If you happen to’re a Bilt cardholder, examine your e-mail. The renter-favorite rewards program despatched out a survey to get suggestions on potential upcoming adjustments to the Bilt card lineup — and there is loads to be enthusiastic about … particularly if you happen to’ve been hoping for a method to earn rewards whereas paying your mortgage.
When the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees) launched in 2021, it made a splash as the primary card that permits renters to earn rewards on lease (as much as 100,000 factors in a calendar yr) with out paying a bank card processing price. From there, the Bilt Rewards ecosystem has solely grown, with the cardboard now being only one piece of that bigger world.
Trying particularly on the card for now, the prospect to earn points on rent was sufficient to promote plenty of us on it, however that is not all it provides. It has incomes charges much like the fan-favorite Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card which earns transferable journey factors which can be at present tied with Chase Final Rewards as probably the most useful kind of rewards on the market, in accordance with TPG’s February 2025 valuations. The largest distinction? The Bilt Mastercard provides these advantages for no annual price (see rates and fees).
Nonetheless, the Bilt Mastercard has obtained some skepticism in its time on the rewards card scene. With no conventional welcome provide and no possible way for many who do not lease to earn rewards on their housing, some rewards bank card fans merely have not seen the cardboard as worthy of taking over area of their wallets — regardless that the rewards are fairly useful.
Bilt has been listening and dealing to create extra choices for cardholders. And this week, we’re getting a peek into the subsequent step in that course of and the place Bilt’s plans is perhaps heading.
Are the potential adjustments in its card lineup sufficient to make these on the fence soar over, or do they danger alienating those that love the cardboard as it’s? This is what TPG staffers must say in regards to the prospects we noticed within the survey.
Survey overview
This week, Bilt emailed cardholders with a survey about potential features of a future card (or card lineup).
Richard Kerr, the VP of journey at Bilt Rewards, asserts that these survey questions are on no account a promise of a ultimate product.
“I do need to be clear that these usually are not locked in choices, they aren’t finalized, they aren’t inflexible, we’ve not dedicated to those and there might be many, many extra revisions,” he mentioned in an e-mail.
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Nonetheless, there are many speculative adjustments specified by the survey for Bilt members — and people who have been holding out on making use of — to have huge opinions about as they consider what this useful program may be capable to do for them sooner or later.
The survey asks cardholders to decide on between two variations of three completely different card tiers: no-annual-fee, $95 annual price and $550 annual price. Moreover, it asks cardholders to point their most popular rewards classes and card advantages and which playing cards they at present use as their on a regular basis card if it is one apart from Bilt.
TPG staffers tackle Bilt’s survey choices
One in all our favourite pastimes at TPG is to investigate potential adjustments in a bank card or rewards ecosystem. Once we noticed the probabilities outlined in Bilt’s survey, we wasted no time debating the deserves of every possibility and enjoying the function of rewards card advisor for the day.
Mortgage rewards
At TPG, probably the most cited motive for not but holding the Bilt Mastercard is that it does not provide advantages for mortgage holders. Whereas not a assured future card profit, the inclusion of points-earning for mortgages throughout each possibility listed within the survey is a good signal for householders who fork out 1000’s of {dollars} monthly in that spending class.
May we actually be on the cusp of unlocking a great way to earn useful rewards on such an enormous quantity of month-to-month spending? In that case, that can doubtless be one of many greatest tales in rewards currencies of the complete yr. If this might actually occur, the Bilt Rewards program might get dramatically extra attention-grabbing for a lot of within the TPG hallways.
Nonetheless, a few of us are a little bit skeptical of the satan that might lurk in these particulars.
TPG managing editor Erica Silverstein is enthusiastic about getting one of many Bilt playing cards — so long as mortgage holders aren’t charged the processing price. Equally, we’re to see if all mortgages might be eligible to earn rewards or if there might be restrictions equivalent to limitations on eligible mortgage suppliers or necessities of sure tier ranges throughout the Bilt program that can proceed to maintain many from incomes rewards on their mortgage funds in a means that makes monetary sense for them because the cardholder.
Incomes charges
The incomes charges listed on this survey are probably probably the most divisive potential adjustments to Bilt’s card lineup.
Personally, I really like the present incomes construction of three factors per greenback spent on eating and a couple of factors per greenback spent on journey purchases (the cardboard should be used 5 occasions every assertion interval to earn factors; see rewards and benefits), and I used to be upset to not see an choice to preserve these incomes charges on any of the survey choices. Equally, TPG managing editor Madison Blancaflor was upset to see extra restrictive bonus classes within the survey choices, equivalent to limiting eating bonus-earning to Bilt Neighborhood Eating reasonably than normal eating purchases.
One of many no-annual-fee choices consists of an incomes charge of 1.5 factors per greenback for all nonbonus spending, which TPG director of content material Carly Helfand shared she is probably the most enthusiastic about. She at present makes use of her Chase Freedom Unlimited® card to earn 1.5 factors per greenback on nonbonus spending however would favor to earn Bilt Factors at that charge if given the choice since Bilt factors publish to her account faster than her Chase Ultimate Rewards factors.
TPG copy editor Will Gordon loves the thought of incomes 1.25 factors per greenback spent on lease or mortgage funds, which is listed as one of many premium card choices on the survey. Nonetheless, many people would not get sufficient worth from that extra incomes by itself to justify a premium annual price over the 1 level per greenback degree supplied on decrease price playing cards with out getting distinctive worth from different incomes classes.
Associated: The best rewards credit cards for each bonus category
Assertion credit
Each the mid-tier and premium card choices included assertion credit for Bilt Travel lodges, Bilt Health and Walgreens.
For individuals who do not thoughts including to their stack of assertion credit they already want to recollect, the Bilt lodges and Walgreens credit appear straightforward sufficient to redeem. For individuals who have costly prescriptions that they will fill via Walgreens, that credit score may very well be an actual asset.
I’m among the many many cardholders who do not have Bilt Health choices close to me, so I might solely benefit from these credit after I’m touring. This might stop some potential candidates from getting full worth from any of the annual fee card choices.
Hopes and fears
Along with what we see on this survey, many people have hopes and fears about issues that are not straight addressed.
As an illustration, a serious hurdle to justify including the Bilt Mastercard to our wallets has been that it does not include a standard welcome offer. Whereas it appears cheap to hope for one on new playing cards with larger annual charges, Bilt has not formally commented on whether or not a welcome provide is a part of the conceptual plans for these new playing cards. This may very well be a significant factor within the resolution to get any of the brand new Bilt playing cards, particularly on the larger tiers.
Moreover, there isn’t any indication of precisely how the mortgage incomes charge is structured, so it is arduous to peg a real worth on that.
Lastly, would these new merchandise influence any of Bilt Rewards’ present choices? Proper now, you will need to make at the very least 5 purchases a month to earn factors on lease (see rewards and benefits) — would this be up to date with a extra numerous card portfolio? And present cardholders (like me) certain love the present Lease Day promotion that permits us to earn double factors on all purchases on the primary day of the month. If these playing cards do come to market, it’s going to be attention-grabbing to see how they interaction with the present worth proposition of this system.
Associated: Bilt’s Rent Day promotion
Recreation changer or not?
So the query stays: Are these potential adjustments a sport changer for many who have to this point been on Bilt’s sidelines? May the addition of incomes factors on mortgages change into one of many greatest and most fun tales of 2025?
Briefly, it relies upon. In some methods, the potential adjustments outlined within the survey may very well be excellent news for many who are newer to the rewards bank card area and in search of an all-in-one rewards card. The incomes charges at every degree provide a good return for a lot of cardholders, and the advantages outlined seem like comparatively easy.
Nonetheless, the final consensus amongst TPG staffers particularly is that we’d nonetheless go for a no-annual-fee model of the cardboard reasonably than shell out for one of many premium merchandise we noticed within the survey as they had been being offered. Aside from incomes rewards on housing funds, most of us produce other playing cards with comparable or higher incomes charges and advantages, and the urge for food for managing extra assertion credit wasn’t excessive.
Our senior vice chairman of content material Jamie Web page would reasonably see Bilt provide bonus earnings on home-related purchases, equivalent to plumbing or electrician providers, insurance coverage, garden crews and {hardware} shops.
TPG senior director of content material Summer Hull agreed, saying, “What I really need from a Bilt card is one thing completely different you possibly can’t replicate elsewhere … not only a card of a distinct coloration.”
Backside line
Bilt Rewards has achieved some extremely thrilling issues in the previous few years, so there’s plenty of buzz in regards to the potential for that development to proceed and broaden.
However whereas these prospects are enjoyable to think about as Bilt surveys its cardholders about potential new card merchandise, it is too quickly to get too labored up — positively or negatively — about any of them. Bilt has confused that these are removed from ensures, promising solely that future card merchandise will bear a number of revisions. However it’s a nice time to fill out that survey and let Bilt know what you need to see. We’re actually doing the identical over right here.
For extra particulars on the present Bilt card, take a look at our full review of the Bilt Mastercard.
Apply right here: Bilt Mastercard
See Bilt Mastercard charges and charges here.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and advantages here.
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