Bilt Mastercard review: No transaction fee rent payments
| 3X Points | 3x points on dining |
| 2X Points | 2x points on travel |
| 1X Points | 1x points on other purchases |
| 1X Points | Earn 1x points on rent without the transaction fee, up to 100,000 points in a calendar year. When you use the card 5 times each statement period using your Bilt Mastercard, you'll earn points on rent and qualifying net purchases. |
Editor's Note
TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.
Bilt Mastercard overview
The Bilt Mastercard® has no annual fee (see rates and fees) but offers a slate of perks in addition to its core principle: the ability to earn points when paying rent and doing so without a transaction fee (see rates and fees). In addition to rent benefits, the Bilt card provides built-in perks and points-earning capabilities that make it attractive even to those who don't pay rent each month. When you use the card five times each statement period using your Bilt Mastercard, you'll earn points on rent and qualifying net purchases. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½
*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG's editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
The Bilt Mastercard is unique because it allows cardholders to earn rewards on rent payments (up to 100,000 Bilt Points in a calendar year) — without being charged a transaction fee (see rates and fees).
And while this unique feature is worth paying attention to, it's far from the only reason you might want to get the card. It sports bonus-earning rates that mirror the $95 annual fee fan-favorite Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 3 points per dollar on dining and 2 points per dollar on travel purchases, all for no annual fee (see rates and fees). Note the card must be used five times each statement period to earn points (see rewards and benefits). The 2 points per dollar earning rate for the Sapphire Preferred is for non-Chase Travel℠ bookings.
Still, it has some peculiarities that keep it from being a slam dunk for many. One of them is that even though it's geared toward renters, it's not necessarily built for those still establishing credit. For the best chance of approval, you'll want a good to excellent credit score (670-850).
Let's look at the ongoing benefits offered by the Bilt Mastercard and its unique earning structure to see whether it merits a place in your wallet.
Bilt Mastercard pros and cons
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Bilt Mastercard welcome bonus
There is no welcome bonus for new applicants to the Bilt Mastercard. This means you will not receive a chunk of points after completing an introductory spending requirement.
However, you can earn rewards for referring friends and family to sign up for the Bilt Mastercard. You will earn 2,500 Bilt Points for each person who applies for and is approved for the Bilt card using your link. You'll also earn 10,000 bonus points for every fifth successful referral — up to 50 total referrals.
Related: Bilt is considering new credit card products to pair with points for mortgage payments
Bilt Mastercard benefits
You can enjoy multiple benefits with the Bilt Mastercard, many of which come from the fact this is a World Elite Mastercard. The benefits on the Bilt Mastercard can be divided into four categories: rent-related benefits, credit-building, trip protections, and purchase credits. You can read the full details on the Bilt Rewards and Benefits page.
Rent-related benefits for the Bilt Mastercard include paying rent with a credit card — thus earning points — without paying any transaction fees (see rates and fees).
If your landlord isn't part of the Bilt network, you can make an ACH (bank transfer) payment through your landlord's online payment system (if available) or have Bilt send a check on your behalf. There are no transaction fees for making rent payments to your landlord in this way, and these are qualifying purchases on your card to earn Bilt Points (up to 100,000 points in a calendar year for rent payments; must use the card five times each statement period to earn points).
Another key benefit of the card is credit building. You can elect to have your rent payments reported to all three major credit bureaus in the U.S. This helps establish a history of on-time payments and could help your credit score.
Your Bilt Mastercard also has some impressive travel protections for a card without an annual fee (see rates and fees). Cardholders receive up to $5,000 in reimbursement for nonrefundable tickets if a trip is canceled or interrupted for a covered reason, thanks to the card's Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection*.
Also included is an Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver* and a Cellular Telephone Protection benefit* that provides up to $800 of cellphone protection (subject to $25 deductible) against damage or theft. Utilization of all these benefits is in effect when you pay using the Bilt Mastercard. *A maximum benefit amount and certain restrictions and limitations apply.
As a World Elite Mastercard, you also have access to $5 in Lyft Credits each month after paying for three rides that month with your Bilt Mastercard. Finally, you can use your card confidently abroad because it has no foreign transaction fee (see rates and fees). More info and terms.
Related: 5 ways to pay your rent or mortgage with a credit card
Earning points with the Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard earns:
- 3 points per dollar spent on dining
- 2 points per dollar on travel
- 1 point per dollar on other purchases (including rent payments; earning on rent limited to up to 100,000 points each calendar year)
- See rewards and benefits
You will only earn points when you make at least five transactions on your card in a statement period. Thus, if the only purchase you make on your card each month is your rent payment, you won't earn points at these rates.
Instead, you would earn a flat rate of 250 points for paying rent with your card.
You'll also receive 250 Bilt Points for your rent payment if your payment is less than $250 that month. You can earn a maximum of 100,000 points from rent payments in a calendar year, requiring an average monthly rent of $8,333 to achieve this maximum points return.
TPG's February 2025 valuations place Bilt Rewards points at 2.05 cents per point, meaning you'll earn an effective 6.2% return on dining purchases, 4.1% on travel and 2.05% on other purchases.
Another valuable perk is the opportunity to earn double points on the first day of each month (excluding rent, up to 1,000 bonus points), which Bilt calls "Rent Day." For each purchase made on the first day of the month, you can earn double points on dining (boosted to 6 points per dollar), travel (4 points per dollar) and everyday spending (2 points per dollar).
However, points-earning on rent payments is not doubled.
You'll also earn extra points at select restaurants with Bilt Dining, which provides bonus rewards when you use any credit or debit card linked to your Bilt account to pay at participating restaurants. You'll earn 5 points per dollar on Lyft once you link your Bilt and Lyft accounts and pay with the card, as well as 2 points per dollar on prescriptions filled at Walgreens. Remember, you must use the card five times each statement period to earn points.
There are different tiers of Bilt Elite Status offered via this card, which you can earn through earning qualifying points or through qualifying spending. Note that points earned from rent will count toward status, but the actual spending you put on the card for rent payments will not count toward rent.
- Blue: Anyone enrolled in Bilt Rewards who has spent less than $10,000 on eligible purchases in a year or earned fewer than 50,000 Bilt Points in a calendar year; 1:1 points transfers to travel partners (see below), access to the Bilt Collection (see below) and building credit history through rent reporting.
- Silver: Earn 50,000 points or spend $10,000 on eligible purchases in a year; additional benefits include earning a 10% bonus on lease incentive points from participating properties and earning interest on points.
- Gold: Earn 125,000 points or spend $25,000 on eligible purchases in a year; additional benefits include earning a 25% bonus on lease incentive points and access to a Homeownership Concierge.
- Platinum: Earn 200,000 points or spend $50,000 on eligible purchases in a year; additional benefits include a 50% bonus on lease incentive points and an exclusive gift from the Bilt Collection.
Related: Complete guide to the Bilt Rewards program
Redeeming points with the Bilt Mastercard
You have several options when you're ready to redeem your Bilt rewards. You can use them to book travel through the Bilt portal or purchase items from the Bilt Collection, transfer them to Bilt's hotel and airline partners, book fitness classes, pay for Amazon.com purchases directly or use them to help cover the cost of next month's rent.
While the range of redemption options is nice, they don't all yield a valuation that matches our February 2025 valuation of 2.05 cents per point.
Redeeming your points for rent payments provides the worst value of all options: just 0.55 cents per point. And while redeeming points toward Amazon.com purchases may be tempting, you'll get a meager value of 0.7 cents per point with this option.
Alternatively, you can achieve a value of 1 cent per point when paying for fitness classes with SoulCycle, Y7 Studio, Pure Barre, Rumble Boxing, BFT, CycleBar, YogaSix, and CorePower Yoga or when shopping the Bilt Collection of art, home decorations and apparel.
Bilt has a travel portal, and you can redeem your points at a fixed value of 1.25 cents apiece when booking flights or hotels here. When redeeming your points toward a down payment on a home, you can net a value of 1.5 cents per point. You'll get the most value from your points if you transfer them to any of Bilt's hotel and airline partners.
Related: Bilt Rewards expands into health care with Walgreens partnership
Transferring points with the Bilt Mastercard
If you want maximum value from your Bilt Rewards, take advantage of Bilt's 18 airline and hotel transfer partners. Key options include Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, United Airlines MileagePlus and World of Hyatt.
If you have Blue Status with Bilt Rewards, you will need to transfer at least 2,000 points for each partner. If you have Silver, Gold or Platinum Bilt Status, you'll have to transfer a minimum of 1,000 Bilt Points. Transfers must be done in 1,000-point increments.
A good redemption of Bilt Points would be to transfer them to Alaska Mileage Plan to take advantage of their distance and zone-based chart to book a Qatar Qsuite flight from the U.S. to the Middle East from 70,000 miles one-way.
Related: How long do Bilt Rewards points take to transfer?
Which cards compete with the Bilt Mastercard?
There are no other credit cards exactly like the Bilt Mastercard. It is the sole credit card product in a relatively new points system — Bilt Rewards — and has unique features regarding rent payments. However, if you aren't prioritizing earning rewards on rent payments (up to 100,000 points each calendar year), you may find a better fit in one of these alternatives:
- If you prefer simple cash back: The Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) offers 2% cash back on all purchases (1% when you buy and 1% when you pay). There's no annual fee, and you don't have any bonus categories to keep track of. To learn more, see our full review of the Citi Double Cash card.
- If you want a no-annual-fee card: The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is straightforward with no annual fee, and you'll earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases that aren't in the card's bonus categories. To learn more, see our full review of the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
- If you want to earn travel rewards: The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has an annual fee of $95 and is an incredibly popular card with a similar earning structure to Bilt: 3 points per dollar on dining and 2 points per dollar on non-Chase Travel℠ travel purchases. Cardholders also receive comprehensive travel protections and access to any of Chase's valuable airline and hotel partners. To learn more, see our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
For additional options, check out our full list of the best travel rewards and no-annual-fee credit cards.
Related: Can you pay rent with a credit card? Everything you need to know
Is the Bilt Mastercard worth it?
The Bilt Mastercard is ideal for those who pay rent each month and want to earn credit card rewards but don't want to pay transaction fees (see rates and fees). Those who don't pay rent may consider another card with more lucrative earning rates.
Related: Should you use the Bilt Mastercard? Why it could be a game changer for renters
Bottom line
The Bilt Mastercard is unique. It has its own rewards program and offers renters the ability to earn points every month without incurring transaction fees — plus, there's no annual fee on the card (see rates and fees). There are trip protections and multiple ways to redeem points, and the transfer partners provide quality options for travel.
Drawbacks include the need to make five purchases on your card every statement period before qualifying for points, and the Bilt Mastercard doesn't offer any welcome bonus. The Bilt Mastercard may not be the best credit card in your wallet for every purchase category, but it could fit well into a diverse points and miles strategy — especially if you're a renter.
Apply here: Bilt Mastercard
Related: Bilt Mastercard vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred
For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.