Bilt Mastercard^® Review [2024]: The Only Credit Card that Directly Rewards Rent Payments

With the Bilt Mastercard^®, you can earn valuable points when you pay for your rent. All with a $0 annual fee and no pesky rent transaction fee.

Let's see how it works in our Bilt Mastercard review.

Who should get the Bilt Mastercard?

If you want to earn rewards on monthly rent payments, the Bilt Mastercard might be the way to go. Credit cards aren’t always accepted for rent payments and if they are, they often come with heavy processing fees. But because the Bilt Mastercard doesn’t have these fees and also has a $0 annual fee, it’s like a renter’s dream come true.

Keep in mind that many factors, including your credit history, are considered when applying for this card. Also, the Bilt Mastercard doesn’t have the overall best earning potential (more info on this below) when compared with other rewards credit cards, especially if you want to use it for non-rent spending.

But there’s no other card that I’m aware of that rewards you with bonus points for rent. And you get some excellent benefits and card perks, such as being able to transfer your points to certain airlines, as well as receiving cell phone protection.

Card basics

Bilt Mastercard benefits and perks for renters

• Unique earning opportunity: Earn up to 1X points on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year; must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points).
• Earning potential: Earn 3X points on dining, 2X points on travel, up to 1X points on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year), and 1X points on other purchases; must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points. Your rental property doesn't have to be a qualifying Bilt Alliance property to take advantage of earning points on rent.
• No transaction fees for paying rent: Your rent payments don't include transaction fees, which is a unique benefit among credit cards. In most cases, if you want to pay rent with a credit card, it comes with transaction fees.
• BiltProtect: This feature lets you pull funds for your rent payments from a linked bank account (savings or checking account via ACH) instead of your credit line so there’s no risk of going into debt by paying your rent. This feature doesn’t incur any fees and you still earn Bilt points for paying rent.
• Rent Day: Here’s a fun offer: you can earn double points on Rent Day, or the first of each month, for eligible purchases (not rent).
• Future rent or mortgage down payment: You can redeem your points toward future rent payments or choose to set aside points toward a future down payment on a home. This really is in keeping with the vibe of Bilt Mastercard helping people with their housing expenses, which is great.

Bilt Mastercard travel perks

• High rewards rate on travel: Earn 2X points on travel and 3X points on dining (which is often a big part of traveling).
• Lyft credits: Get a $5 Lyft credit if you take three Lyft rides in one calendar month.
• No foreign currency conversion fees: You don’t have to pay foreign currency conversion fees with the Bilt credit card.
• Travel benefits and insurance: Bilt cardholders can take advantage of trip cancellation and interruption protection, trip delay reimbursement, and an auto rental collision damage waiver.
• Transfer partners: Transfer your points to over 100 airline and hotel partner programs, including American Airlines AAdvantage, World of Hyatt, and Air Canada Aeroplan.
• Bilt World Elite Mastercard Concierge: Use the complimentary concierge service to make dinner reservations, receive hotel recommendations, and much more.

These travel benefits for Bilt Mastercard account holders can certainly make your travel easier and save you money. Plus, you can not only earn rewards for travel spending, but also book travel with rewards points.

Other Bilt Mastercard perks

• Cellular Telephone Protection: Receive up to $800 (subject to a $25 deductible) in cell phone coverage against lost or damaged phones, with up to two paid claims in a 12-month period.
• Purchase protection (theft and damage protection): Receive up to $10,000 (dependent on repair or replacement) if an eligible item purchased in the past 90 days with your card is lost or damaged.
• Fitness redemptions: Use your points toward fitness classes, including Y7 Studio and SoulCycle.
• Bilt Collection: Redeem points toward items in the Bilt Collection, which features home decor products from different artists. Items could include speakers, candles, vases, and more.

Drawbacks to this card

• Minimum use requirements: You must use your Bilt Mastercard for at least five purchases per statement period to earn rewards, although it appears you can count all transactions including rent toward that requirement. I don’t think five transactions is unreasonable, but it could be a pain if you’re juggling multiple credit cards.
• No official welcome bonus: There's no publicized welcome bonus when you qualify and open an account as a new cardholder, whereas most rewards cards (even ones with no annual fee) typically offer bonus points after meeting a minimum spend requirement.

To be honest, I don’t love the idea of opening a new credit card without a welcome bonus. While many cards offer terrific ongoing rewards, it’s always extra helpful to earn a new cardholder bonus. I’d personally prefer a card with a bonus worth at least around $200 to be worth the effort of signing up.

Earning and redeeming Bilt Rewards

Potential earnings on rent payments

Here's a look at how your points can add up with the Bilt Mastercard. To calculate these values, we used a point valuation of 1.55 cents per point, which is the average of the typical value of World of Hyatt points and AAdvantage miles (both transfer partners with Bilt).

• Year one earnings: $706
• Year two earnings: $706

According to Apartments.com, the average cost of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the United States is $1,564 per month. That comes out to $18,768 per year. If you redeemed your points for a flat 1 cent per point, the $18,768 in rent payments would translate to $187.68 a year in cash value. That’s not terrible, but if you can maximize your point redemption values by doing travel partner transfers, that’s even better.

And keep in mind that the Bilt Mastercard is a great dining rewards card, offering 3X points on dining, as well as 2X points on travel. So if travel and dining are among your largest spending areas, you could end up with a good reward points total each year.

Remember, this is an estimation of the cash redemption value. The actual value will be determined by how much you spend and in which categories you spend.

Best ways to earn rewards

As a quick reminder, your Bilt Mastercard purchases earn points at a rate of 3X points on dining, 2X points on travel, up to 1X points on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year), and 1X points on other purchases; must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points.

As a Bilt Mastercard cardholder, your rent and non-rent expenses automatically earn points through the Bilt Rewards loyalty program. However, you don’t actually need the credit card to be a member of the program — it’s free to join and you can earn 250 points per rent payment. You can learn more about the rewards program in our Bilt Rewards review.

Keep in mind, non-cardholders can earn Bilt Rewards points on rent only if their apartment is within the Bilt Rewards Alliance. If you have the Bilt Mastercard, though, you can earn points on rent payments whether or not they’re within the Bilt Rewards Alliance.

Bilt Rewards Alliance

What is The Bilt Rewards Alliance, you ask? It’s a network of more than 2 million apartments from popular management companies, such as Windsor Communities, Morgan Properties, and Starwood Capital Group. They’re partners with Bilt, and although you can check whether your apartment is in-network by using the Bilt app, it’s probably easiest to ask your apartment manager directly.

Having the Bilt Mastercard increases your earning potential with Bilt Rewards. With the Bilt Mastercard, you have the opportunity to earn 1X points on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year). Without this card, you're limited to earning a maximum of 250 points per month, or 3,000 points per year.

Here are the Bilt Rewards status tiers:

As shown in the table, Silver members and higher can receive interest on their eligible points balance. This is an interesting concept (like a savings account), but you typically want to use your rewards rather than hanging onto them for long periods of time. Also, it might be difficult to earn these higher tiers of membership since the points requirements are so high.

I’ll be honest — rewards tier programs like this one don’t appeal to me much. It might just be me, but I prefer to earn simple rewards, with certain categories earning at a higher rate. This system seems a bit complicated as far as how to reach the tiers and what the benefits are.

Earning rewards through spending and redeeming them for discounts and perks? That’s enough for me. You might love the tiered system, though — just take some time to understand its benefits.

Maximizing your redemptions

The Bilt Rewards program offers multiple ways to redeem your points, including:

• Transfer points to travel partners
• Travel portal redemptions
• Paying rent
• Paying for a portion of a down payment on a house (potentially useful as a new homeowner)
• Fitness classes from Y7 Studio, SoulCycle, and Solidcore
• Home decor items from the Bilt Collection
• Amazon purchases

The best way to redeem your points ultimately depends on what kind of redemption will be valuable to you. I’d probably check out travel partners and the travel portal, and if I didn’t find them to be useful, I’d redeem points on Amazon.

You might be most interested in free fitness classes, or perhaps you’d like to effectively lower your next month’s rent payment.

Overall, transfers to travel partners often provide the best value for your points depending on which loyalty program you transfer your points to. World of Hyatt points are typically worth 1.5 to 1.7 cents per point, which is likely one of your best redemption options when it comes to actual value.

For slightly less value, you might consider using your points to cover a portion of a down payment on a house at 1.5 cents per point. I actually love this idea because you could make real progress on the path to homeownership. If you racked up 100,000 Bilt Rewards points, you’ve earned $1,500 for a down payment.

You might also consider using the Bilt travel portal (powered by Expedia) for travel redemptions. Your points are worth 1.25 cents per point in the travel portal, which is decent value for redemptions such as flights, car rentals, and hotel stays.

Bilt Mastercard transfer partners

One of the best redemption options for your Bilt Rewards points is transferring them to different travel partners. Not only does it offer a high value for your points, but it’s just more fun to redeem points to fly to a new city or stay in a cool hotel.

Bilt Rewards transfer partners include:

Your Bilt Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to the listed travel partners, which means 10,000 Bilt Rewards points could equal 10,000 Hyatt points, 10,000 AAdvantage miles, or another 10,000 of an applicable rewards currency. So if you’re a member of a travel loyalty program, check the Bilt Rewards list for travel partners before you open a Bilt Mastercard — I would be so upset if I opened an account only to learn that my travel plan wasn’t included.

It should be noted that you receive indirect access to the transfer partners of these travel partners as well. For example, if you transfer your Bilt Rewards points to your AAdvantage account, you can now use miles to book flights with American Airlines. But you'll discover that your miles are also good for American Airlines partner flights with Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, and more.

Overall, you can transfer Bilt Rewards points to at least 10 direct travel partners and loads of indirect travel partners. Bilt is frequently updating its travel partner information, including adding more partners. To see this updated information, check the Bilt Rewards app.

FAQs

Other cards to consider

The Bilt Mastercard provides a unique opportunity for renters to earn points for paying their rent, but it won’t make sense for everyone. For other credit card options that could work in different situations, consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card and Citi Double Cash^® Card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a Visa card with a $95 annual fee, but its rewards and benefits can easily offset this cost. You get a $50 annual hotel credit and 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases. If your everyday purchases align with these bonus categories, you could have better earning potential than with the Bilt Mastercard. (This is my favorite card, and I find the point redemptions really easy and flexible.)

For more details, read our Chase Sapphire Preferred review.

Citi Double Cash^® Card

The Citi Double Cash Card is an excellent choice for flat-rate cash back. It has a $0 annual fee and offers 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases; plus, a special travel offer, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25. This rate is much better than the other purchases rate you get on the Bilt Mastercard for non-rent purchases. If you can’t meet the non-rent spending requirements on the Bilt Mastercard to get the best earning rate, this card could be a better option for your everyday expenses.

For more details, read our Citi Double Cash Card review.

Bottom line

The Bilt Mastercard is a novelty in the world of credit cards, as the first card to enable and reward rent payments. Since rent is such a high expense, it’s great that renters can now earn points on this recurring monthly payment. Plus, Bilt allows you to avoid those pesky transaction fees typically charged by card issuers or landlords to enable card payments.

If you’re looking to build up some rewards and want rent included, the no-annual-fee Bilt Mastercard is the way to go. I especially like the feature that pays off the rent payment within 48 hours to avoid you having abnormally high credit usage, which could impact your credit score. There are plenty of valuable rewards in travel and dining as well.

However, if you’d prefer to earn higher rewards rates on other spending categories like gasoline or groceries, you might look for a different rewards card. It really depends on the types of spending you do and the perks you want to receive.