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It seems like Bilt might have scored a second own-goal in a little over a week when it comes to how it communicates with its members (#watchingthoseolympics).
Last week, Bilt Rewards ruffled some feathers with a “lightly announced” and very significant devaluation to its monthly Rent Day promotion. Currently, Bilt allows members to earn 10,000 bonus points on the first of every month, but on October 1st that will go down to a maximum of 1,000 bonus points.
That’s a massive change, but what made it even tougher to swallow for many folks (including Nick), was that the change was buried in the terms and conditions link at the bottom of a Friday afternoon e-mail to members from Bilt’s founder, Ankur Jain.
Turns out, there’s actually another negative change to Rent Day that was completely unannounced, as far as I can tell. Richard Kerr, who is VP of travel for Bilt, said the following in an interview with The Points Guy (whose founder Brian Kelly is an investor in Bilt):
We discovered that bonus points on tax payments during promotions accounted for 20% of our bonus category costs, yet only 0.8% of cardmembers (or 0.12% of our total members) use the card for taxes. That’s why as part of the above Oct. 1 Rent Day update, tax payments will be excluded from bonus point promotions. This allows us to reinvest in benefits that all members can enjoy.
Based on this it appears that, starting on October 1st, tax payments will no longer earn double points on Rent Day (or during any other Bilt promo).
Quick Thoughts
When I first read this interview, I assumed that I must have missed something, because TPG asked the question as though it was a known fact: “Was similar information used in the decision to remove bonus points on tax payments as of Oct. 1?” So, I went back to look at that original e-mail from Bilt with the terms that revealed the Rent Day changes…but I didn’t see anything about it. It could be that this change was talked about elsewhere, but the TPG interview is the first that I’d seen it.
Exempting tax payments from points promotions is something that will probably have an impact on less people than the cap on Rent Day bonus points, but to me it’s another example of oddly perplexing communication from Bilt. Negative changes happen in rewards programs all the time. While they’re never welcomed, when they’re clearly announced in advance, it gives members a fair chance to adjust their earning strategies to accommodate. Bilt certainly isn’t the first rewards program to drop a no-notice devaluation, but why not just rip the band-aid off and be upfront? After all, people will find out eventually.
Outside of simply affecting folks’ balances, points-earning is a big part of gaining status with Bilt. Given that, I don’t understand why these changes were seemingly hidden (or in this case unannounced) when they occur right in the middle of the qualifying year.
Regardless, if you were planning on using tax payments to get some Bilt points, or earn status, September 1st will be your last chance.
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This is what it says in my August Bilt CC statement:
“Effective October 1, 2024
Tax payments will no longer earn bonus points but will continue to earn one point per $1 spent“
Are there now actual T&Cs on this? Are we still good to make ES tax payments on Sept. 1 and receive a bonus, or are we going to find out that the exemption on bonuses for tax payments went into effect already (oops!)?
Thanks for the update. I’m much less likely to use bilt for taxes now that the max is 1,000 points, but good to know. I hate spending when I expect a bonus to only find out later I don’t get it.
On that note, does the Oct 1 change from 10,000 to 1,000 max bonus points include spend on Oct 1? I assume so (that is, I assume that only 1,000 bonus points will be available on the Oct 1 rent day). Any confirmation on this?
[…] flagged by Frequent Miler, this hasn’t been announced in any official capacity, but rather in an interview with The […]
So paying 2x on rent day for tax payments is too much ‘gaming’ for BILT? Can’t have people getting 2x all Willy Nilly like that. What kind of card do they think this is – a Citi double cash?
It’s not just the 2x, it’s the volume and type of spend.
My guess is the tax payments constitute a very large amount of spend by that identified tiny percentage of card holders. And potentially a large percentage of Bilt volume overall.
Tax payments are one of the easiest-to-identify manufactured spending techniques and can raise AML concerns at financial institutions. (Yes, I realize that might not make sense to most people.)
Even after 25 years of online consumer behavior, Wells Fargo is slow to recognize the associated FI product risks.
Bilt is at risk of being seen as primarily a tool for money laundering and similar behaviors.
That’s not something Wells Fargo wants or needs.
For sure, money launderers can find no better way (like crypto) than pay processing fees, provide their SSN, and let IRS hold their money for months at a time.
Bilt is a risk and governance embarrassment for Wells Fargo, who got tied to a long term program that lacked sufficient controls against the kinds of shens we love.
They have identified some behavioral “tells” of that minority of consumers who are — and likely will always be — highly unprofitable. They now need to shed us as quickly and effectively as possible.
Expect them to hammer each and every tell over the next 6 to 12 months. Without advance notice because most corporate anti-abuse actions intentionally act that way once they have a sufficiently reliable way of identifying whose unprofitable actions won’t generate broader sympathy.
This is so monumentally stupid. They’ve already reduced their exposure to a maximum of 1,000 points per user. Why do they care how anyone gets to that maximum? I did occasionally put taxes on Bilt during Rent Day, but given the new max there are so many ways to max out that bonus (should you even bother to do so). Taking one option off the table will not further reduce their exposure, while making them seem like they are just relentlessly trying to remove value.
And has this been “announced” anywhere other than TPG?
I’m a fan of this card, but you certainly would never know it’s supposedly run by people who respect people in the points/miles world (with the choice of only speaking to TPG also saying quite a bit).
Richard help me and my wife book a Blade from Nice to Monaco before it was available. He’s a good man doing his job to the best of his ability. I enjoy his podcast and continue to be a fan. I have benefited from having Bilt while it lasted. I am only a year into the hobby, but even the little bit I have learned so far taught me to enjoy while it lasts. Because it definitely will not last no matter what the program. I would love a history podcast from the FM team. I think it would be super interesting and give great perspective. Thanks Tim for your great reporting. I love the FM team
[…] 8/2/24: They are also excluding tax payments from earning Rent Day bonus rewards. (ht FM) Not clear if this excludes state/city taxes, property taxes, and business taxes as […]
It has been crystal-clear for a long time that Bilt (probably with great input from an award maximizer like Richard) is laser-focused on making it difficult for those in our hobby to maximize Bilt points. After Nick “Built his own Bilt Bonus” with the Feb 2024 Aeroplan Rent-day bonus I wrote:
“I think some of the Bilt head-scratching in the (non-renter) points and miles world continues to be driven by the hoops to jump through/star-alignment needed to get a potential bonus like this (this basically fails without the unpublished/non-guaranteed 5x bonus, not to mention the uncommon big spend ability, 1-day-only transfer bonus, etc.)…Bilt has avoided making their points “easily” gameable.”
Bilt isn’t just making maximizers jump through numerous hoops, it’s putting a wall up to prevent you from getting through the hoops at all. It’s interesting that Bilt engaged so many from our world (including Greg and Nick on an advisory group, TPG’s founder is an investor, etc.), but the program is becoming less and less interesting to those in our world. I wonder if this early outreach to our world didn’t serve the purpose of both free early marketing (of the legitimately unprecedented transfer bonuses) while also learning how Bilt could close all the (unprofitable for them, lucrative for maximizers) best avenues for gamers. For the record, I don’t fault anyone on the FM team for Bilt coverage.
Case in point from the last question in Richard’s interview linked above:
“As a points and miles community leader for eight years before joining Bilt, I understand these disproportionately affect gamers like myself. However, it is the right move for the majority of our members….Every change, every iteration is aimed at making Bilt the best program it can be — not just for the savviest point maximizers.”
I mean Kerr’s interview line here is BS. They want it to be good for all members, not just the savviest point maximizers… which is why they took away the 250 point trivia game that was easily accessible and attainable by everyone? Something doesn’t compute there.
I think they took away the game because all the answers were posted online each month making it very easy for anyone to get a perfect score. As has been said earlier, they’re taking away the gaming.
By the way, has something changed on the Bilt travel portal? You can use any card to pay for bookings. For some reason, I was thinking that they paid you 2 Bilt points per dollar irrespective of the card. It looks like they are only paying 1 point per dollar now. Anyone else notice this?
RIP Bilt. You were good while it lasted. Those incredible transfer deals were epic while it was possible to accumulate points at a reasonable rate on Rent Day. We just paid our last rent payment in June so no love there anymore.
Welcome to the sock drawer Bilt !
> from Bilt’s founder, Anker Jain
Auto-correct at work? I think it’s Ankur.
> Based on this it appears that, starting on
> October 1st, tax payments will no longer earn
> double points on Rent Day (or during any
> other Bilt promo).
I wonder if they also stop giving points for tax payments during the five day 5X promo period that some new credit card holders get. I have to think that many/most people max out that promo with estimated or other taxes.
Sure is, the e-mail was from Bilt’s founder, not the electronics company. 🙂
Yes, I think that you’re right. I’m almost certain it will apply to the 5x promo.
Bilt…:sorry you were never worth a slot in my wallet and all the recent news has confirmed it.
[…] interview with TPG, Bilt will also make another notable change to its Rent Day perks, as flagged by FM. Tax payment will be excluded from bonus point […]