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For those who are tired of paying additional transaction fees on their rent, the Bilt Rewards Credit Card is here to rescue. The Bilt World Elite Mastercard® is a no-annual-fee credit card and allows its members to pay rent without additional fees in addition to earning rewards on rent payments with any landlord. The card earns 1 point per dollar on rent payments(up to 50,000 annually), 3 points per dollar on dining, 2 points per dollar on travel when booked directly with airlines, hotels, car rentals, or cruise lines, and 1 point per dollar on any other purchases.
Wells Fargo Bank issues and manages
the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®, which
offers various additional benefits, such
as transferable points and elite status.
To earn rewards, however, this card
mandates completing five transactions
per statement period to earn rewards.
- Bilt Rewards Credit Card Overview
- Pros And Cons
- Bilt Rewards Credit Card Rewards
- Wells Fargo Bilt Credit Card Reward Redemptions
- Other Perks And Benefits
- Earn Interest On Bilt Points
- What Are The Bilt Credit Card Approval Odds
- How Much Are Bilt Rewards Worth?
- Who Is The Bilt Rewards Credit Card For?
- Other Credit Cards To Consider
- Final Thoughts
You may be wondering how this card can help you save on rent payments. Typically, when you pay rent with a credit card, an additional 2-3% transaction fee is charged. For instance, if you pay $2,000 in rent with a 3% fee, you would have to pay an additional $60. However, with the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®, not only can you avoid the additional fee, but you can also earn rewards while paying your rent.
In this article, we will thoroughly examine the Bilt Rewards Credit Card and provide an in-depth review to help determine if it is worth it for you. We will explore its features, benefits, and drawbacks to understand the card comprehensively and whether it is the right card for you.
Bilt Rewards Credit Card Overview
- Earn 1X point per dollar on rent payments without any additional fee up to 50,000 points per
year. - Earn 2X points per dollar on travel when booked directly with an airline, hotel, car rental, or cruise company, 3X points on dining, and 1X points on all other purchases.
- No signup bonus.
- You have to complete 5 transactions per statement period to earn rewards.
- Other benefits like Purchase protection, Cell Phone Insurance, Mastercard® World Elite Concierge, etc.
- Lyft and Doordash offer.
- No Annual Fee.
- No Foreign Transaction Fee.
- See Rewards and benefit terms.
Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
One of the unique offers to pay rent without any additional fee | No welcome bonus and no Intro APR |
$0 Annual fee | At least 5 transactions per statement period are compulsory to earn rewards |
Excellent range of airline and hotel transfer partners | Other than rent, offer rewards are not much high as compared to competitors |
Bilt Rewards Credit Card Rewards
Welcome Bonus
When you talk about a credit card, a signup bonus is certainly a point that attracts your mind because, usually, that’s going to be one of the best ways to earn a lot of points on credit cards really fast. Unfortunately, with Bilt right now, they are not offering any type of bonus.
Reward Rates
The Bilt World Elite Mastercard® currently does not offer a welcome bonus. However, other rewards offered by Bilt Rewards Credit Card are:
- Bilt Rewards Credit Card earns 1 point per dollar on rent payments with no fees (on up to 50,000 points each calendar year).
- Earn 2 points per dollar on travel booked directly with airlines, hotels, car rentals, or cruise lines.
- Earn 3 points per dollar on dining (including services like Uber Eats and GrubHub).
- Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Bilt Credit Card Referral Bonus
Yes! You heard It right. You can earn points by referring your friends, family, or anyone you know, For each Bilt Mastercard application you refer who is approved and opens a Bilt Mastercard account, you will receive 2,500 Bilt Points (“Referral Bonus”). You will receive an additional 10,000 Bilt Points for every five successful referrals. So if you refer exactly 5, you will earn 22,500 points.
In addition to the 12,500 (2,500 x 5) Bilt Points you will receive from the recommendations themselves, you will also receive these points. This referral offer entitles you to a maximum of 2,025,000 Bilt Points, which converts to 450 Referral Bonuses (or 90 rounds of 5 Referral Bonuses).
Each Bilt point is worth around 1.2-1.8 cents depending on the way you redeem, so with each referral, you can earn around $300-$450. Keep in mind that they must create their Bilt Rewards account and apply through the unique URL with your referral code.
Double Points on the First Of Every Month
Bilt Rewards Credit Card offers this promotion which is available on the 1st day of each month, from 12 am ET to 11:59 pm PT. During the promotional period, eligible purchases earn bonus points in addition to the standard rewards(except rent payments):
- Dining purchases earn 6X rewards points (including 3 bonus points) for every $1 spent on net purchases.
- Travel purchases earn 4X rewards points (including 2 bonus points) for every $1 spent on net purchases.
- All other eligible purchases earn 2X rewards points (including 1 bonus point) for every $1 spent on net purchases outside of rent, travel, and dining
With this promotion, you can earn up to 10,000 bonus points in a month.
Wells Fargo Bilt Credit Card Reward Redemptions
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card cardholders can redeem their points in a variety of ways. Users have the option of using their points as statement credits to their card balance or previous purchases. Users can also use their credits to book travel-related expenses like flights and hotel stays. They can also exchange their points for items or gift cards.
Transfer Partners
One of the major benefits of the Bilt Rewards Credit Card is the wide range of airline and hotel transfer partners with whom you can transfer points at a ratio of 1:1.
Here is the list of the transfer partners you transfer your Bilt points:
| Airlines Partners | Hotel Partners |
|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | IHG Rewards |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | World of Hyatt |
| American AAdvantage | |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | |
| Emirates Skywards | |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | |
| United MileagePlus | |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
With Bilt Rewards, you have the flexibility to redeem your points for flights and hotels through the Bilt Rewards Travel portal, where you can redeem your points at a value of 1.25 cents each.
Use Chase Points To Book With Hyatt And American Airlines
One of the interesting points about Bilt’s transfer partners is that Hyatt and American Airlines stand out among the major credit card points currencies. Chase is the only other credit card that transfers points to Hyatt, and no other major points currency offers a 1:1 transfer rate to American Airlines as Bilt does. This is a pretty good use of Chase points.
Redemption With Amazon Purchases
Bilt offers to redeem your reward points at Amazon checkout by linking your Bilt Mastercard to your Amazon account. While this feature is convenient, it’s important to note that the point value for this redemption option is relatively low at just 0.7 cents per point.
Redeem Bilt Points With Fitness Classes and Merchandise
If you’re passionate about fitness, Bilt Rewards has got you covered. You can redeem your points for fitness classes at SoulCycle, Y7 Studio, etc., or shop for art, home decor, and apparel in the Bilt Collection, all at a redemption value of 1 cent per point. Fitness class redemptions start at 1,600 points.
Redeem For Rent And Down Payment
Bilt Rewards offers a one-of-a-kind rewards program that enables users to save up their points for a down payment on a home. This distinctive feature allows users to redeem their rewards points towards realizing their goal of becoming a homeowner.
Other Perks And Benefits
Cell Phone Protection
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card provides cell phone protection coverage for cardholders who use the card to pay their monthly cell phone bill. If your phone is stolen or damaged, this benefit can reimburse you up to $800 per claim, subject to a $25 deductible.
Purchase Protection
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card comes with purchase protection for new purchases made with the card. This benefit provides coverage against theft or damage for 90 days from the date of purchase.
Lyft Rides
Earn Bilt Rewards points while using Lyft rides by paying with the Bilt Rewards Credit Card. By linking your Bilt and Lyft accounts and paying for rides through the Lyft app with the Bilt card, you can earn 5 Bilt points for every dollar spent. Even if you don’t have the $0 Lyft membership, you can still earn 2 Bilt points for every dollar spent on Lyft rides as a Bilt Rewards member.
Earn Interest On Bilt Points
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card has a distinct feature that allows cardholders to earn interest on their Bilt points once they become at least a Silver member in the Bilt Rewards tier system. This unique feature provides an alternative way for cardholders to benefit from their Bilt points besides the usual redemption options. The Bilt Rewards program has a tiered structure which allows more benefits as they earn more points within a calendar year.
| Status Level | Points Earned Required | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
Blue | Fewer than 25,000 points earned | |
Silver | 25,000 points | At this membership level, participants receive a 10% boost in lease incentive points if they live at eligible properties |
Gold | 50,000 points | Cardholders can take benefit from participating properties with a bonus of 25% on lease incentive points. Additionally, they can gain access to Homeownership Concierge services provided by Bilt Rewards. |
Platinum | 100,000 points | Cardholders who qualify for the Platinum level will receive additional perks, including a 25% bonus on lease incentive points if they reside at a participating property. Moreover, they will also receive a special gift from the Bilt Collection as part of their membership benefits. |
However, it is important to note that the interest rate is tied to the published national savings rate by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, so the returns may not be substantial.
What Are The Bilt Credit Card Approval Odds
Credit card approval odds typically depend on various factors such as credit score, income, credit history, debt-to-income ratio, and other factors. It’s worth noting that meeting the minimum requirements for a credit card doesn’t guarantee approval. The Bilt World Elite Mastercard® is an ideal rewards credit card to consider for renters as it allows for the easy accumulation of rewards points on one’s largest monthly expense without additional fees.
However, it’s important to know the minimum credit score requirement for the Bilt Credit Card. To qualify for the Bilt Mastercard, one needs to have good to excellent credit, typically indicated by a FICO score ranging from 670 to 850.
How Much Are Bilt Rewards Worth?
As you may know, the value of any point system is not fixed and may vary depending on the redemption method and time. Bilt Rewards points also have a variable redemption value based on their use.
| Method Of Redemption | Value Per Point (Approx) |
|---|---|
Paying Rent With Bilt Points | 0.55 Cents per point |
Amazon Purchases | 0.7 Cents per point |
Fitness Classes | 1 Cent per point |
Bilt Travel Portal | 1.25 Cents per point |
With Transfer Partners | 1.8 Cents per point |
So, as you can see, Bilt offers a wide range of redemption options, from low-value options like amazon purchases to high-value options like transfer partners, and the redemption value can vary between 0.5 to 2 cents per point, depending on the method of redemption.
Who Is The Bilt Rewards Credit Card For?
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card is designed for individuals who want to avoid transaction fees on their rent payments. So if you are someone who pays a lot in the additional fee with rent Bilt World Elite Mastercard® can be a perfect fit for you. Even if you don’t pay a lot in rent, another major advantage of the Bilt Rewards Credit Card is its advantageous transfer partners that can be used for great benefits, such as World of Hyatt.
The Bilt Rewards Credit Card can be a good choice for those who desire a credit card with no annual fee and a variety of redemption options. Nevertheless, if you’re seeking a credit card with a high cashback rate or don’t often pay rent, you might want to look into other credit cards that better suit your needs.
Other Credit Cards To Consider
It’s crucial to keep in mind that selecting the most suitable alternative to the Bilt Rewards Credit Card would depend on your individual spending patterns and objectives. However, there is another card like Bilt Rewards Credit Card because of its unique feature but to make the right choice, it’s vital to analyze and compare the rewards and perks of each card option and evaluate which one will offer the most significant benefits to you.
Bilt World Elite Mastercard® vs Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
One could argue that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a top contender among travel credit cards. With its $95 annual fee, it offers strong rewards for spending in similar categories to those offered by the Bilt card. Cardholders can earn 5X per dollar on travel booked via the Chase travel portal, 3X on dining, 3X on online grocery purchases, 3X on select streaming services, 2X on other travel purchases, and 1X on all other purchases. So yes, we can say here Chase offers a little extra in spending rewards categories.
On average, the value of Chase points ranges between 1 to 1.9 cents per point, depending on the method of redemption. This value is similar to that of the Bilt Rewards Credit Card, although the latter does not offer a signup bonus, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® does.
Bilt World Elite Mastercard® vs Citi® Double Cash Card
If we are talking about a $0 annual fee card, why not compare it with a worthy opponent who also has a $0 annual fee. Citi® Double Cash Card is a flat-rate cashback card it offers 2% on every purchase (1% when you make a purchase with your card and 1% when you pay your statement).
One way to potentially maximize the benefits of the Double Cash card is by pairing it with another Citi card that accrues Citi ThankYou points, such as the Citi Premier® Card. By doing so, you may unlock access to a wider range of Citi’s travel partners, including hotels and airlines.
Final Thoughts
I believe that the Bilt Rewards Credit Card is a highly attractive option for renters who wants to save an additional 2-3% on rent payment and want to maximize their rewards on rent payments. The card’s lack of an annual fee and transaction fee on rent payments, as well as its various redemption options, make it a good choice for those who regularly pay a large amount in rent.
While the card may not be as suitable for those seeking high cashback rates or those who do not frequently pay rent, it can provide excellent value when used correctly. Overall, the Bilt Rewards Credit Card has a lot to offer; it is a great fit for renters looking to earn rewards on their rent payments.
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