Bilt Rewards Program: A Complete Guide to Earning Points on Rent, Dining, Transfer Bonuses, and More

For years, American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards have been top-tier credit card points, valued at 2 and 2.05 cents each, respectively, according to TPG's October 2024 valuations. Their wide range of transfer partners makes them highly coveted.

Although there are numerous strategies to extract more value when booking high-end flights and hotel stays, the world of points and miles has become more competitive. Nearly every credit card issuer now offers a rewards program to encourage spending within their network.

A new contender in the rewards space is Bilt Rewards, which stands out by allowing you to earn points through rent payments — an excellent perk since rent can total tens of thousands annually. Despite being a newcomer, Bilt Rewards has an impressive roster of transfer partners, including Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and World of Hyatt.

This month, Bilt Rewards introduced new transfer partners: Accor and TAP Air Portugal, offering a 3:2 and 1:1 transfer ratio, respectively. Bilt members can now transfer points to five major U.S. hotel loyalty programs, including Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy, all at a 1:1 ratio.

According to TPG's October 2024 valuations, Bilt points are worth 2.05 cents each, though you can unlock even more value through strategic redemption. Read on as we explore how the Bilt Rewards program works and share tips for maximizing your points.

What is Bilt Rewards?

Bilt Rewards is a versatile loyalty program that allows you to earn points in various ways. You can start earning by simply becoming a member, linking an eligible card to your Bilt Rewards account, and transacting with Bilt's partner brands. Most notably, you can earn points by paying your rent.

Earning rewards can be even more rewarding with the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees), but owning the card is not a requirement to participate in the program.

Bilt Rewards offers a wealth of ways to redeem your points. You can transfer them to various loyalty partners, use them to book flights and accommodations via Bilt's travel portal, shop for curated items in art, home decor, and lifestyle collections, make purchases on Amazon, pay for fitness classes, and more.

How to earn Bilt Rewards points

Here's something you should know: You don't need the Bilt Mastercard or even pay rent to rack up Bilt points. There are eight main ways to earn points with the program.

Earn Bilt points by paying rent

You can earn 250 points for each on-time rent payment at Bilt Rewards Alliance properties when using an automated clearinghouse payment or a non-Bilt card. This adds up to a potential 3,000 points annually, valued at $61.50 based on TPG's October 2024 valuations.

Alternatively, by using the Bilt Mastercard, you can earn 1 point for every dollar spent on rent, up to 100,000 points annually. The Bilt app makes it easy to pay your rent, and even if your landlord only accepts checks, you can still earn points without any additional fees as Bilt will mail a rent check directly to them each month.

Earn Bilt points with the Bilt Mastercard

The Bilt Mastercard has a straightforward rewards structure:

• 3 points for every dollar spent on dining
• 2 points per dollar spent on travel
• 1 point per dollar spent on rent (up to 100,000 points annually)
• 1 point per dollar on other purchases

To qualify for earning points, you must make at least five purchases with your card during each statement cycle (see rewards and benefits).

This no-annual-fee card (see rates and fees) offers a range of impressive benefits, such as complimentary Cellular Telephone Protection, Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection, and No Foreign Currency Conversion Fees (see rates and fees). You do not need to pay rent to apply for the Bilt Mastercard.

Earn Bilt points with Bilt Dining

Bilt Dining is a rewards program that operates in over 20 major cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and New York City, with plans to expand further.

You can link any eligible Visa, Mastercard, or American Express card to the Bilt Dining program and earn 5 points per dollar when you dine at participating Bilt Dining locations using your linked card in the Bilt Wallet.

These rewards are in addition to the points you earn with your credit card. For instance, when using your Bilt Mastercard, you can earn 3 extra points per dollar, bringing your total to 8 Bilt points per dollar spent. In other words, this results in a 16.4% return on your dining purchases.

Bilt allows you to earn up to 10 points per dollar spent at Bilt Dining restaurants when paying with any eligible card linked to your Bilt Wallet. There's no limit to how many points you can accumulate through Bilt Dining.

Earn Bilt points through the Bilt travel portal

Powered by Expedia, Bilt's travel portal lets you earn points on flights, hotel bookings, car rentals, and activities. As a Bilt member, you'll earn 1 point per dollar spent on travel booked through the portal.

As a Bilt Mastercard holder, you earn 2 points per dollar spent on travel through the portal, plus an additional 2 points per dollar when you use your card to pay. This means you can earn a total of 4 Bilt points per dollar on travel purchases.

Earn Bilt points through referrals

For each friend you refer to the Bilt Mastercard, you'll receive 2,500 points, with a maximum of 50 referrals. Additionally, after every five successful referrals, you'll earn a bonus of 10,000 points. Referrals can be made through the website or app.

Earn Bilt points with Lyft

By linking your accounts, you can earn 2 Bilt points for every dollar spent on Lyft rides. If you pay with the Bilt Mastercard, you'll also receive 3 extra points per dollar. For many, Bilt Rewards stands out as the top Lyft rewards partner.

Earn Bilt points with SoulCycle

You can earn up to 10 points for every dollar spent on SoulCycle classes when you book through the Bilt app. Check out the rewards and benefits for more details.

Earn Bilt points by playing the Rent Free game

Bilt offers a fun game-show-style challenge on Bilt Rent Day (the first of every month) called Rent Free, where you can win extra points.

Rent Free is designed like the game show "Family Feud," with a new celebrity host each month. As a member, you can rack up points by guessing one of the top three answers, earning double points for a correct ranking, and getting triple points if your answer matches the celebrity guest's choice.

In addition to earning points, the top 10 players will win a month of free rent (up to $2,500), and the next 600 top scorers will receive Bilt points. In case of a tie, the first player to play the game will win.

Achieve elite status with Bilt Rewards

Bilt offers four distinct status levels. You can reach elite status by accumulating Bilt points or by earning fast-track status through qualifying purchases made with the Bilt Mastercard or within the Bilt ecosystem.

Although rent payments won’t contribute to fast-track status, you can earn it by booking SoulCycle classes through the Bilt app, making purchases at Bilt Dining restaurants with any card linked to your Bilt Wallet, taking Lyft rides with Bilt as your reward partner, and booking travel through Bilt’s travel portal.

Here’s a quick summary:

Your membership status is determined by the total points earned within a calendar year. You’ll be granted the higher of the two status levels based on your accumulated points or through fast-track spending.

Regardless of when you earn your status, it will remain valid for the rest of the current year and continue into the following year.

Bilt Platinum members are eligible to apply for a status match with Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Platinum members can secure 12 months of Flying Blue Gold status. To activate the match, members need to open the Bilt app, select 'Elite Status Match,' and transfer 10,000 Bilt points to Flying Blue to officially activate Gold status. These 10,000 points can also be applied toward a future Air France-KLM award flight.

After submitting the status request, it may take up to three business days for your Flying Blue Gold status to be fully activated.

With Flying Blue Gold status, Bilt members gain extra airline benefits and become eligible for SkyTeam Elite Plus.

Discover more about the perks of Flying Blue Gold status on Flying Blue’s tier benefits page and explore the added advantages of SkyTeam Elite Plus status on SkyTeam’s FAQ.

Redeeming Bilt Rewards points: Low-value redemption options

The Bilt Rewards program offers various ways to redeem your points, though some options are less valuable than others.

To get the best value from your Bilt Rewards points, you'll want to steer clear of certain redemption options that don't offer great returns.

Redeem points for Amazon purchases

You can add your Bilt Mastercard as a payment option on Amazon and use your points to pay for part or all of your order. However, Bilt points are worth only 0.7 cents each when redeemed this way. For instance, you'd need about 14,300 points to cover a $100 purchase. This compares poorly to TPG's October 2024 valuation of 2.05 cents per point, making it a less favorable option.

Browse the Bilt Collection

The Bilt Collection features a selection of items like art, home decor, and clothing. While the value per point can vary, it typically doesn't exceed 1 cent per point, so this redemption option may not provide the best value for your points.

Use your points for fitness classes

Fitness lovers can exchange their Bilt points for classes at popular studios like SoulCycle, Solidcore, and Y7 Studio. The point value varies depending on the class but generally hovers around 1 cent per point.

Pay rent with your points

One way to use your points is to save them for your next rent payment. However, this option is only available if you're renting from a Bilt Rewards Alliance property or paying by check. The catch is that the redemption rate is quite low, at only 0.55 cents per point.

Redeeming Bilt Rewards points: Mid-range value options

The following redemption options offer a good value, with a minimum rate of 1 cent per point.

Save your points for a home down payment

Bilt gives users the opportunity to use their points to contribute toward a down payment on a home. When you choose this option, your points are worth 1.5 cents each for the down payment.

Redeem points for travel through the Bilt travel portal

You can use the Bilt travel portal to reduce the cost of flights, hotel stays, car rentals, or activities, earning 1.25 cents per point.

Transferring to airline and hotel partners: Maximum value

The best value comes from transferring your points to Bilt’s 18 airline and hotel partners.

In October, Bilt Rewards expanded its transfer options by adding major hotel chain Accor and TAP Air Portugal to its partners.

It's important to note that while Bilt Rewards was previously the only points program to offer American Airlines AAdvantage as a transfer partner, this partnership officially ended on June 24.

Despite that, the program still boasts several valuable transfer partners to help you maximize your Bilt points.

Joining these loyalty programs is free, even if you've never flown with the airline or stayed at the hotel brand. Additionally, Bilt rewards cardholders with 100 bonus points (up to a total of 500 points) for each loyalty program linked to their account.

By transferring your Bilt points to the right programs, you can easily achieve 2.05 cents per point in value—and possibly much more—enabling you to enjoy a lie-flat seat on a plane or an indulgent hotel stay.

**TPG has not yet tested the transfer of Bilt points to Accor Live Limitless, Alaska Airlines, Hilton Honors, and TAP Miles&Go.

Bilt Rewards has been known for offering some of the most generous transfer bonuses we've seen, especially on Rent Day (the first of every month). This has included 150% transfer bonuses to certain carriers like Emirates Skywards, and even up to 100% transfer bonuses to Alaska Mileage Plan for Rent Day in July 2024.

Bilt has also offered a 100% transfer bonus to Flying Blue, adding more value to your points.

The possibilities are vast. Since many of Bilt's transfer partners overlap with other transferable points programs, you can leverage our guides to get the most out of programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and many others.

The bottom line is this:

Bilt Rewards offers incredible value to both renters and non-renters alike. With partnerships to some of the most rewarding airline and hotel loyalty programs, your points go a long way. They transfer easily at a 1:1 ratio (except when transferring to Accor), and most transfers are processed instantly.

Even if you're not renting or don't plan on applying for the Bilt Mastercard, you can still rack up plenty of points by linking your Lyft account, joining Bilt Dining, and booking travel via the Bilt portal.

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