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:
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 fees provides significant value for renters.
For non-renters, other transferable points cards might offer better everyday earning rates through higher multipliers across more bonus categories.
The monthly double points promotion on Bilt Rent Day adds an interesting optimization opportunity but requires careful planning to maximize value.
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 offer versatile redemption options, with transfers to airline and hotel partners standing out as the most valuable. The program offers 18 transfer partners, including thirteen airline and five hotel loyalty programs. Notable partners include Alaska Airlines, Iberia, Turkish, and World of Hyatt, providing unique opportunities for premium travel experiences. For those seeking flexibility, the Bilt Travel Portal allows point redemptions at 1.25 cents per point for flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities. A distinctive feature is the ability to use points towards a home down payment at 1.5 cents per point, catering to renters looking to transition to homeownership. While other redemption options exist, such as Amazon purchases, fitness classes, and rent payments, these offer lower value and are not recommended for maximizing point value. Keep an eye out for Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions and transfer bonuses, which can provide exceptional value, especially for those with Bilt elite status. These promotions have offered bonuses of up to 150% to select partners, making them prime opportunities for point transfers.
Bilt Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Accor [3 to 2]
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Aer Lingus
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Air Canada
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Air France/KLM
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Alaska Airlines
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Avianca LifeMiles
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British Airways
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Cathay Pacific
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Emirates
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Hawaiian
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Hyatt Hotels
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Iberia
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IHG Hotels
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Marriott
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TAP Portugal
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Turkish
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Virgin Atlantic
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United
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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.
Alternatives to Bilt Mastercard
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) is one of the most popular travel rewards cards because it offers nice welcome bonus and extra points on travel and dining, which can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed directly for travel at a rate of 1.25 cents per point through Chase Travel℠. The Sapphire Preferred also offers great travel and purchase protections for a card with a $95 annual fee. Welcome Bonus: bonus_miles_full Earning Rewards: 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2x points on all other travel purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Card Benefits: Ability to transfer to airline and hotel partners, 25% bonus when redeeming points through Chase Travel, $50 annual hotel stay credit via Chase Travel, 10% anniversary points bonus, no foreign transaction fees, primary rental car insurance, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty. Transfer Partners: Aer Lingus, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways, Emirates, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Hyatt, IHG, Iberia, JetBlue, Marriott, Singapore KrisFlyer, Southwest, United, and Virgin Atlantic.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) sets itself apart with 1.5% back on non-bonus purchases, plus higher rewards in select categories including dining and travel. This flexible rewards card becomes even more valuable when paired with a premium Chase card, allowing you to transfer your rewards to travel partners. Welcome Bonus: bonus_miles_full Earning Cash Back: 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3% back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services; 3% back on drugstore purchases; 1.5% back on all other purchases CaBenefits: Purchase protection, extended warranty, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, secondary rental car insurance, and 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, after that reg_apr,reg_apr_type APR applies; 
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) delivers both everyday value with unlimited 2x miles on purchases and premium comfort through comprehensive airport lounge access for you upon enrollment. You’ll also receive $300 in annual travel credits plus 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, creating substantial ongoing value. Welcome Bonus: bonus_miles_full Earning Rewards: 10x miles on hotels and rental cars and 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel; 2x miles on all other purchases. Card Benefits: $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary, airport lounge access (Capital One and Priority Pass) upon enrollment, Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit, Hertz President’s Circle elite status, primary rental car insurance, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and cell phone protection. Transfer Partners: Accor (2 to 1), Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Choice Privileges, Emirates, Etihad, Finnair, I Prefer Hotels (1 to 2), Japan Airlines(2 to 1.5), JetBlue (5 to 3), Qantas, Qatar, Singapore KrisFlyer, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Red, and Wyndham Rewards.
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®.
