The biggest news in points and miles this week was the release of “Bilt 2.0,” the rewards company’s revamped portfolio of three credit cards. As with most things Bilt does, the reaction from points enthusiasts has been… vigorous. Some folks love it, some hate it, and others are just confused.
Part of Bilt 2.0 is that it’s moving its cards from Wells Fargo to Cardless, the second time in just a couple of years that Bilt has changed issuers. However, this time around, it promised cardholders that the transition would be “seamless.” You’d be able to upgrade without a hard credit inquiry, keep your card number, and transfer your Wells Fargo balance to the new Cardless product.
That’s undoubtedly been the case for many, but we’re seeing a lot of complaints about friction. Some cardholders have seen their credit limits shrink dramatically, some receive repeated error messages, but perhaps the most significant issue is that numerous current cardholders are not even able to get approved for the new cards.
Taking a quick spin through our Facebook group, reddit, and comments on the blog, there are quite literally dozens of complaints from current cardholders about being rejected for Bilt 2.0. These seem to fall in a couple of “denial” buckets: an ID verification issue similar to what we saw with the (now defunct) Mesa Homeowner card, and outright denials with the promise of correspondence to come.
It’s not terribly surprising that there are some hiccups when moving an existing credit card from one bank to another.
Although there’s no hard credit pull, there is a “soft” one. Bilt warned that credit limits may change from one bank to the other, noting that most cardholders would most likely see a credit increase. If Cardless (or the issuing bank Column) is reevaluating credit limits, it only stands to reason that it may decide not to issue any credit at all to some people.
Bilt’s pre-launch communication didn’t really indicate that denials were a possibility, however, so there’s probably some degree of setting overly rosy expectations. That said, I’m surprised at how many denials I’m seeing, and given the experience with Mesa (and its issuing bank), I do wonder if there’s a hitch in the process somewhere.
We’ve reached out to Bilt to get some clarity on what’s going on, but we haven’t heard back yet. If/when we do, we’ll update this post. In the meantime, let us know in the comments if you’re a current Bilt cardholder who’s having issues with the transition to Cardless.
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tried upgrading to the palladium card. it was rejected, instead they offered the same credit limit as WF to accept the blue card.
After trying to do the “seamless” transition numerous times through the Bilt app with it either crashing out or the link disappearing, I must have ended up applying as if I were a brand new customer. It immediately declined me, then later sent me an email stating it was due to “Delinquent past or present credit obligations with others.” I have never been late for any credit card payment and my credit score has always been excellent (well over 700). I have had the Bilt Mastercard since 2023 and had zero issues. The only reason I can think of it denying me is that I recently went back to grad school and took out a federal student loan which may have reduced my credit score to around 700 (still good standing but they had to do a credit check and that probably lowered my score) and maybe flagged me as a liability because I am now in debt to pay back a loan. It’s the only thing I can think of. I called the Bilt number and spoke to someone who was no help at all and just told me I have to wait 45 days to reapply. I told him that this was not helpful at all and if there was anyone else I could talk to but honestly the guy probably has zero training on what to do beyond that point. I wrote a VERY upsetting email to them and sent it to their customer support team that they will be losing MANY VALUABLE customers because of this. I have not heard back thus far and this was two days ago.
Hello Michael, not sure what you mean by “email support@cardless.com and we will sort it out”. I did exactly what you said and was re-denied without any reconsideration. Mine was another case of fat finger as I didn’t realize to add the rent into my income as my company pays for it. But there was no one to tell that to. Very disappointed.
I have emailed support@cardless.com and have not got a response at all. If anyone from cardless is still monitoring, I would be happy to send more information about my credit if that would help this go through before I have to redo my automatic payments that I use the card for.
Wanting is happening to me. So frustrating
Every time I click the button for “Bilt card 2.0 is here” nothing happens – for a split second it says it’s sending me to the application page and then that pop up closes and I’m back where I started…
I just got denied from my Bilt transition and I have excellent credit scores and never have had a late payment so any of my credit cards. No help from customer service at this point so I’m a bit unhappy since I use this card to pay my college students rent and she uses it as her sole credit card for groceries, school supplies, etc. I have no use for the Wells Fargo card so now I’ll have to authorize her on one of my other cards and redo all of our payments with her real estate companies,
Instant approval & credit line $14k more than Wells. I’m betting on Bilt Cash @ 4% offering at least some addtl value on dining (where I need serious offset help). After new: Sonesta; Mesa; Strata Elite, I guess 2026 might also be The Year of Churning Dangerously
yes same here , i am having trouble getting the new card
Have Bilt WF card and 800+ credit score. Applied for the Palladium card and was told I wasn’t eligible for that one but I could accept the Blue card with a $2500 credit limit. Still debating what to do…
800+ credit score. Entered a wrong income number… Denied due to excessive obligation in relation to income … Called CS and was told to reapply in 45 days. Shall I reapply in 45 days or just say goodbye to Bilt 2.0? From the comment, it doesn’t look like Cardless CEO cares about customers like me anyway…
Hi Walter – Michael here – I run Cardless. We do care – drop us a note at support@cardless.com and we’ll get it sorted for you. I’ve fat fingered an application or two too and know how frustrating it can be. Thanks
Same and both my husband and I also have 800+ credit score. Since our cards are always paid off then our “excessive obligation” could only be our mortgage, which we also have paid off faithfully in full, on time every monthly for 20 years. Really frustrating.
The same exact thing happened to me. I feel the same way. I have never had a late payment, credit score above 8oo and have to try again. Not very seamless at all. It’s really frustrating l.
Michael, I emailed support@cardless.com and was re-denied. Didn’t seem like it was even reconsidered so not sure what you meant that you will help get it “sorted out”. Mine was another case of fat finger because I didn’t realize to add the rent into my income as it was paid for by my company. But no one cared to ask. Very disappointing. I don’t think I will really in 45 days.
I did not have the Bilt card previously, but I was denied for “not enough balance paid down over time on real estate secured loans.” I was floored. I bought my house just over a year ago, and in that time I’ve opened 3 new credit cards (one Barclays, one Citi, and one Discover).
I called the reconsideration line and they told me that they couldn’t discuss anything about the decision for “privacy reasons”. All I could do was retry in 45 days. I’m dumbfounded. I can’t get the one card that earns points on a mortgage because I have a mortgage, I guess.
Cardless is aptly named, because they’ve left me cardless. I guess on the bright side, at least I don’t have to spend hours planning out my Bilt strategy now.
I have the old WF Bilt, denied for the new one. Kinda done with the Bilt BS!
The process was seamless for me. I went through the application link in the Bilt app and was immediately approved with a CL of $18k, which is $10k higher than what I have with WF. I opted to transfer my balance from WF and keep that line open.
Michael here – I run Cardless. First of all – we really appreciate all the feedback, interest and support in Bilt 2.0. Lot’s more to come.
We’ll be sharing more data behind the scenes soon, but as of today we’ve already processed and approved 95%+ of converting customers to new products. There are a handful of folks who applied we’ve been working to address specific constraints around, but we’re confident that the vast majority of people are getting instant credit decisions and approved to move to the new products.
Please keep the feedback coming, we really do appreciate it.
What are you addressing? Support just said “You can try again in 45 days”
Feel free to email us at support@cardless.com and we’ll take a look Komma. Thanks
Sent an email 8 days ago and never heard back. Oh well.
This is sheer nonsense and you tell lies. Ankur says you declined 10% or twice as many as you say. I believe him. Your people have declined many of Bilts best customers for nonsense reasons and in the process have created inalienable BAD will. You have no customer service, no reconsideration line, and absolute rudeness in the process. Quite bluntly the sooner bankruptcy hits you the better. You are a scourge on the credit card industry.
Bravo, I totally agree! Bilt lies at every turn! I am so over Bilt. More over I am over all these bloggers pushing this company as if this company walks on water!!!
what have you “been working” to address when your customer service on the phone and via email communication said there’s “nothing they can do” that my only option is to apply again in 45 days with a hard pull, while I have been using Bilt 1.0 for over a year with no late payment, yet your rejection excuse is my “email address could not be verified” yet my email is used for communication with your customer service?
Hi Hugh – email us at support@cardless.com and we’ll get that sorted. Thanks
I have sent an email along with the rejection email that states my email address cannot be verified… I previously called on the 15th to ask for escalation of this issue and was given a case number but I have not heard back since then…
Perfect – we’ll get back in the next 72hrs I’d expect.
ha – I just got a reply on my call from the 15th which says “We have sent you an email with the reason for your decline. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide additional details beyond what was previously shared. We are also unable to reconsider your application at this time.” and the reason for my decline was “Your email address could not be verified against the information provided.”
Mind DMing me Hugh – michael@cardless.com – please forward thanks
just forwarded. thanks!
You actually get your issue addressed? I’ve seen a few people got credit limit increases and various other things. My support ticket hasn’t even been answered for 8 days. I assume I’ll get a generic copy/paste email at some point.
I received an email that they still reject my request for the top tier card but gave me the basic card with $15K limit. I really don’t understand the rationale. if they reject me to pay them $400 a year, why then they give me such limit instead of just give me $1K? all of sudden not worried that I use up all $15K and default? sigh… anyhow, I think I give up. so not worth the hassle.
I emailed a week ago and have yet to get a response!! So good luck to anyone who tries that.
to Michael S’ credit, I did hear back from his team that it’s escalated, although the result after several days is still denial of my request of the top tier card… only the basic card was offered as alternative…
Same as most here. Told have reapply after 45 days even though my credit is excellent, my salary is good and about to pay off my student loans. So I have no idea what excessive obligation they are talking about. It’s very frustrating.
Read this article, responded to the transition request, and got approved for the Palladium. They significantly reduced my credit limit (42%!!), but it’s still a solid 5 figures. Cardless already burned me on the Qatar card for spending large sums of money at Costco, and dislike MSers, but I’m stuck with the nerfing of the Altitude Reserve.
Like Greg said, I’ll give it a go for the two years of Gold status and 2x while waiting on US Bank to keep their word. If Bilt isn’t worth the squeeze anymore, at least I made hay while the sun shined.
I did not have a Bilt 1.0 card, but just got approved for a Palladium card. It seemed like they did a soft pull, then displayed my offer and gave me the opportunity to accept it. After I accepted it, I think that’s when they did a hard pull (got a bunch of emails from my credit monitoring tools).
It even indicated that I didn’t need to accept the offer now. But I don’t know if that would guarantee I could come back in a few days and accept it then, or if it would do a soft pull again.