8 Issues to Know Concerning the Bilt Rewards Mastercard

Posted: 2/8/2023 | February eighth, 2023

Since popping out in 2021, the Bilt Rewards Mastercard has been an absolute game-changer for renters that like to journey. It’s the one bank card that means that you can earn factors in your month-to-month hire fee — as much as 50,000 factors per yr, (which might pay for a round-trip flight to Hawaii, for instance).

You should use these factors like every other journey rewards factors (resembling these from Chase, American Specific, or Capital One), transferring them to airline or lodge companions or paying for journey instantly by means of a selected portal.

However whereas the points-for-rent perk will get all the eye (and rightfully so), the Bilt Rewards Mastercard is greater than a one-trick pony.

To actually get essentially the most out of this helpful card (one which I feel each renter ought to have of their pockets), listed below are some key issues to know in regards to the Bilt Mastercard:

1. There’s no annual price

One of the crucial essential issues to think about when opening a brand new bank card is whether or not there may be an annual price, and if that’s the case, whether or not paying it is sensible in keeping with your spending habits and targets.

Many of the best travel credit cards have annual charges, and for frequent vacationers, they’re normally value it. You may get rather more worth out of a card than its annual price in the event you’re an avid flier who enjoys lounge entry, precedence boarding, checking additional baggage, or different frequent perks.

However you don’t have to fret about that with Bilt, as the cardboard at the moment has no price. You’ll be able to earn factors in your hire utterly at no cost!

2. There’s additionally no welcome provide

Nonetheless, the flip aspect of there being no annual price is that there’s additionally no welcome provide on the Bilt Rewards Mastercard.

Welcome provides (also called sign-up bonuses) are the factors you earn by spending a specific amount inside a specified timeframe after opening a bank card. For instance, you would possibly be capable of earn 60,000 factors in the event you spend $3,000 USD inside the first three months of opening a specific card.

These provides jump-start your factors “fund” and might typically quantity to a free round-trip flight proper off the bat. Welcome provides are so very important to any good travel hacking technique that I normally advise towards signing up for a card except there’s a sizable one. The truth that I wholeheartedly advocate the Bilt card, even with out a welcome provide, ought to present you simply how nice I feel this card is.

3. There’s a minimal transaction requirement to earn factors

After opening the Bilt Mastercard, maybe an important factor to know is that it’s essential to make a minimal of 5 transactions every assertion interval to earn factors. That goes for all factors, together with the factors you’ll obtain for paying your hire.

Which means in the event you don’t make 5 purchases in your card that interval, you gained’t earn any factors in any respect — even in the event you’ve paid hire by means of Bilt.

The excellent news is that there’s no minimal buy requirement, solely a minimal transaction requirement. So long as you make 5 purchases — of any dimension — in your Bilt card every month, you’ll get your factors.

4. You’ll be able to earn factors on extra than simply hire

Whereas incomes factors on hire is the primary promoting level, the cardboard provides extra methods to earn factors too:

• 2x factors on journey
• 3x factors on eating
• 1x factors on all different purchases

(These incomes classes are the identical as fan-favorite Chase Sapphire Preferred, for which there’s an annual price of $95 USD).

So, for instance, in the event you use your Bilt card throughout the month on journey or eating purchases, you’ll not solely get 2-3 instances the factors, however you’ll additionally hit your minimal five-purchase requirement.

5. You’ll be able to max out on factors earned for hire

It’s additionally value utilizing your card for purchases aside from hire due to the truth that you possibly can max out on the variety of factors earned for hire (factors for hire are capped at 50,000 per yr). After that, you gained’t earn any extra factors on hire for that yr.

Nonetheless, contemplating you earn at a price of 1 Bilt level per $1 spent on hire, you’ll solely attain the restrict in the event you spend over $4,166/month in hire. In case your rental fee is underneath that, you don’t have to fret about hitting the restrict.

6. You’ll be able to earn much more factors on hire day

On the primary day of the month, your factors incomes energy is doubled, that means that you simply’ll earn 6x factors on eating, 4x factors on journey, and 2x on different purchases (besides hire) made on the primary of the month.

When you get into the behavior of utilizing your Bilt card for every part you purchase on the primary day of the month, you’ll already be that a lot nearer to hitting your 5 minimal transactions, all whereas getting much more factors to your purchases.

And whereas nobody needs extra apps on their telephones, it would be best to obtain the Bilt app for possibilities to earn much more factors. Each hire day, there are new methods to simply earn factors within the app. These change each month, however previously have included enjoying Level Quest, during which you earn factors for proper solutions to trivia questions.

There’s additionally the Lease Day Problem, in which you’ll be able to enter to win a free month’s hire by accurately finishing a fill-in-the-blank phrase throughout the day.

Whereas a few of these alternatives don’t provide many factors, they take little or no time to finish, and so they all add up!

7. Bilt factors = American Airways factors

Another excuse to amass factors is as a result of Bilt has American Airways as a switch accomplice — and it’s the one card that does. Since no different card provides factors that switch to American, Bilt is the one technique to get AA factors with out having an AA card.

That is nice information for American Airways loyalists or vacationers with particular journeys in thoughts for which they wish to use AA factors. For instance, I’m at the moment prioritizing my Bilt card as a substitute of my Chase Sapphire, as a result of I would like these AA factors for a visit I’m planning to Japan this yr (AA is a accomplice with Japan Airways).

Along with American Airways, you possibly can switch your Bilt factors on a 1:1 foundation to many different journey companions, together with:

• Air Canada
• Air France
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates
• Hawaiian Airways
• Hyatt
• IHG
• Turkish Airways
• United
• Virgin Atlantic

You can even redeem factors for health lessons, like SoulCycle, Solidcore, Rumble, and Y7, and for objects within the Bilt Assortment, a curated number of artisan residence décor objects. Nonetheless, I’d advise towards this, as redeeming factors for health lessons comes out to round one level per cent — and you will get a a lot better redemption on journey purchases.

8. Bilt provides nice journey safety

Past its points-earning capabilities, Bilt provides strong journey safety, particularly for a no-fee card. Simply understand that it’s essential to ebook journey utilizing the Bilt card in an effort to obtain these advantages. The protections are much like that of different “starter” journey bank cards, just like the Chase Sapphire Most popular.

Listed here are the journey protections that Bilt at the moment provides:

• Journey cancellation safety and interruption protection
• Journey delay reimbursement (for delays of six hours or extra)
• Automotive rental collision protection
• Cellular phone safety (as much as $800 USD)
• No international transaction charges

Click on right here for a full breakdown of rewards and benefits and rates and fees.

Whereas these protections — like that of any card — aren’t an alternative choice to travel insurance (which it’s best to at all times get!), they’re nice perks, and also you get them at no additional value.

All in all, getting the Bilt card is a no brainer for anybody who pays hire within the US, because it’s at the moment the one technique to earn factors at no cost on this vital month-to-month expense.

However, whereas it’s value getting for simply that profit alone, the Bilt card offers a lot of other awesome features that make it even more valuable. The flexibility to switch to American Airways, double factors on Lease Day, new methods to earn extra factors, and a well-rounded roster of journey advantages and protections make the Bilt card greater than worthy of house in your pockets. It’s grow to be certainly one of my favourite playing cards and I discover myself reaching for it rather a lot!