Bilt is implementing unfavorable changes to its Rent Day double points program

If you possess the Bilt Mastercard® (refer to rates and fees), you're probably aware of at least one monthly Bilt Rent Day event. Cardholders can earn double Bilt Points on non-rent purchases on the first day of each month, provided they use their card at least five times during the statement period (see rewards and benefits).

This allows Bilt cardholders to earn points on purchases each Rent Day as follows:

• Dining: 6 points per dollar
• Travel: 4 points per dollar
• Other purchases (excluding rent): 2 points per dollar
• Rent: 1 point per dollar (up to 100,000 points in a calendar year)

Prior to October 1, 2024, cardholders could earn up to 10,000 bonus points on their Bilt Mastercard purchases every Rent Day. However, starting October 1, Bilt Rewards will reduce the maximum bonus points available through the double points promotion to just 1,000 each Rent Day. You can find this update in the terms for August Rent Day:

"Starting from October 1, 2024, you can earn a maximum of 1,000 bonus points per month under this promotion, no matter how much you spend."

Beginning October 1, you'll hit the maximum double points by spending just $334 on dining for each Rent Day.

Emily Thompson, a TPG credit cards editor and Bilt Mastercard cardholder, expresses her disappointment about this change: "I usually capitalize on Rent Day to enhance my dining app balance, like at Starbucks, to earn 6 points per dollar on those purchases. I also make the most of Bilt bonus earnings when dining at a Bilt restaurant or dropping into a SoulCycle class while in NYC. With the new cap of 1,000 points for bonuses, I'll need to be more strategic with my earning opportunities each month. Instead of topping off all my dining apps, I might focus on a couple and use my American Express® Gold Card for the remaining dining expenses to earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar.*"

Cardholders with the Amex Gold earn 4 points for every dollar spent on dining at restaurants for the first $50,000, then 1 point per dollar thereafter.*

A representative from Bilt Rewards shared the following insight with TPG regarding the forthcoming changes: "To provide context, fewer than 2% of our members achieve over 1,000 bonus points on Rent Day. This adjustment allows us to cover the complete base points plus all bonus points for 98% of our members while also investing in new Rent Day benefits, such as transfer bonuses and Rent Day experiences. We acknowledge that there’s no perfect solution, but we aim to deliver maximum value to the largest number of members possible."

Richard Kerr, vice president of travel at Bilt Rewards, expressed a similar view on X over the weekend.

Notably, fewer than 2% of Bilt Rewards cardholders — as confirmed by TPG with Bilt — earn more than 1,000 bonus points through the double points promotion on any given Rent Day. This likely indicates that less than 2% of cardholders are effectively maximizing their rewards by planning purchases for Rent Day and prepaying upcoming expenses on that day.

If you belong to the small group of Bilt cardholders who usually earn over 1,000 bonus points through the double points promotion on Rent Day, take a page from Emily's strategy: Be tactical and review the bonus categories on all your cards. Select purchases for Rent Day with your Bilt Mastercard that would otherwise be hard to earn bonus points on.

Check out the Bilt Mastercard rates and fees here.
Explore Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits here.