Should you’re a Bilt cardholder, examine your electronic 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 lots to be enthusiastic about … particularly for those who’ve been hoping for a option to earn rewards whereas paying your mortgage.
When the Bilt Mastercard® (see charges and costs) launched in 2021, it made a splash as the primary card that permits renters to earn rewards on hire (as much as 100,000 factors in a calendar 12 months) with out paying a bank card processing charge. 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 factors on hire was sufficient to promote a variety of us on it, however that is not all it affords. It has incomes charges just like the fan-favorite Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card which earns transferable journey factors which might be at present tied with Chase Final Rewards as probably the most helpful sort of rewards on the market, in response to TPG’s February 2025 valuations. The most important distinction? The Bilt Mastercard affords these advantages for no annual charge (see charges and costs).
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 hire to earn rewards on their housing, some rewards bank card lovers merely have not seen the cardboard as worthy of taking on house of their wallets — regardless that 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 following 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 bounce over, or do they threat alienating those that love the cardboard as it’s? Here is what TPG staffers must say concerning the potentialities we noticed within the survey.
Survey overview
This week, Bilt emailed cardholders with a survey about potential points of a future card (or card lineup).
Richard Kerr, the VP of journey at Bilt Rewards, asserts that these survey questions are by no means a promise of a last product.
“I do need to be clear that these are usually not locked in choices, they aren’t finalized, they aren’t inflexible, we have now not dedicated to those and there might be many, many extra revisions,” he stated in an electronic 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 large opinions about as they consider what this helpful program may be capable of 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 charge and $550 annual charge. Moreover, it asks cardholders to point their most well-liked 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 among 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 choice and enjoying the function of rewards card guide for the day.
Mortgage rewards
At TPG, probably the most cited cause 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 good signal for owners who fork out hundreds of {dollars} per 30 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? In that case, that may probably be one of many greatest tales in rewards currencies of your complete 12 months. 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 somewhat skeptical of the satan that might lurk in these particulars.
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 pair of factors per greenback spent on journey purchases (the cardboard should be used 5 occasions every assertion interval to earn factors; see rewards and advantages), and I used to be disillusioned to not see an choice to hold these incomes charges on any of the survey choices. Equally, TPG managing editor Madison Blancaflor was disillusioned to see extra restrictive bonus classes within the survey choices, equivalent to limiting eating bonus-earning to Bilt Neighborhood Eating relatively than common eating purchases.
One of many no-annual-fee choices contains an incomes price 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 Limitless® 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 Final 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 charge over the 1 level per greenback degree provided on decrease charge playing cards with out getting distinctive worth from different incomes classes.
Associated: The very best rewards bank cards for every bonus class
Assertion credit
Each the mid-tier and premium card choices included assertion credit for Bilt Journey inns, Bilt Health and Walgreens.
For individuals who do not thoughts including to their stack of assertion credit they already want to recollect, the Bilt inns and Walgreens credit appear simple sufficient to redeem. For individuals who have costly prescriptions that they’ll 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 once I’m touring. This might forestall some potential candidates from getting full worth from any of the annual charge card choices.
Hopes and fears
Along with what we see on this survey, many people have hopes and fears about issues that are not immediately addressed.
For example, a serious hurdle to justify including the Bilt Mastercard to our wallets has been that it does not include a conventional welcome supply. 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 supply 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 affect any of Bilt Rewards’ present choices? Proper now, it’s essential to make no less than 5 purchases a month to earn factors on hire (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 Hire 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 Hire Day promotion
Sport changer or not?
So the query stays: Are these potential adjustments a sport changer for individuals who have up to now been on Bilt’s sidelines? May the addition of incomes factors on mortgages grow to be one of many greatest and most fun tales of 2025?
In brief, 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 in search of an all-in-one rewards card. The incomes charges at every degree supply an honest return for a lot of cardholders, and the advantages outlined seem like comparatively easy.
Nevertheless, the final consensus amongst TPG staffers particularly is that we might 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 had been being offered. Apart 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 relatively see Bilt supply bonus earnings on home-related purchases, equivalent to plumbing or electrician companies, insurance coverage, garden crews and {hardware} shops.
TPG senior director of content material Summer season 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 accomplished some extremely thrilling issues in the previous few years, so there’s a variety of buzz concerning the potential for that pattern to proceed and increase.
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 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 definitely doing the identical over right here.
For extra particulars on the present Bilt card, take a look at our full assessment of the Bilt Mastercard.
Apply right here: Bilt Mastercard
See Bilt Mastercard charges and costs right here.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and advantages right here.
