Earlier this year Bilt Rewards launched. Bilt is really two things: a platform for paying rent & a credit card. Bilt has made a number of positive changes and are as follows:
Card changes
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 1x on rent payments with no fees (on up to $50,000 in rent payments every year) and all other purchases
- 2x points on travel (when booked directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise
company) - 3x points on dining
- You must make a minimum of five purchases per month to earn rewards
Loyalty changes
- Earn Interest on Points (Silver, Gold, Platinum). This is based on the FDIC national savings rate.
- Bilt’s Homeownership Concierge (Gold, Platinum). If you use your points towards home loan down payment you get a dedicated concierge to guide you through the process
- Bonus Points on New Leases or Renewals (Silver, Gold, Platinum). Up to 50% bonus points on top of points issued by landlords to
members for signing for new tenant leases and lease renewal. - Complimentary Bilt Collection Gift. When you reach Platinum status you get a complimentary gift from the Bilt collection.
- Status is now earned at the following tiers:
- Blue: base status
- Silver: 25,000 points earned
- Gold: 50,000 points earned
- Platinum: 100,000 points earned
Rewards changes
- IHG has been added as a 1:1 transfer partner
Our Verdict
The IHG addition is a bit of a nothing as the other transfer partners are significantly better. Simplifying elite status and earning rates is a good idea as before the program was far too convoluted. My main issue with Bilt still remains unresolved as there is no guarantee that your rent payment will arrive on time and that has been an issue with other similar rent payment systems in the past. Bilt has just raised $60 million
