deal?
The number crunchers out there should be quick to realize that $100 is more than the Obsidian's annual fee. But the statement can only be applied in $50 increments twice a year, so, if you can reasonably expect to book two hotel stays per year and don't mind doing so through Bilt's portal, this perk alone justifies holding the card.
Benefits unique to the Bilt Palladium Card
The ability to earn redeemable points on housing payments may be more than enough for some cardholders to justify the Palladium's annual fee.
$400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit
One of the ways that Bilt sets its top-tier card apart is by offering a $400 annual Bilt Travel Hotel credit for qualifying bookings made through the portal, up from a $100 credit on the Obsidian. The credit can be applied twice a year in $200 installments.
Is it a big deal?
Similarly to the Obsidian, if you expect to spend at least $400 on hotel stays every year and don't mind booking through the Bilt portal, this perk goes a long way toward making the Palladium worth it, nearly outweighing the full $495 annual fee.
$200 Bilt Cash
Bilt Cash is confusing. It can be redeemed in a head-spinning range of ways, the specifics of which sometimes vary with your Bilt status tier.
But what's perhaps most important to understand when assessing the value of this perk is that Bilt Cash can be used for 1:1 credit redemptions with specific merchants across travel, fitness, entertainment, and more, or it can be used to unlock Bilt points on housing.
Bilt Cash can also be used to access experiential upgrades on things like select hotel bookings or to purchase accelerated Bilt points earning, but those uses muddy the water too much when it comes to value from cardholder to cardholder.
Is it a big deal?
First, take a deep breath. The whole Bilt Cash ecosystem has been the cause of significant confusion among consumers. But whether this perk is of any value to you depends on how you use your Bilt Cash. If you opt to use it all on dollar-for-dollar redemption options, it's a flat $200 perk, which covers a little less than half the annual fee. But it could be worth more.
In addition to those not-so-simple, merchant-specific monthly credit options, you could use your Bilt Cash to unlock Bilt points on rent and mortgage payments at a rate of $30 per 1,000 points (though you can unlock points in increments as small as $0.03 per 1 Bilt point).
Priority Pass membership
Palladium cardholders get unlimited access for themselves and up to two guests at more than 1,200 Priority Pass lounge locations at over 400 airports around the world.
Is it a big deal?
Many of the biggest travel cards on the market offer Priority Pass memberships, which typically costs $469 for unlimited annual access. But the real value of lounge access always comes down to how often you'll use it. For frequent travelers who are drawn to Bilt for its housing perks anyway, also getting Priority Pass out of the deal can make the annual fee a no-brainer.
Earning and redeeming Bilt points
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Bilt Blue Card
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Bilt Obsidian Card
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Bilt Palladium Card
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| Rewards rates | 1X on everyday spend | 3X on dining or grocery (your choice), up to $25,000 per year on grocery, 2X on travel, and 1X on everyday spend | 2X on everyday spend |
The earn rates for Bilt cards on non-housing spending are pretty well in line with similar travel rewards cards. The flat 1X on everyday spend on the Blue is thoroughly reasonable for a no-annual-fee card, while the Palladium's 2X on everyday spend puts the card ahead of even the American Express Platinum Card® when it comes to everyday spending.
As touched on above, Bilt Cash can be used to unlock heftier earn rates across the board, but only for Obsidian and Palladium cardholders. But even Blue cardholders could earn a little more for their spending when patronizing eligible Neighborhood Benefits™ program participants offering an elevated earn rate for Bilt cardholders.
For every 25,000 Bilt points you earn toward elite status, you'll also earn $50 in Bilt Cash. Bilt points can be redeemed in a variety of ways, including for flights and hotels booked through the Bilt Travel portal, for gift cards, Lyft rides, Amazon purchases, and even a down payment on a home. Points can also be transferred to Bilt's airline and hotel transfer partners.
For a detailed look at the various ways you can redeem your Bilt points, check out our full Bilt Rewards review.
Bottom line
Phew. Did you make it through that?
Look, we're not going to pretend like it's easy to figure out whether these new cards make joining or even remaining in the Bilt Rewards program worth the money and hassle, but a couple things can be said.
- Paying nothing to hold the Bilt Blue Card is likely worth it if you want a way to earn rewards on housing costs.
- The Obsidian and Palladium cards offer enough in credits every year to essentially cover their respective fees if you can use all of them.
But it's the overly complicated two-currency rewards structure that makes the calculus on value feel, well, a little more like calculus. Whether you can get what you're looking for out of these new cards will depend on which earning option you choose and how much you use your card generally.
There's even more fine print and restrictions than what we've covered here, so check out our full Bilt Rewards review for more info and be sure you really know what you're getting into before applying. These cards are not for the set-it-and-forget-it among us.
Intro Offer
$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
Annual Fee $0 Why we like it
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