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Bilt Rewards has announced its Rent Day promos for August 1, 2023. The headliner of the monthly promotion is that Bilt Rewards Members will be able to utilize a 75%-150% bonus on points transfers to Virgin Atlantic. The actual transfer bonus will depend on Bilt status, with Blue members starting out at 75% and Platinum members topping out at a 150% transfer bonus. To my knowledge, this is the first time that Bilt has done a promotion that’s tiered by elite status. It’s something that they say they’ll be doing more of going forward.
In addition to the transfer bonus, Bilt cardholders will once again have the opportunity to earn 2x points on purchases on Rent Day (up to 10,000 bonus points), will be able to bring a friend to a SoulCycle class for free on the 1st of the month and can enter the Rent Day Challenge for a chance to get their rent paid. Points Quest Trivia will also be back again.
The Deals
- Virgin Atlantic Transfer Bonus
- On August 1st, Bilt Rewards Members will be eligible for a 75-150% transfer bonus, depending on their Bilt status:
- Blue members – 75% bonus
- Silver members – 100% bonus
- Gold members – 125% bonus
- Platinum members – 150% transfer bonus
- On August 1st, Bilt Rewards Members will be eligible for a 75-150% transfer bonus, depending on their Bilt status:
- Bilt Mastercard Spending Offer
- Earn double points on the Bilt Mastercard (up to 10,000 points):
- Dining – 6x points (normally 3x)
- Travel – 4x points (normally 2x)
- All other spend excluding rent – 2x points (normally 1x)
- Earn double points on the Bilt Mastercard (up to 10,000 points):
- Point Quest Trivia
- You can earn extra Bilt Points by answering trivia on “Point Quest” in the Bilt app on August 1st. Answer 5 questions, and you win up to 150 Bilt Points. Answer all 5 questions correctly and you’ll get access to a bonus question for another 100 Bilt Points to win a total of 250 Bilt Points.
- Monthly Rent Giveaway
- Enter for a chance to have next month’s rent paid for. For your chance to win, submit your answer to the Rent Day Challenge phrase in the Bilt App on by July 1st. Follow @BiltRewards on Instagram for extra clues.
- SoulCycle
- Bilt members can book a class at SoulCycle locations nationwide on July 1st and receive a complimentary bike for a friend. Members can reserve the special-themed class via Soul-Cycle.com, SoulCycle app or directly through the Bilt Rewards app.
Key Terms
- Bilt Mastercard Spending Offer
- Cardholders will receive double earnings up to 10,000 bonus points from 12:01am ET through 11:59pm PT on August 1, 2023. Cardholders will continue to earn 1x points on their rent payments when paying with the Bilt Mastercard. Don’t forget, cardholders must use their card 5 times each statement period to earn points.
- Monthly Rent Giveaway
- Complete the phrase in the Bilt app correctly, submit your answer, and we’ll select 3 winners to get their rent paid (up to $2,500), on us. Three winners will be randomly selected and announced on 8/2/23.
Quick Thoughts
Bilt has recently had a series of terrific Rent Day promos including a 100% transfer bonus to Hawaiian Airlines, a 100% transfer bonus to Flying Blue and a Hyatt Globalist fast track.
While Virgin Atlantic is a bit more niche, its chart can represent good value, especially with a 150% bonus. As an example, the whole FM Team used Virgin Atlantic miles to fly ANA’s “The Suite” first class as part of our Party of 5 Challenge in June. That ANA first class sweet spot got a little less sweet in March when award pricing via Virgin increased by 32%-42%. However, the new rates of 72,500 miles from the west coast and 85,000 miles from central/eastern US become 29,000 and 34,000 Bilt Points with this bonus…an absolutely insane deal (if you can find the space).
The rest of the promotions are the standard Rent Day fare. For cardholders, the 2x Rent Day spending offer makes the 1st of the month the ideal time to hit your 5 transaction minimum in order to earn points on rent and/or all of your card purchases, so don’t forget to bust it out on Tuesday if you’re a cardholder.
Best Uses of Virgin Atlantic Miles
- ANA First Class from the US for as low as 71K (West Coast) - 85K (East Coast). For a long time, the sweetest of Virgin Points sweet spots was for First Class awards from the US to Japan on ANA. Unfortunately, Virgin devalued those awards in March 2023, but even with substantial increases these awards are still a solid value if not the amazing value they used to be. ANA has one of the best first class products around, often selling for over $20,000. It's worth noting that ANA flights can't be booked on the VA website, so you have to call or message via Twitter (see below).
- US to UK Economy for as low as 6K (East Coast) - 9K (West Coast). Virgin Points can be used to fly to London at great value. Virgin Atlantic offers the same pricing whether flying Delta or Virgin Atlantic, but fees are higher when flying Delta. Flying from the US to London for 6K to 9K during standard season is a bargain even after accounting for moderate award fees ($50-100). Note that flights originating in the UK have considerably higher fees.
- US to UK Economy for as low as 29K (East Coast) - 41K (West Coast). Since moving to dynamic pricing, some Virgin business fares are actually significantly lower. You can fly form the US to London for 29K to 41K - even during peak season - depending on the flights. Award fees have become much more moderate ($200-250). Again, flights originating in the UK have considerably higher fees.
- Air France or KLM flights within Europe. Virgin Atlantic has great rates for nonstop flights within Europe on Air France or KLM. They charge between as low as 4K for nonstop economy flights under 1250 miles in distance (which is most within Europe), and as low as 8K for business class flights under 600 miles in distance. Details here: Air France & KLM across Europe for less.
Things to Know
- Virgin Points purchases are processed by points.com and DO NOT qualify as airfare.
- Virgin Points do not expire.
- Many itineraries can be booked online at virginatlantic.com. This includes some partner flights such as Delta, Air France, and KLM.
- For partner flights that cannot be booked online, it is sometimes possible book via Twitter by sending a direct message on Twitter to @VirginAtlantic. If they respond that they cannot sell any flights which do not fly via the UK, tell them that you are not looking to purchase a flight but rather to redeem points to book an award ticket.
- Virgin Atlantic charges separately for every leg of the trip. When multiple legs are required, it is often cheaper to book the same flights with Air France Flying Blue miles or (sometimes) Delta SkyMiles.
- Point transfers from Amex, Chase, or Citi to Virgin Atlantic are usually instantaneous. It's best to find available award space before transferring points and then transfer and book the award.
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We’re planning a trip to Europe next spring and we already have 28K points stashed with Bilt after only having the card a few months – plus Silver status, that’s 56K Virgin miles – can easily top these off with some other programs and get one way of our three person trip to Europe covered in economy fairly easily. What a great card this is.
I’ve booked a few of these sweet spots, and these EPIC transfer bonuses, better partners, and promotions made me rank Bilt above Chase. Bilt points are way easier to earn en masse than Chase points (for those of us who don’t have Ink cards, can’t get them yet, and are way over 5/24). I average 4375+ points a month with Bilt from rent, Rent Day, and using the card for dining and car rentals. That’s 53k every year with regular spending, and with Silver status, that’s effectively 106k the next time one of these rolls around.
I’ve booked ANA business class for 47.5k, Air France from Brussels – Milan for 4k, Virgin from Johannesburg to London for 12.5k, and recently found the sweet spot as a Floridian flying Delta to ATL from MLB/MCO/TPA/PBI for 7.5k and MCO-LGA for 8.5k. VS is also a go-to to LHR from Florida, since they fly from MCO & TPA direct with wide-open availability. H/T to the FM team for showing me “the Way”, as you guys/gal are the ones who opened my eyes to the power of this program.
I dumped most of my Bilt points on the Flying Blue 100% back in May, and I’ve already rebuilt most of that balance, and am hesitant to jump on this bonus. I agree with Nick Reyes that this makes us wonder even more “what’s next??”. 100% transfer to Hyatt, AAdvantage, or Aeroplan might shatter the ceiling. LOL
Great option for immediate need but Tough call for me for a speculative transfer as 1) these points are easy to come by with frequent good bonuses, 2) for a program that devalues overnight without notice, and 3) already have a stash from a previous bonused transfer and flight cancellation. Still contemplating though given the 100% at the Silver level…
My first thought was whether this meant that Greg would be going back to Necker Island?
But then I remembered that he doesn’t have the Bilt card yet
My husband and I are both Bilt Platinum – good to hear that status will actually earn something special in the future other than a free piece of art!
This is exciting!! It’s only a small win for me (in the grand scheme of things) but I was just on the verge of booking a Delta award ticket for 2 for 20K points each (40K total) and sounds like I can wait until Aug 1 and get the same 2 tickets for under 18K (fingers crossed they’ll still be available then, but I’ll take the chance!) – great to have this bonus when I have an existing need for it and don’t even have to transfer speculatively!
Booked it! Nearly instant transfer (took maybe 15 minutes) and got 2 one way tickets on Delta for US to Mexico for 18K total points and $92 in fees