The Bilt Mastercard® lets you earn valuable travel rewards on rent payments without fees while offering bonus points on dining and travel purchases. This no-annual-fee card stands out for its unique rent payment feature and strong travel benefits like rental car coverage and trip protection.
This credit card review will cover everything you need to know about this card to determine if you should add this card or a different card to your wallet. Let's dive right in.
Welcome Bonus for the Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard® stands out in an interesting way when it comes to welcome bonuses. Unlike most rewards credit cards, you won’t find a traditional sign-up bonus offering a set number of points after meeting a spending requirement.
The card makes up for this by offering unique bonuses in other ways. Many new cardholders receive an email offering 5x points on all purchases up to $10,000 within the first five days of card membership – potentially netting you 50,000 Bilt points right off the bat.
Earning Points with the Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard® earns the following rewards when you have at least five posted transactions per billing cycle:
- 5 points per dollar on Lyft purchases.
- 3 points per dollar on dining.
- 2 points per dollar on travel purchases.
- 1 point per dollar on rent payments without any transaction fees, up to a limit of 100,000 points per year.
- 1 point per dollar on everything else.
The rewards structure on this card offers solid value for dining and travel purchases, making it competitive with premium travel cards despite having no annual fee.
While the 1x earning on everyday spending is relatively low, the unique ability to earn points on rent payments without any transaction fees provides significant potential value that no other card can match.
The monthly double points promotion on Rent Day adds an interesting optimization opportunity but requires careful planning to maximize value.
For non-renters, other transferable points cards might offer better everyday earning rates through higher multipliers across more bonus categories.
Annual Fee for the Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard® has no annual fee for both primary cardholders and authorized users, making it one of the best no-fee cards available.
Despite having no annual fee, the card comes with premium benefits like rental car coverage, cell phone protection up to $800, and trip protection benefits that rival cards with high annual fees.
Benefits of the Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard® offers nice benefits for a no annual fee card, including:
Primary Rental Car Insurance: When you rent a car and pay with this card, you’ll receive comprehensive coverage including damage and theft protection. Simply decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver and charge the entire rental to your card to activate coverage. This insurance covers damage, theft, and valid loss-of-use charges worldwide.
Cell Phone Protection: When you use your card to pay your monthly phone bill, you’ll receive valuable coverage against damage or theft of your device.
Trip Delay Insurance: When your trip is significantly delayed due to covered reasons like equipment failures or severe weather, this protection reimburses you for reasonable expenses including lodging, meals, toiletries, and medication. The coverage activates when you pay for travel with your card and extends to family members on the same itinerary, though you’ll need to seek reimbursement from the travel carrier first.
90-Day Purchase Protection: Your new purchases are covered against damage and theft for 90 days when you use your card. This protection helps safeguard your eligible items right from the moment you buy them.
Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: This protection reimburses you for non-refundable, prepaid travel expenses if you need to cancel before departure or cut your trip short due to covered situations like severe illness or weather events. Coverage activates when you pay for your trip with the card, but it’s important to note that reimbursement only applies for specific covered reasons rather than any cancellation.
Referral Program: Earn 2,500 Bilt points for each friend who gets approved for the Bilt Mastercard using your referral link, plus receive a 10,000-point bonus for every fifth successful referral. You can earn rewards for up to 50 total referrals, meaning significant earning potential through sharing the card with friends and family.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money on every purchase while traveling internationally since this card doesn’t add the typical 3% surcharge that many other cards impose.
Redeem Points with the Bilt Mastercard
Bilt points are one of the most flexible rewards currencies out there, and the best way to use them is by transferring to airline and hotel partners. Bilt works with 24 programs total, covering 17 airlines and seven hotel brands, and most transfers land in your account within minutes.
Here are the current transfer partners:
Accor (3 to 2), Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air France-KLM, Atmos (Alaska + Hawaiian), Avianca, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, Hilton, Iberia, IHG, Japan Airlines, Marriott, Preferred Hotels (1 to 2), Qatar Airways, Southwest, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Red, World of Hyatt, Wyndham
A few of these partners deserve special attention. Alaska's Atmos Rewards is a standout, since it's not offered by any other major transferable currency, and it opens up sweet spot redemptions on American Airlines and other oneworld partners. World of Hyatt is another favorite, and it's otherwise only available through Chase Ultimate Rewards, so Bilt gives you a second path to those points. Emirates Skywards and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank round out the list of partners you won't find elsewhere among the big transferable currencies.
Watch for Bilt's monthly Rent Day promotions too. These often include transfer bonuses of 50% or more to select partners, and they can make an already strong redemption even better.
If travel partners aren't your thing, Bilt still gives you solid options. You can redeem points toward a home down payment at 1.5 cents each, which is a rare perk among rewards programs. The Bilt Travel Portal lets you book flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities at 1.25 cents per point.
Steer clear of using points for rent, Amazon purchases, or fitness classes. Those redemptions typically max out around 1 cent per point or less, which is a fraction of what you can get through transfers.
Pros and Cons of Bilt Mastercard
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of this card:Pros:
Rent Rewards Earning: The only card that lets you earn points on rent payments without transaction fees, making it highly valuable for renters looking to maximize rewards on their largest monthly expense.
Strong Transfer Partners: Offers valuable 1:1 point transfers to top travel programs including World of Hyatt, United Airlines, and Air France/KLM Flying Blue, providing excellent flexibility for travel redemptions.
Travel Protections: Impressive suite of travel insurance benefits for a no-annual-fee card, including trip delay coverage, rental car insurance, and trip cancellation/interruption protection.
Monthly Rent Day Bonuses: Offers double points on most purchases on the first of each month during Bilt Rent Day, plus special monthly promotions like transfer bonuses, adding significant potential value.
Cons:
No Traditional Welcome Bonus: Unlike most rewards cards, there’s no standard sign-up bonus for new cardholders, reducing the initial value proposition.
Five Transaction Requirement: Must make at least 5 purchases per statement period to earn any points, including on rent payments, adding complexity to card management.
Point Earning Cap on Rent: Limited to earning 100,000 points per calendar year from rent payments, which could be restrictive for those with high rent payments.
Limited Value for Non-Renters: While the card offers decent earning rates on dining and travel, non-renters miss out on the card’s primary benefit of earning points on rent payments, making other no-annual-fee cards potentially more rewarding for their spending patterns.
Is the Bilt Mastercard Worth It?
I strongly recommend getting the Bilt Mastercard® since it’s the only card that lets you earn valuable rewards points on rent payments without any transaction fees, making your largest monthly expense work harder for you.
The 3x points on dining and 2x on travel are great everyday earning rates, but the real magic happens when you transfer these points to partners like World of Hyatt or use them during the monthly “Rent Day” promotions that offer double points on most purchases.
While there’s no traditional welcome bonus, the card makes up for it with premium benefits like rental car coverage, cell phone protection, and trip delay insurance – features usually reserved for cards with high annual fees.
You’ll need to make at least five purchases each statement period to earn points, but that’s a small requirement considering you’re getting valuable travel rewards on rent payments that would typically earn nothing.
As someone who pays rent myself, I can tell you that watching those points add up each month from your rent payment (up to 100,000 points per year) feels great, especially when you can turn them into aspirational travel experiences through Bilt’s transfer partners.
Apply Now: Bilt Mastercard®.
