For those who’re a Bilt cardholder, test your e-mail. The renter-favorite rewards program despatched out a survey to get suggestions on potential upcoming modifications 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 charges and charges) 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.
Wanting particularly on the card for now, the prospect to earn factors on lease was sufficient to promote lots of us on it, however that is not all it affords. It has incomes charges much like the fan-favorite Chase Sapphire Most well-liked® Card which earns transferable journey factors which might be at the moment tied with Chase Final Rewards as essentially the most helpful sort of rewards on the market, in keeping with TPG’s February 2025 valuations. The most important distinction? The Bilt Mastercard affords these advantages for no annual price (see charges and charges).
Nonetheless, the Bilt Mastercard has acquired some skepticism in its time on the rewards card scene. With no conventional welcome supply and no possible way for individuals 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 house of their wallets — although the rewards are fairly helpful.
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 may be heading.
Are the attainable modifications in its card lineup sufficient to make these on the fence leap over, or do they danger alienating those that love the cardboard as it’s? This is what TPG staffers need to say in regards to the potentialities we noticed within the survey.
Survey overview
This week, Bilt emailed cardholders with a survey about attainable elements 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 need to be clear that these usually are not locked in choices, they aren’t finalized, they aren’t inflexible, we have now not dedicated to those and there can be many, many extra revisions,” he mentioned in an e-mail.
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Nonetheless, there are many speculative modifications 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 give thought to what this helpful program would possibly have the ability 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 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 the moment use as their on a regular basis card if it is one aside from Bilt.
TPG staffers tackle Bilt’s survey choices
One among our favourite pastimes at TPG is to investigate potential modifications in a bank card or rewards ecosystem. Once we noticed the chances outlined in Bilt’s survey, we wasted no time debating the deserves of every choice and taking part in the function of rewards card guide for the day.
Mortgage rewards
At TPG, essentially the most cited motive for not but holding the Bilt Mastercard is that it does not supply advantages for mortgage holders. Whereas not a assured future card profit, the inclusion of points-earning for mortgages throughout each choice listed within the survey is a superb signal for householders who fork out 1000’s of {dollars} per thirty days in that spending class.
May we actually be on the cusp of unlocking a great way to earn helpful rewards on such an enormous quantity of month-to-month spending? If that’s the case, that can seemingly be one of many largest tales in rewards currencies of your 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 slightly skeptical of the satan that would lurk in these particulars.
Incomes charges
The incomes charges listed on this survey are probably essentially the most divisive potential modifications to Bilt’s card lineup.
Personally, I really like the present incomes construction of three factors per greenback spent on eating and a pair of factors per greenback spent on journey purchases (the cardboard should be used 5 instances every assertion interval to earn factors; see rewards and advantages), and I used to be dissatisfied to not see an choice to preserve these incomes charges on any of the survey choices. Equally, TPG managing editor Madison Blancaflor was dissatisfied to see extra restrictive bonus classes within the survey choices, akin to limiting eating bonus-earning to Bilt Neighborhood Eating relatively than normal eating purchases.
One of many no-annual-fee choices consists of an incomes fee 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 at the moment makes use of her Chase Freedom Limitless® card to earn 1.5 factors per greenback on nonbonus spending however would like to earn Bilt Factors at that fee if given the choice since Bilt factors submit to her account faster than her Chase Final 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 stage provided on decrease price playing cards with out getting distinctive worth from different incomes classes.
Associated: The most effective rewards bank cards for every bonus class
Assertion credit
Each the mid-tier and premium card choices included assertion credit for Bilt Journey accommodations, Bilt Health and Walgreens.
For many who do not thoughts including to their stack of assertion credit they already want to recollect, the Bilt accommodations and Walgreens credit appear straightforward sufficient to redeem. For many who have costly prescriptions that they’ll fill by way of Walgreens, that credit score might be an actual asset.
I’m among the many many cardholders who haven’t got Bilt Health choices close to me, so I might solely benefit from these credit after I’m touring. This might forestall some potential candidates from getting full worth from any of the annual price 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.
For example, a serious hurdle to justify including the Bilt Mastercard to our wallets has been that it does not include a standard welcome supply. 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 supply is a part of the conceptual plans for these new playing cards. This might be a significant factor within the determination 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 fee is structured, so it is laborious to peg a real worth on that.
Lastly, would these new merchandise affect any of Bilt Rewards’ present choices? Proper now, you should make at the very least 5 purchases a month to earn factors on lease (see rewards and advantages) — would this be up to date with a extra various card portfolio? And current cardholders (like me) positive 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 Lease Day promotion
Recreation changer or not?
So the query stays: Are these potential modifications a sport changer for individuals who have so far been on Bilt’s sidelines? May the addition of incomes factors on mortgages turn out to be one of many largest and most fun tales of 2025?
In brief, it relies upon. In some methods, the attainable modifications outlined within the survey might be excellent news for individuals who are newer to the rewards bank card house and searching for an all-in-one rewards card. The incomes charges at every stage supply an honest return for a lot of cardholders, and the advantages outlined seem like comparatively simple.
Nonetheless, the overall consensus amongst TPG staffers particularly is that we’d nonetheless go for a no-annual-fee model of the cardboard relatively than shell out for one of many premium merchandise we noticed within the survey as they have 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 relatively see Bilt supply bonus earnings on home-related purchases, akin to plumbing or electrician companies, insurance coverage, garden crews and {hardware} shops.
TPG senior director of content material Summer time Hull agreed, saying, “What I really need from a Bilt card is one thing totally different you may’t replicate elsewhere … not only a card of a distinct colour.”
Backside line
Bilt Rewards has performed some extremely thrilling issues in the previous couple of years, so there’s lots of buzz in regards to the potential for that pattern to proceed and broaden.
However whereas these potentialities are enjoyable to contemplate 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 harassed 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 definitely doing the identical over right here.
For extra particulars on the present Bilt card, take a look at our full evaluate of the Bilt Mastercard.
Apply right here: Bilt Mastercard
See Bilt Mastercard charges and charges right here.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and advantages right here.
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