Bilt Rewards Review [2024]: Pay Rent with a Credit Card (without Fees)

If you’re a renter, you pay rent. And it’s likely one of your biggest monthly expenses.

According to a recent study on America’s rental housing by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, high-cost rentals, or units that rent for over $1,000 or more, increased by over five million units in recent years. This shows an upward trend in rent prices, which is more money out of pocket for renters.

To combat this feeling of lost money, Bilt has introduced a loyalty program, called Bilt Rewards, to offer rewards when you pay your monthly rent — without fees. You typically aren’t able to earn rewards for paying rent unless you pay credit card transaction fees, so this is a potentially huge and rewarding move.

This Bilt review will explain how this program works so you can decide if it’s right for you.

What is Bilt Rewards?

Bilt Rewards is a loyalty program and brand that’s part of the Kairos family of companies. Bilt was founded in 2019, but Bilt Rewards, the rewards program attached to Bilt, was launched in 2021. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York.

Bilt was founded by Ankur Jain, who is the CEO of Kairos, co-founder of Rhino (another Kairos brand), and former VP of Product for Tinder. Other Kairos companies include Rhino, Cera, Little Spoon, and Alloy.

Bilt Rewards is not the same as the Bilt Mastercard^®1 <p><a href="https://www.wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/bilt/terms/">See Rates and Fees</a> | <a href="https://www.biltrewards.com/terms/rewards-and-benefits">Rewards and Benefits</a></p> , though having this credit card can help you earn more Bilt Rewards points.

How Bilt Rewards works

Bilt was designed and founded as a way for renters to have a path to homeownership. The Bilt Rewards program, which can be used with or without the Bilt Mastercard^®, provides renters a way to earn rewards on the rent they pay each month without having to pay the typical fees that occur if you pay rent with a credit card.

A large number of expenses can be put on a credit card these days, which allows you to earn rewards if that credit card is part of a loyalty program. Traditionally, rental property owners either haven’t allowed credit card payments or charge transaction fees if you want to use a card.

With Bilt Rewards, you don’t have to worry about transaction fees when paying rent. There is also no annual membership fee for the loyalty program or the Bilt Mastercard. In addition, the rewards you earn can be redeemed for travel, fitness classes, paying rent, making a down payment on a house, and more.

Bilt Rewards can be used through the Bilt Rewards app, which is available on both iOS and Android devices.

How to earn Bilt Rewards

If you compare credit cards, you’ll typically find different ways to earn points or miles with certain rewards cards. With Bilt, you also get a few options for earning points. Here’s how they work.

Paying rent

You’re able to pay your rent with the Bilt Rewards app even if you don’t have the Bilt Mastercard. If you enroll (membership is free) in the Bilt Rewards program and pay your rent through the app, you’ll earn 250 points per rent payment. You can only earn points this way on one rent payment per month, which means you could earn a maximum of 3,000 points in a year from paying rent. Also, you’ll only earn points if you’re a resident of a property in the Bilt Rewards Alliance.

The Bilt Rewards Alliance has over two million apartments in its network. This includes rental units from Windsor Communities, Morgan Properties, Equity Residential, The Related Companies, Starwood Capital Group, and much more. You can check if your rental is in the network by going into the Bilt Rewards app and seeing if you’re able to connect your residence.

If your landlord doesn’t accept credit cards, you can still pay your rent through the Bilt app, and Bilt will pay your landlord in the way they prefer, whether it’s by mailed check, ACH, or another form of payment.

Keep in mind that you’ll only earn points through Bilt Rewards if you pay rent through the app and your apartment is in-network, unless you also have the Bilt Mastercard.

Using the Bilt Mastercard^®

The Bilt Mastercard offers cardholders 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. Plus, it has a $0 annual fee. With these rewards rates, you’re able to earn points on both your rent payments and any other type of purchase where you can use a Mastercard credit card.

You’re also not limited to only earning points on rent payments for apartments that are in the Bilt Rewards Alliance. If your apartment is out-of-network, you’re still able to pay your rent with your card through the Bilt Rewards app and earn points.

Here’s an overview of the different status tiers within the Bilt Rewards program:

The Bilt Mastercard also offers these perks and benefits:

• Cellular Telephone Protection: Receive up to $1,000 per year for lost or damaged cell phones.
• Purchase security (theft and damage protection): Receive up to $1,000 for lost or damaged items purchased with your Bilt Mastercard in the last 90 days.
• World Elite concierge: Access 24/7 concierge services for all your personal assistant needs, which could include getting tickets to a concert, making dinner reservations, or finding a gift for someone.
• BiltProtect: If enabled, this included feature protects your credit line from being used for rent payments. A linked bank account would instead be used to pay for rent, which can help protect your credit score from a high rate of credit utilization.

Other options

Bilt Rewards also allows real estate owners the opportunity to provide additional ways for their renters to earn points through the program. This could include signing a new lease, renewing a lease, or other similar actions. Check with your landlord if you're curious about other points-earning opportunities.

How to redeem Bilt Rewards

The best rewards credit cards often offer different redemption options. Similarly, Bilt Rewards provides a variety of ways to redeem the points you earn.

Travel

Your Bilt Rewards points can be transferred to certain travel partners at a 1:1 ratio. These are the loyalty programs of the available transfer partners:

• Avianca Lifemiles
• American Airlines AAdvantage
  
• IHG Hotels & Resorts
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Flying Blue Air France / KLM
• Virgin Atlantic FlyingClub
• Iberia
• British Airways
• AERClub
• United Mileage Plus
• World of Hyatt
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Emirates Skywards
• Cathay Pacific 
• Hawaiian Airlines 
• Air Canada Aeroplan
  
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
  

These transfer partners could provide loads of opportunities for travel, especially if you consider how each of these transfer partners could also partner with other airlines or hotels. This opens up additional options for using your points on flights and hotel stays.

For example, if you transfer your Bilt Rewards points to the American Airlines AAdvantage program, you also get access to AAdvantage travel partners. So you not only have the option to book flights with American, but also Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and more.

Keep in mind, Bilt frequently updates its travel partner information, including adding more transfer partners. To find this updated information, check the Bilt Rewards app.

Home decor

Redeem your points for items from the Bilt Collection, which features art, home decor, and apparel from different artists. This could include items such as speakers, candles, decorative boxes, vases, and more.

Exercise

Redeem your points for classes from top fitness companies, such as Y7 Studio, Rumble Boxing, and SoulCycle. Y7 Studio offers vinyasa yoga classes, and Rumble offers boxing and other fitness classes, while SoulCycle offers cycling and spinning classes. Classes start at 3,000 points.

Rent

If you’re in a city where rent has increased, you might be looking for a way to lower your rent payments. With Bilt Rewards, you have the option to cover all or a portion of your rent payment using points.

Down payment on a house

If homeownership is your goal, consider using your points to cover a portion of a down payment. Your points can be converted into cash and deposited into a home-sale escrow account where the funds will be applied toward a down payment. Keep in mind that accruing enough points to make a dent in the cost of a down payment will likely take some time, probably years.

Bilt offers an example of putting a 5% down payment on a home that costs $250,000. A 5% down payment of $250,000 is $12,500. In this scenario, your points would be worth 1.5 cents each. For this payment, you might use 500,000 points and also pay $5,000 in cash, since your points would cover $7,500 of the cost of the down payment.

Who can use Bilt Rewards?

Access to the Bilt Rewards program was initially available by invitation only but has now been opened up to everyone. Now that the program is fully launched, you should be able to freely sign up on the website or app and use the platform if you’re a renter, whether you’re in-network or not. This could be beneficial for millions of renters who want to earn rewards on rent payments without having to pay transaction fees for the opportunity to do so. Though, it still may not be the best option for earning credit card rewards.

How much can you earn with Bilt Rewards?

The number of points you can earn with Bilt Rewards depends on a few factors, including how much rent you pay, whether you have the Bilt Mastercard, and whether you live within the Bilt Rewards Alliance.

If you don’t live within the Bilt Rewards Alliance and don’t have the Bilt Mastercard, you can’t earn any Bilt Rewards points.

If you live within the Alliance and don’t have the Bilt Mastercard, you’re capped at earning 250 points per rent payment. Considering the fitness class redemptions start at 3,000 points, it would take you a full year to earn enough points from rent payments to pay for an exercise class in points.

But if you have the Bilt Mastercard and spend a decent amount on it each month in both rent and non-rent purchases, you could earn loads more points. For example, you can earn up to 100,000 points per year on rent. Let's say you earn that, and you also spend $15,000 on other non-rent expenses. At the bare minimum, you would end up with 115,000 points. If some of that spending involves the card's bonus categories, you could have more.

Here are a few examples of what 115,000 points could get you:

• 23 nights at Category 1 Hyatt hotels (5,000 points per night)
• A round-trip economy flight from Los Angeles, California, to Tokyo, Japan, with American Airlines (~65,000 points per flight)
• Eight one-way flights between New York City, New York, and Miami, Florida, with American Airlines (7,500 points per flight)
• $990 toward a down payment on a house

FAQs about Bilt

How to sign up for Bilt Rewards

To sign up for Bilt Rewards, head to the BiltRewards.com website and click on the “Sign Up” button in the upper right corner. This will start the sign-up process for you, which typically entails giving your email address, first and last name, and home address.

Note that this isn’t the process for applying for the Bilt Mastercard — that would be a separate process that requires more information. You don’t need the Bilt Mastercard to become a Bilt Rewards member.

Bottom line

One of the best ways to earn points and miles is to use rewards cards on purchases you’re already making or expenses you already have, such as gas, groceries, and other common costs. But rent payments have traditionally been hard to leverage for earning rewards because of high transaction fees.

Plastiq was previously one of the best alternatives for paying rent with a credit card — check out our guide to Plastiq — but you still had to pay fees. The Bilt Rewards program rewards you for rent payments and doesn’t charge transaction fees.

It still may not be the best strategy for every situation since you don’t earn many points without the Bilt Mastercard, and not everyone will qualify. But it could make sense for you if you’re in the right living situation.

Alternatively, if your goal is to earn points and miles for travel, you might be better off checking out our list of the best travel credit cards.

Lucrative, Flat-Rate Cash Rewards

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

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Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

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Rates and fees

Current Offer

$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Low spend threshold for its welcome offer — $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
• Cell phone protection benefit (subject to a $25 deductible)
• Can redeem rewards at an ATM for literal cash

Drawbacks

• Foreign transaction fee of 3%
• No bonus categories

Card Details

• Select “Apply Now” to take advantage of this specific offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
• Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
• 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 19.49%, 24.49%, or 29.49% Variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5.
• $0 annual fee.
• No categories to track or remember and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
• Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
• Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.