Should you’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 a lot to be enthusiastic about … particularly in case you’ve been hoping for a technique 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 enables renters to earn rewards on hire (as much as 100,000 factors in a calendar yr) with out paying a bank card processing payment. 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 quite a lot of us on it, however that is not all it presents. It has incomes charges much like the fan-favorite Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card which earns transferable journey factors which might be presently tied with Chase Final Rewards as essentially the most invaluable sort of rewards on the market, based on TPG’s February 2025 valuations. The most important distinction? The Bilt Mastercard presents these advantages for no annual payment (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 individuals who do not hire to earn rewards on their housing, some rewards bank card lovers merely have not seen the cardboard as worthy of taking over house of their wallets — despite the fact that the rewards are fairly invaluable.
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 could be heading.
Are the potential adjustments in its card lineup sufficient to make these on the fence soar over, or do they threat alienating those that love the cardboard as it’s? This is what TPG staffers should say concerning the potentialities 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 closing product.
„I do wish to be clear that these should not locked in choices, they aren’t finalized, they aren’t inflexible, we’ve not dedicated to those and there will likely be many, many extra revisions,“ he mentioned in an e-mail.
Every day E-newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day publication
Be a part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s consultants
Nonetheless, there are many speculative adjustments specified by the survey for Bilt members — and those that have been holding out on making use of — to have huge opinions about as they consider what this invaluable program would possibly be capable to do for them sooner or later.
The survey asks cardholders to decide on between two variations of three totally different card tiers: no-annual-fee, $95 annual payment and $550 annual payment. Moreover, it asks cardholders to point their most well-liked rewards classes and card advantages and which playing cards they presently use as their on a regular basis card if it is one aside from Bilt.
TPG staffers tackle Bilt’s survey choices
Considered one of our favourite pastimes at TPG is to investigate potential adjustments in a bank card or rewards ecosystem. After 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 guide for the day.
Mortgage rewards
At TPG, essentially the most cited purpose 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 superb signal for owners who fork out 1000’s of {dollars} per thirty days in that spending class.
Might we actually be on the cusp of unlocking a great way to earn invaluable rewards on such an enormous quantity of month-to-month spending? If that’s the case, that can seemingly be one of many greatest tales in rewards currencies of the complete yr. If this might actually occur, the Bilt Rewards program may get dramatically extra attention-grabbing for a lot of within the TPG hallways.
Nonetheless, a few of us are a bit skeptical of the satan that would lurk in these particulars.
TPG managing editor Erica Silverstein is desirous about getting one of many Bilt playing cards — so long as mortgage holders aren’t charged the processing payment. Equally, we’re to see if all mortgages will likely be eligible to earn rewards or if there will likely be restrictions reminiscent of limitations on eligible mortgage suppliers or necessities of sure tier ranges inside 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 essentially 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 have to be used 5 occasions every assertion interval to earn factors; see rewards and benefits), and I used to be disenchanted to not see an choice to preserve these incomes charges on any of the survey choices. Equally, TPG managing editor Madison Blancaflor was disenchanted to see extra restrictive bonus classes within the survey choices, reminiscent of limiting eating bonus-earning to Bilt Neighborhood Eating quite than basic eating purchases.
One of many no-annual-fee choices consists of an incomes price of 1.5 factors per greenback for all nonbonus spending, which TPG director of content material Carly Helfand shared she is essentially the most enthusiastic about. She presently 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 price if given the choice since Bilt factors put up 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 hire 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 further incomes by itself to justify a premium annual payment over the 1 level per greenback degree supplied on decrease payment 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 resorts, Bilt Health and Walgreens.
For individuals who do not thoughts including to their stack of assertion credit they already want to recollect, the Bilt resorts and Walgreens credit appear straightforward sufficient to redeem. For individuals who have costly prescriptions that they will fill by means of Walgreens, that credit score might be an actual asset.
I’m among the many many cardholders who do not have Bilt Health choices close to me, so I may 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 instantly addressed.
As an example, a serious hurdle to justify including the Bilt Mastercard to our wallets has been that it does not include a conventional welcome offer. Whereas it appears cheap to hope for one on new playing cards with greater 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 might be a significant factor within the choice to get any of the brand new Bilt playing cards, particularly on the greater tiers.
Moreover, there isn’t any indication of precisely how the mortgage incomes price is structured, so it is onerous 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 a minimum of 5 purchases a month to earn factors on hire (see rewards and benefits) — would this be up to date with a extra various card portfolio? And present cardholders (like me) positive love the present Hire Day promotion that enables us to earn double factors on all purchases on the primary day of the month. If these playing cards do come to market, it will 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 recreation changer for individuals who have so far been on Bilt’s sidelines? Might the addition of incomes factors on mortgages turn out to be one of many greatest and most enjoyable tales of 2025?
Briefly, it relies upon. In some methods, the potential adjustments outlined within the survey might be excellent news for individuals who are newer to the rewards bank card house and on the lookout for 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 simple.
Nonetheless, the final consensus amongst TPG staffers particularly is that we’d nonetheless go for a no-annual-fee model of the cardboard quite 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 related 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 quite see Bilt provide bonus earnings on home-related purchases, reminiscent of plumbing or electrician providers, insurance coverage, garden crews and {hardware} shops.
TPG senior director of content material Summer Hull agreed, saying, „What I actually need from a Bilt card is one thing totally different you’ll be able to’t replicate elsewhere … not only a card of a unique colour.“
Backside line
Bilt Rewards has accomplished some extremely thrilling issues in the previous couple of years, so there’s quite a lot of buzz concerning the potential for that development to proceed and develop.
However whereas these potentialities 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 burdened 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 wish to see. We’re definitely 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 costs here.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and advantages here.
Trending Merchandise
