If the primary week of 2026 is an indicator, this yr is shaping as much as be an thrilling and undoubtedly not-at-all boring trip on the subject of the realm of bank card rewards, loyalty applications and how one can maximize them.
Since final yr, Bilt Rewards has teased three upcoming card additions to its portfolio and, most notably, confirmed that cardholders can use the Bilt Card 2.0 to earn Bilt Factors on eligible mortgage funds.
Other than that, particulars surrounding the particular advantages (and even the names of the brand new playing cards) have been scarce … effectively, till rumors leaked on every of the three playing cards.
Whereas TPG doesn’t usually dive into Reddit-fueled rumor mills, as somebody who hopes to make this the yr I totally immerse myself within the Bilt Rewards ecosystem to begin maximizing on my largest life expense, my mortgage, I couldn’t resist taking a peek.
On the Bilt Rewards Reddit thread, some rumored details have trickled out concerning the new Bilt playing cards, together with incomes bonus buildings, welcome presents and card advantages.
What we all know for positive concerning the Bilt 2.0 playing cards
Earlier than we dive into the rumors, there’s some info that Bilt Rewards has confirmed, together with:
- There will be three new Bilt credit cards that shall be issued by Cardless as a substitute of Wells Fargo (the Bilt Mastercard® issuer).
- The playing cards may have the next annual payment value factors: a no-annual-fee card, a $95 per yr card and a $495 per yr card.
- The playing cards will earn factors on eligible residential mortgage funds along with hire, which has been part of this system since its inception.
- Particulars across the three new playing cards shall be revealed Jan. 14, as will the preorder course of for the playing cards for present Bilt cardholders.
- Current Bilt cardmembers who choose into one of many new playing cards will hold the identical card quantity, not expertise a tough credit score pull and have the brand new card in hand by Feb. 6.
- Those that hold (and do not preorder or shut) their authentic Bilt Mastercard shall be transformed right into a Wells Fargo Autograph® Card (see rates and fees).
- The Bilt 2.0 playing cards will grow to be accessible for brand new candidates Feb. 7.
So, with only a week off from having all the main points, a bit rumor indulging will be enjoyable each every now and then, so let’s now flip to that aspect of the equation.
The data for the Bilt Mastercard has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
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What’s rumored to be true concerning the Bilt 2.0 playing cards
If the Reddit rumors are true, the three Bilt 2.0 playing cards might look one thing like this:
Bilt Blue Card
- $0 annual payment
- Welcome bonus: $100 Bilt Money
- Incomes construction: 1 level per greenback spent on hire, mortgage and on a regular basis spending
- 4% Bilt Money awarded on on a regular basis spending; you need to use Bilt Money to waive hire and mortgage cost transaction charges
- No international transaction charges
Bilt Obsidian Card
- $95 annual payment
- Welcome bonus: $200 Bilt Money
- Incomes construction: 3 factors per greenback spent on eating or groceries (as much as $25,000 per yr), 2 factors per greenback spent on journey and 1 level per greenback spent on hire, mortgage and on a regular basis spending
- 4% Bilt Money awarded on on a regular basis spending; you need to use Bilt Money to waive hire and mortgage cost transaction charges
- $100 annual Bilt Journey lodge credit score ($50 accessible biannually)
- Cellphone safety
Bilt Palladium Card
- $495 annual payment
- Welcome bonus: 50,000 Bilt factors plus Gold elite standing after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months; $300 in Bilt Money
- Incomes construction: 2 factors per greenback spent on on a regular basis spending and 1 level per greenback spent on hire and mortgage funds.
- 4% Bilt Money awarded on on a regular basis spending; you need to use the Bilt Money to waive hire and mortgage cost transaction charges
- $400 in annual Bilt Journey lodge credit score ($200 accessible biannually)
- $200 in Bilt Money awarded yearly
- Priority Pass membership
The data for the Bilt Blue, the Bilt Obsidian and the Bilt Palladium has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
In response to the Reddit thread, there are a number of variations of the rumored playing cards, all sourced, it seems, from a code on Bilt’s web site. Nevertheless, the main points above are the principle variations shared within the thread.
If these card particulars are largely true, they indicate that each one three card tiers will award 4% Bilt Money on on a regular basis purchases (plus some further Bilt Money bonuses) and that you may be paying transaction charges with all three playing cards when making housing funds, which will be offset with that Bilt Money.
Associated: Should you pay your rent with Bilt? We crunch the numbers
My ideas on the worth of the Bilt 2.0 playing cards (if the rumors are true)
Primarily based on the thread of Reddit feedback, plus understanding how many individuals beloved the fee-free hire transactions on the previous Bilt card, I am betting that if these rumors are grounded in fact, this shall be met, at the very least initially, with some pearl-clutching and even flat-out disappointment on the subject of housing funds not being as simply fee-free as they have been earlier than.
Given the economics of this, I had already assumed that the worth proposition could be altering in a Bilt Card 2.0 world, so I’m not personally within the camp of disappointment. That stated, I had hoped that on the higher-tier card degree, there could be some degree of fee-free housing funds included — however we’ll come again to that.
In case you used your Bilt Mastercard to pay your month-to-month hire, making at the very least 5 transactions per thirty days and probably incomes as much as 100,000 Bilt factors on hire per yr, these rumors most likely aren’t nice information.
However personally, as somebody able to go fairly all-in on Bilt, I’ve a special perspective.
I need to earn a number of Bilt Rewards factors. That is as a result of they’re essentially the most invaluable rewards forex on the market, they usually switch to applications I am personally low-key obsessive about. This consists of World of Hyatt and Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, simply to call a pair. I need to earn Bilt factors on extra than simply my month-to-month mortgage cost and thus do not view “having” to make use of the cardboard extra to get fee-free housing funds as an inherently horrible factor.
That is very true as a result of if the rumors about incomes 2 factors per greenback spent on the whole lot with the premium-tier card are true, then that is fairly phenomenal since TPG values Bilt factors at 2.2 cents apiece per our January 2026 valuations. That is a 4.4% return on spending earlier than you issue within the 4% Bilt Money earned on on a regular basis spending, which can assist offset the housing cost transaction charges.
To place it one other method, if I exploit my Bilt card every month to pay for $3,000 price of on a regular basis bills that I am largely not getting bonus earnings for at the moment anyway, equivalent to child dance and gymnastics courses, physician’s appointments, veterinary payments and insurance coverage, with the Palladium Card charges, I’d earn probably earn 6,000 Bilt factors per thirty days on these prices at 2 factors per greenback spent.
Presuming that now earns me sufficient Bilt Money to offset charges on making my $3,000-ish month-to-month mortgage cost every month with the cardboard, that is one other 3,000 factors earned that I am not incomes in any respect proper now, as the cardboard will reportedly earn 1 level per greenback spent on eligible mortgages.
So, this might probably be 9,000 factors per thirty days earned on $3,000 in spending, not factoring within the Bilt Money, which presumably makes the mortgage cost charges “free.” You possibly can name that 3 factors per greenback in spending when you wished to and probably not be flawed.
Sure, there is a $495 annual payment on the higher-tier card, however I am not nervous about that in any respect the primary yr with the rumored welcome bonus and sure will not be too nervous past that because of the alleged lodge assertion credit and Bilt Money the cardboard comes with, assuming the principles to make use of these aren’t too restrictive. In any case, that is a future drawback, and I might all the time determine to go together with the mid-tier card if I wasn’t popping out on prime, although I think I’ll.
Backside line
Whereas a lot of this Bilt Card 2.0 info stays speculative, it appears logical sufficient to investigate nonetheless.
Bilt Rewards presents essentially the most invaluable factors on the market proper now, and additionally it is essentially the most revolutionary loyalty program in my opinion on the subject of journey bookings, switch bonuses and one-of-a-kind choices like Lease Day. I’ve lived on the fringes of Bilt for years, ready for the day that mortgage funds give me a motive to dive in. And even when it seems that I’ve to earn some Bilt Money to make these funds “free,” I am nonetheless very a lot a participant.
However keep tuned, as we must always have all of the intel in only one extra week.
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