Should you pay your rent with Bilt? We crunch the numbers

TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.

Bilt Rewards is a points program to help renters build credit and earn points on rent payments (with a plan to expand into rewards for mortgage payments soon). The program also features a cobranded credit card.

The concept of paying rent with a credit card is not new. However, it typically involves fees of 2%-3%, which can eat up the value of any rewards you might attain in the process.

Bilt Rewards doesn’t charge transaction fees on rent payments if you pay with the Bilt Mastercard®, or live in a participating property and pay with ACH, even if your landlord doesn’t accept credit cards.

Plus, you can earn transferable points on these payments (up to 100,000 each calendar year) and other purchases with the Bilt Mastercard, which is issued by Wells Fargo and has no annual fee (see rates and fees). You must use your card five times each statement period to earn points.

Here’s a look at how you can earn and redeem Bilt Rewards Points, as well as considerations for whether using the Bilt Mastercard is worth it.

How many points you earn with Bilt

When you pay your rent with Bilt, you earn 1 point per dollar on rent regardless of your Bilt status tier (more on this later). For instance, if you have a $3,000 monthly rent payment, you’ll earn 3,000 points per month with no transaction fees when paying through the program (see rates and fees).

You can only earn up to 100,000 points on rent per year, but you’d have to spend over $8,000 in monthly rent to reach this cap. Thus, it will not affect the majority of renters.

Plus, there’s no cap on the number of points you can earn on everyday purchases when you swipe your Bilt Mastercard (use the card five times each statement period to earn points).

A man uses a laptop while sitting in his living room — WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES

You don’t need the Bilt Mastercard if your landlord is part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance, which currently comprises over four million units and includes some of the top real estate companies across the U.S., such as Brookfield Properties, Equity Residential, Starwood Capital Group and Greystar.

You can also pay rent with any Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit card to earn Bilt Points in addition to credit card points. However, you’ll only earn 1 Bilt point for every $2 spent, and you’ll incur a 3% transaction fee on these third-party cards.

However, if your landlord is not an affiliate, you’ll need the Bilt Mastercard to use the app to send a monthly rent check or a direct deposit through your landlord’s online portal.

Earning points on everyday purchases with the Bilt Mastercard

Beyond just rent, the Bilt Mastercard awards 5 points per dollar spent on Lyft (once you’ve linked your Bilt and Lyft accounts), 3 points per dollar spent on dining, 2 points per dollar spent on travel and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases.

This is in addition to earning 1 point per dollar spent on rent payments, subject to a limit of 100,000 points per year earned from rent payments. You can read the terms of the Bilt rewards and benefits here.

It’s also possible to earn double points on the first day of the month through Bilt’s “Rent Day” promotion. This applies to nonrent spending and is subject to a 1,000-point limit each Rent Day.

These earning categories sound simple enough on paper, but some stipulations exist.

a hand holds a credit card — THE POINTS GUY

First, you must use your Bilt Mastercard at least five times monthly to earn points on your purchases. If you don’t, the points you’ve accrued will be removed from your account at the end of your statement period. This is important to note, as points are credited to your account instantly when transactions post, not when your statement closes.

Next, travel is defined as airlines, hotels, cruise lines, car rental agencies and purchases made through the Bilt Travel Portal. This notably excludes ride-hailing services, taxis, public transit and other common travel expenses, so for frequent travelers and commuters, it might not replace your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) or another card that earns bonus points on a broader selection of travel expenses.

Of course, you don’t need to put all of your expenses on your Bilt Mastercard to keep your points. You might consider pairing it with a card that earns bonus rewards on everyday purchases, like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

The Venture Rewards earns at least 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases, so you can use the Bilt Mastercard for dining and rent payments with no transaction fee (see rates and fees) and use the Venture Rewards for everything else.

swiping a card at a restaurant — AZMANJAKA/GETTY IMAGES

It’s also important to know that there’s no welcome bonus on the Bilt Mastercard. The value proposition of this card is earning points while avoiding transaction fees on rent payments each year. Compare this to the value of points you might earn from welcome bonuses on other cards, then subtract the value of fees you pay in the process.

Earning 3 points per dollar spent with the Bilt Mastercard is lower than my American Express® Gold Card, which earns 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar).

Bilt Rewards status tiers

Under the initial Bilt Rewards program, your status tier was determined by how many points you earned on rent. While that’s no longer the case, Bilt status tiers still exist and are based on how many points you earn in a given calendar year, with an option to fast-track status earning through Bilt Mastercard spending.

Here are the various levels:

Blue: Members who earn under 50,000 points or spend under $10,000 on their Bilt Mastercard in a calendar year.
Silver: Members who earn at least 50,000 points or spend at least $10,000 on their Bilt Mastercard in a calendar year.
Gold: Members who earn at least 125,000 points or spend at least $25,000 on their Bilt Mastercard in a calendar year.
Platinum: Members who earn at least 200,000 points or spend at least $50,000 on their Bilt Mastercard in a calendar year.

Note that points earned through referrals and bonus campaigns do not count toward status. Rent payments will not count toward the spending requirements for status.

Two friends unpack boxes and arrange things in their new apartment — STEFANIKOLIC/GETTY IMAGES

Overall, the benefits of each status tier might feel pretty minor, depending on your real estate goals.

Silver members and above can earn interest on points and bonus points on qualifying activities with participating properties, while you’ll need Gold status to access the homeownership concierge service, walking you through the home-buying process from start to finish.

Only Platinum members have access to a gift from the Bilt Collection, which includes home decorations and art.

Redeeming Bilt Rewards points

Once you have points in your account, you can transfer them to the following loyalty programs:

Some of these transfer partners, like World of Hyatt, are valuable and make earning with Bilt Points very tempting. That said, many of these partners, like IHG One Rewards, are far less valuable.

Furthermore, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards points to many of these programs.

Still, you can maximize your Bilt rewards points by utilizing these transfer partners intentionally. For instance, you can leverage World of Hyatt for incredible value. Though the program has instituted peak and off-peak pricing, World of Hyatt has mostly stuck to a fixed award chart, which can provide fantastic pricing on luxurious hotel stays.

Manhattan Sky Suite Bedroom at the Park Hyatt New York — DONNA DOTAN/HYATT

You also have the option to redeem points in Bilt’s travel portal. This involves a flat redemption rate of 1.25 cents per point, meaning 10,000 Bilt Points are worth $125 in travel.

As noted in our full guide to Bilt Rewards, you can also redeem points for exercise classes, items from the Bilt Collection, discounts on rent and even put them toward a down payment on a home. That said, these will typically provide less value than transferring to a travel partner, so it’s best to steer clear of those redemption options.

Does using Bilt Rewards make sense?

If you’re a renter, it’s a no-brainer to use Bilt to pay your monthly rent. Essentially, you can earn free points (up to 100,000 each calendar year) for making a necessary expenditure each month.

If you live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance building, you only need to download the app to pay your rent via Bilt. If you don’t, you can pick up the Bilt Mastercard and make payments through its check-sending or ACH service.

The card has no annual fee and doesn’t levy any transaction fees when paying rent (see rates and fees). You’re only charged fees and interest if you carry a balance on your card, as you would be with other credit cards.

photo of person holding a credit card while typing on a laptop — GUIDO MIETH/GETTY IMAGES

That’s what makes the Bilt Mastercard potentially useful for those of us living in expensive cities like New York City and San Francisco. Rent can make up a good portion of your monthly expenses in these regions, so getting a return on that spending can be a significant consideration. If you have roommates who don’t mind you putting the full rent on your card after they give you cash, you could earn even more points.

Of course, you do need to make at least five purchases per billing cycle with your Bilt Mastercard to earn points. That’s not an onerous requirement, though, since the card earns solid bonus points on dining purchases.

On the other hand, consider what you’re giving up when you pay with Bilt. For example, someone paying their rent through Plastiq using an airline cobranded credit card that earns bonus elite-qualifying metrics may want to skip Bilt if they don’t have another way to meet the spend threshold for their elite status of choice.

Likewise, if you’re under Chase’s 5/24 application rule but getting the Bilt Mastercard would put you over it, you might want to apply for a new Chase card first and then save the Bilt Mastercard for later.

Bottom line

With the Bilt Mastercard’s earning structure and a top-notch set of transfer partners, Bilt Rewards can be an excellent way to earn up to 100,000 points each calendar year on your rent. Just be sure to use the card at least five times per month on other purchases or you’ll forfeit any points earned.

For many, using Bilt to pay rent, earn points and not pay any fees absolutely makes sense.

To learn more, check out our full review of the Bilt Mastercard.

Apply here: Bilt Mastercard

For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.