Changes are on the horizon for the Bilt card. After news reports (gift article) that Wells Fargo wasn’t happy with how things were working out with regards to its issuance of the Bilt credit card, it’s been clear that the status quo wouldn’t be maintained.
In recent months, Bilt has given the impression that it’s hustling to get something different in place. More details about that emerged yesterday when they shared proposals for not just one Bilt card, but three.
It’s clear that Bilt is modeling all three cards on Chase’s suite of Ultimate Rewards-earning cards, but Bilt’s proposals are sadly less than ultimate. While a couple of the cards could make sense for some people, the proposed Bilt premium card is shaping up to be a dud. There is a feature that could entice new cardholders though – the ability to earn 1x or 1.25x not only on rent, but on mortgage payments too. There are two other unknown factors right now that could also have a significant impact on the appeal of these cards.
Bilt is actively seeking feedback on these proposals, so be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Here are the proposed card options, along with my thoughts.
No Annual Fee Card
The existing Bilt credit card has no annual fee and earns 3x on dining and Lyft rides, 2x on travel and 1x on everything else – including rent.
There are two versions of a proposed new version of the no annual fee card:
This seems to be Bilt’s attempt to copy Chase’s Freedom Unlimited card. As a reminder of how the Freedom Unlimited card works, you get 5x on Lyft rides (through March 2025), 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel, 3x on dining and drugstores and 1.5x everywhere else.
Both of these proposed no annual fee cards from Bilt are somewhat interesting and would certainly have appeal for some, but they’re not inspiring in terms of day-to-day earnings. Freedom Unlimited cardholders earn 3x on all dining which is far better than Bilt’s 3x or 4x on Bilt Neighborhood dining only as that’s a much more limited list of eligible restaurants.
3x or 4x at Walgreens is good, but I’d much rather have the 3x available on all drugstore purchases with the Freedom Unlimited. 1.5x on all earnings for option 1 matches the Freedom Unlimited card’s everywhere else earnings, while option 2 only offers 1x on everywhere else spend. Option 2 does offer 2x on dining, groceries and gas which isn’t any more special than a card like Citi’s Double Cash seeing as that offers 2x everywhere, although at least with Bilt you can transfer to Hyatt, Alaska Airlines, etc.
Probably the biggest draw of this card – in addition to the lack of an annual fee – is the ability to earn 1x on both rent and mortgage payments. For someone with a sizeable monthly rent or mortgage payment, that could make this card a no-brainer for someone who’s not enticed by the two other proposed cards with an annual fee.
$95 Annual Fee Card
Bilt’s second proposed card has a $95 annual fee and is modeled after Chase’s Sapphire Preferred card:
As a recap, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card earns 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel and Lyft rides (the latter through March 2025), 3x on dining, select streaming services and online grocery, 2x on travel and 1x on everything else. It also provides primary auto rental coverage and you get a $50 statement credit on hotel stays booked through Chase Travel.
Option 1 of the Bilt cards listed above has some elements that match the Sapphire Preferred card – a $50 hotel credit and 5x on hotels booked through their own travel portal and 5x on Lyft rides. Bilt’s 2x on dining, grocery and gas is good, but again – you can get that by default on other cards offering transferable points such as the Citi Double Cash and Amex Blue Business Plus cards.
For option 2, earning 3x on dining and 2x on travel could be appealing, but that comes at the cost of gas and groceries not being bonused.
What could make this card more worthwhile are the other two proposed credits. There’d be $60 in Bilt Fitness credits and $60 in Walgreens credits. Given those somewhat strange amounts, it’s almost certain that those would be $5 credits each month, rather than giving you the ability to spend $60 in one fell swoop to lock in the credits. For someone who shops at Walgreens at least once a month, that won’t be hard to do and it’s nice that you’d also – as things currently stand – also earn 3x or 5x on the rest of the purchase.
Bilt Fitness on the other hand will have far more limited appeal. Right now Bilt Fitness encompasses the following partners:
- Soulcycle
- Y7
- pure barre
- Rumble Boxing
- BFT
- CycleBar
- YogaSix
- CorePower Yoga
If you have a recurring subscription to any of those, getting $5 back per month from Bilt will be as good as cash. If you also value the $5 monthly credits for Walgreens as good as cash, those credits mean the annual fee pays for itself, even before accounting for the $50 hotel credit.
That doesn’t mean the card is a no-brainer though – see the Big Unknown section below for why.
$550 Annual Fee Card
Bilt’s proposed $550 annual fee card takes aim at Chase’s Sapphire Reserve card that has an identical annual fee. Bilt’s aim with this card is about as accurate as a Dallas Cowboys quarterback in the postseason though, so the two options are less than compelling.
As a reminder, the Sapphire Reserve card comes with a $300 annual travel credit, $120 Global Entry fee credit, Priority Pass, primary auto rental coverage, 10x on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase Travel, 10x on Lyft rides through March 2025, 10x on Chase Dining, 5x on flights booked through Chase, 3x on travel and dining, Sapphire lounge access, the ability to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for 1.5 cents per point through the Chase Travel portal and more. It’s therefore a very well rounded travel credit card, albeit one with a high annual fee.
Both options for the Bilt $550 annual fee cards come with a number of proposed credits, but in my opinion they’re less interesting than the Sapphire Reserve’s $300 travel credit. That $300 credit is simply to use and requires zero effort – simply spend $300 on travel throughout the year and you’ll get that credited back.
Bilt on the other hand looks like it might be borrowing from Amex’s coupon book playbook. $120 in Bilt Fitness credits gives the impression that you’ll get $10 per month. $60 in Walgreens credits suggests $5 per month. $200 in hotel credits might be appealing, but you’ll have to book it through Bilt Travel which means you’ll have to forgo earning hotel points and elite night credits, as well as not receiving elite status benefits. All those hoops you’d have to jump through will make those $380 in credits worth significantly less than that for most people.
5x on hotels booked through Bilt Travel is half the earning rate of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, while the Sapphire Reserve card earns 10x on car rentals too. 4x on direct flight bookings could appeal to people who spend a lot on paid airfare, but seeing as you can earn 5x on Amex Platinum cards and 3x on the Sapphire Reserve and Citi Strata Premier cards (among others), it’s not like there aren’t other high-earning options for airfare purchases.
The saving grace for option 2 of the $550 fee card is that it would earn 1.25x on rent and mortgage payments. For people who have significant expenses each month in that category, that extra 0.25x of earnings could add up. That said, you’d need to spend a huge amount on rent or your mortgage to make the 0.25x of additional earnings offset the $550 annual fee versus the no annual fee card, although some of those aforementioned credits would also offset some of the annual fee.
The Big Unknowns
There are a few factors that could have a large impact on the appeal of these new Bilt credit cards.
Unknown #1 – Welcome Offer?
Something key to the appeal of any of these new Bilt credit cards will be whether or not Bilt offers some kind of signup bonus when getting these cards. Historically they haven’t offered an official bonus at all, although many new cardholders get an offer giving 5x for their first five days after activation. I could sadly see them maintaining that on the no annual fee card, but hopefully they’ll offer some kind of compelling offer on the $95 and $550 fee cards.
If not, those annual fee cards will probably be DOA in the eyes of many people because the proposed benefits mean they’re already shaping up to be a poor man’s Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning card, particularly the $550 card. If the accompanying welcome offers are lackluster too, I imagine Bilt will have a hard time finding a market excited to pick up one or more of the cards. For someone primarily wanting to earn rewards on their rent or mortgage payments, they could get that with the no annual fee card, so there’d be less incentive to apply for a card with an annual fee without a bonus when initially applying.
Bilt’s saving grace is that it gives people an opportunity to earn points that transfer to Hyatt which could be useful for someone who’s over 5/24 with Chase. For someone locked out of earning Ultimate Rewards due to 5/24, Bilt is a good alternative. Otherwise, Bilt will need to give people a good reason to give up a 5/24 slot; hopefully – for Bilt’s sake – the ability to earn points on rent and mortgage payments will do that.
Unknown #2 – 3% Fee?
In a recent email to Bilt cardholders, CEO Ankur Jain stated the following:
Waiving the standard 3% card fee on rent payments represents a significant cost to the program—and unique value that we provide to Bilt cardholders. Ensuring this benefit goes to members who genuinely engage with our broader program—rather than those taking advantage of loopholes—will allow us to continue delivering long-term value for our entire cardholder community.
It’s not clear how Bilt will differentiate between cardholders who “genuinely engage” in the program and those who don’t. Will there be a requirement to eat at a Bilt Neighborhood dining restaurant once per month in order to not be charged a 3% fee on your rent or mortgage payment? Will they insist that you attend at least one pure barre class per month as part of Bilt Fitness to have the fee waived? If they find out you get your prescriptions filled at CVS rather than Walgreens, will they give you the stink eye and a sternly worded letter? That remains to be seen and could also have a big impact on whether applying for one of these cards is ultimately worthwhile.
Unknown #3 – Capped Earnings?
In October 2024, Bilt massively devalued potential earnings on its existing credit card by capping double bonus point earnings to 1,000 points on Rent Day (i.e. the first day of the month). The limit was previously 10,000 bonus points per month, so that was a whopping 90% cut. Not only did it reduce people’s potential earnings, but it also significantly limited both the appeal and ability to earn status in the Bilt Rewards program.
Bilt also currently caps points earnings on rent payments to a maximum of 100,000 points per year. Will that level be maintained, or will it be lowered or, fingers crossed, raised? Will Bilt have higher earning limits for rent and mortgage payments depending on what annual fee your Bilt credit card has? We shall see.
Your Thoughts?
I mentioned at the start of the post that Bilt is soliciting feedback on these card proposals, so please share your thoughts in the comments below on what you think of the current proposals and what improvements could be made to make these cards more appealing to you. Also, what kind of welcome offer would be needed to entice you to apply for either the $95 or $550 annual fee cards?
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Bilt incentive for me died mid 2024. I’ll hold the card but it’ll get no use and none of these proposed changes will sway me. The cherry on top is that Wells Fargo is just oh so terrible to deal with. And why can’t you schedule a card payment in the app (seriously, you can only make a payment effective once you click submit)??? Bilt was a valiant effort, once the outsized transfer bonuses dried up there’s just nothing left to care about
International rent, please
Strictly a downgrade for me if they switch to either free options.
I use my Bilt card for lunch at work because Amex doesn’t count it for 4x category spend.
If they limit the 2x non-ota travel to only gas then back to the BofA PR.
If they were worried about banana purchases then this would take me from 20+ days of regular spend to bananas only for rent bonus.
One super obvious thing that they’re missing (at least from a marketing perspective) is having the coupons on the $550 card add up to at least $550, even if almost nobody will actually use them all.
AmEx is good about that and it lets them say “if you use all the credits you come out ahead on the annual fee!” even if some of the credits are useless to 99% of people (here’s looking at you, Equinox credit).
Seems bizarre to only have $380 worth of credits, especially with some of those being marginal (not everyone lives close to Walgreens, not everyone goes to fitness classes).
Compare with the $400 Venture X that comes with $300 of relatively easy to use travel credit plus 10k points — makes the card a no-brainer to keep after the first year.
Maybe “engage with our broader program” means “spend enough at 1x where we come out ahead on the interchange fee to offset how much we lose on the interchange fee for your rent payment”
Maybe offer 2X on big box grocery stores like Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club?
None of these card offerings are too enticing. I hope 3X dining stays the same. We try to eat out on the 1st to use the 6X. Bilt neighborhood dining is pretty limited if you don’t live in a major city so the 5X or 4X on Bilt neighborhood dining would be pretty useless for us.
2X on gas is meh. We use the Wyndham card for 8X. I do love the Bilt card though. Their app is great and the anticipation of a big bonus transfer on the 1st is fun. It keeps me spending because… who wants to miss out on a 100% transfer bonus?
5% gas at Costco with my Costco card… What is Bilt’s goal with all this? Even with changes they’re still not going to be competitive
Clearly they want to drive business to the partners in their ecosystem (Bilt Fitness, Walgreens, travel portal, etc.), which makes sense as they build a business bigger than just rent or a credit card, etc. I’m surprised they don’t have a mortgage partner (like Wells Fargo!) or at least a “preferred” mortgage partner, where their new card could earn 1x on mortgage at their partner and 0.5x on other mortgages.
And I’m surprised they haven’t signed up VRBO or AirBnb as a partner, to offer a credit on one of these new cards. It seems these platforms are popular among their target demo (younger, urban, high-spending).
2x everywhere would be nice, but Chase and Amex don’t offer this (except on Amex business side), so I understand the economics wouldn’t work. I’d be happy with 1.5x everywhere plus 1x on mortgage and no AF as long as the hoops aren’t too bad.
I’d want primary rental coverage to continue on the new cards. And please make them a Visa so they work at Costco.
*Lastly, kudos to Stephen for the fierce Cowboys reference – is the British guy somehow the biggest (American) football fan of the FM bunch??
Not sure that I could be classed as the biggest NFL fan of FM as I don’t actually have a team. My wife is a Commanders fan though, so I’d be contractually obliged to dislike the Cowboys even if I wasn’t already that way inclined of my own volition.
They are idiots. Just give a 2x card and limit mortgage or rent rewards to same amount as other charges – ie 1x extra up to other spend level.
Using 5 times a month is stupid. I buy 1$ stuff 4 times each month and sock drawer it.
a 1.5-2x card that matches rewards on rent or mortgage will force use of card.
In any case I am busy with US bank 4x until they nerf that option
You can do a 1x card fee free; a 95$ card 1.5x and a 2x card with 550 fees
And add 1x on rent or mortgage up to 10k each month, upto value of other spend
So a 2x-2.5x and 3x card on most spend
I would consider a 3x card on most spend for a fee that has good bonuses and transfers to many programs. (I have a combo of Amex Plat and bus Plus that does that overall)
Honestly, this seems a simple solve.
They already have ACH set up, although it has never worked very well for my family.
They should allow us to use the routing & account number to pay our mortgage. They could set the payments to transfer like ACH, and no one pays fees. I don’t pay a fee to my mortgage company right now when I draft from my checking.
Then they should, at the very least, start with something impressive. Coming in subpar is not going to encourage people to leave their current cards behind.
They really need to do what I have been expecting AMEX to do. They need to come in with a card that covers everything.
They truly need to create a program that makes this card the one to carry, and use consistently.
That may require taking a risk, but there are so many established options that taking a risk is going to be the best way to get ahead.
I did not care for any of the options they sent in that email. I think they are all subpar, and would not encourage me to do anything different than I am doing now.
Also, are they going to offer benefits like travel insurance, and rental coverage. Those are important, and not discussed.
I see no point in them revamping this card, or offering multiple options if the options are going to mimic the majors that are already available.
Why are they asking current rent customers? They should be asking future mortgage customers. I would love the ultimate catch-all card. 2x on everything, 1x rent/mortgage, and that’s it. They would kill CFU, Venture, Double Cash, and BBP. They would 5-10x their customer base and make tons of money in swipe fees. They would turn the card into a daily carry card, instead of gamers charging 5 bananas. I don’t think people will give up their CFU for 1.5x match. Bilt if you are reading these comments, please give us a simple 2x card.
Agreed, if they went with 2x then it would be a no-brainer catch-all card for the majority of people. They would make less per swipe but a ton more volume might make up the difference. But at 1.5x there are too many other options which will encourage people to continue using it 4x a month and nothing else.
Could work if they can get people to us the card as the main card for spend, which means a Amex like condition of 30x transactions > $5 each month to avoid the 3% rent fee
I have the AMEX Everyday card, you don’t want that (sock drawer). Make it a solid catch-all and people will use it daily. I use my BBP for dozens of swipes per month. Simple 2x will get rid of their gaming-the-system problem. Likely it will also broaden their customer base. That is why people love the VentureX so much, simple 2x.
There is a reason why Chase (both personal and business) and Amex (personal) don’t offer a 2x everywhere card. If it’s too expensive for Chase and Amex, it’s clearly too expensive for Bilt, especially as they will lose money on the rent/mortgage payments.
I have $0 BBP 2x cards, so I am not moving to a Bilt 1.5x card. I also have a VentureX which is essentially a free 2x card. Bilt would make up the extra 0.5x in volume. Matching CFU 1.5x isn’t going to make people stop using their current Chase/AMEX catch-all. If you read the email, they want to stop the “loophole” where people only charge rent and four small payments. Making a strong catch-all is the answer. They will get dozens of swipes per month at 2x. No gaming the system anymore. I would make a Bilt 2x card my main catch-all.
People talking here are enthusiasts who will get the card regardless, but Bilt really wants the mainstream to adopt this card. In general, young people in this country don’t have mortgages. Bilt needs to ask, what do my parents want in a credit card? They want simple and something better than their current card.
Amex can charge higher interchange fees for the BBP as a business card than a consumer card. And most of Bilt’s customer base probably doesn’t have a business CC, so BBP isn’t really competition for the Bilt card.
That is true about AMEX interchange fees. However, everybody has the BBP. It’s not a real business card lol.
I would be interested in a Bilt card if I could pay my mortgage with it, but these cards definitely aren’t competitive with what is already out there, and if they are going to make it really difficult to make mortgage payments with it, then I would pass altogether. If they want to be serious, they are going to have to differentiate themselves. They seem to want to market themselves as an innovative company… but not do anything innovative anymore.
I feel like they need to avoid offering the same bonus categories that everyone else already does. If you are going to try and attract homeowners/mortgage payers, why not offer something like 2x or 3x at home improvement and gardening stores? If they really care about “supporting local neighborhoods,” they could offer a bonus for any restaurant spend (or whatever else) within, say, 30 miles of your residence. Many people, particularly those outside of very large metro areas, have very limited options for “Neighborhood” spend.
If they’re going to start charging service fees for rent, forget it. It’s the only reason we have this card, and I can’t imagine the savings will be worth it after that fee. We’ll see whether this card stays in our portfolio after these proposed changes.
I rent in a high-rent city, so it makes sense for me to have a Bilt card. Currently I only put my rent and 4 other transactions (including any dining on Rent Day) on my Bilt card each month, and none of these options would change that.
From other transferable points cards, I already get 5x on airlines, 4x dining and grocery, 3x gas and other travel, and 2x all other spend. If they want me to move any of that spend to them, they at least need to match those numbers. (Yes, you can argue that Bilt points are more valuable than some other currencies because of the Rent Day transfer bonuses, but the rare and unpredictable nature of the bonuses means that they aren’t so much more valuable that I’m going to give up earning say 4 MR to get 3 Bilt points.)
Bilt are not competitive. No sign up bonus no card
They are not available in Canada and even if they were there are no Walgreens and other businesses that the card is tied to.
Up in Canada we’re second class according to American Banks, we just don’t exist and then they complain to trump that Canada won’t let them do business here. Some neighbor.
Pat McDonnell
That’s because you guys have more regulations in place, and you also require banks to be %35 locally owned to operate in Canada. Swipe fees are lower in Canada, and people also spend less, so credit cards are just not a lucrative business there.
The issue with the 1.25x multiplier is that (if you ignore the rest of the multipliers and pretend like you only use the card for rent – as many of us do) the “break-even” point over the 1x $95 option is at 7500/mo rent/mortgage (assuming a reasonable point value of 2 cents). If you include all the credits, the best-case scenario, it’s still $4800/mo. Realistic rents for some people, but not 20-something professionals the company has targeted in the past.
The 550 cards seem to indicate Bilt wants to take on the Plat/CSR/VX in people’s wallets, which I think is a losing battle. The market is showing us that in order to compete in that race, you need an aggressive campaign to open lounges, otherwise you end up in the same disregarded camp of WF and BoA. Time will tell if Citi is able to find a foothold, but EVEN the VX (while popular online) simply does not have the numbers to beat the vice grip Amex and Chase have over this demographic.
I personally was hoping for something customizable, in-line with the old Amex Zync card, that could fit the diverse habits of gen-zers, or something with multipliers in rarer categories like online shopping or gyms. Not some carbon copy of the rest of the travel cards and yet another priority pass membership.
It’s astounding to me that Bilt is framing their next product in this way, rather than focusing on creating a *supplementary* card. One that breaks the mold and is genuinely different. One fueled with great ideas like “earning points on rent”. One that Plat/CSR/VX owners will want as an addition, not as a replacement (because those cards are not going to be replaced).