Bilt Mastercard review: Still worthy for renters and future homebuyers
A unique card that helps you pay rent, earn rewards and skip the transaction fees.
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Snapshot
4.0
Bottom line
This card is great for earning Bilt Points on paying your rent without transaction fees (up to 100,000 points per calendar year). For maximum value, spend in high-earning bonus categories during the Rent Day promotion and transfer points to one of Bilt’s many partners.
Best for renters
Intro offer
N/A
Rewards rate
1x - 3x
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
See Terms
4.1
Cardholder rating
Extra perks
Online tools
Customer service
Intro APR length
4.0
Bankrate score
Rewards value
APR
Rewards flexibility
Features
Why you'll like this: Renters can pay their rent without processing fees while earning rewards.
Reward Details
Card Details
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Bilt Mastercard® overview
The Bilt Mastercard® is the only card that lets you pay rent without a transaction fee, and it has, in my opinion, the best travel transfer partners of any card (including heavy hitters like Alaska and World of Hyatt). I picked it up a few years ago to earn points on rent payments and take advantage of the card's other benefits. It's still a hot commodity, although the earning rates and monthly promotions have become less exciting compared to other cards that have entered the market since then.
For example, the monthly Rent Day now has a limit of 1,000 bonus points, where it used to be uncapped — and you need elite status in Bilt's program to get the best promotions, which requires a lot of spending and isn't really worthwhile.
In addition to transfer partners, you can redeem your points for travel, fitness, future rent payments or saving for a down payment, so renters and frequent travelers who want to minimize living costs may find the Bilt card enticing. There's no welcome offer, but depending on your rent amount, you could save some serious cash on various transaction fees and rack up a healthy amount of points over the course of a year.
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Rewards
- 3X points on dining
- 2X points on travel
- 1X points on rent payments (up to a maximum 100,000 points per calendar year)
- 1X points on other eligible purchases
- Use the card five times each statement period to earn points. (See Rewards & Benefits)
- Earn a flat 250 points on rent when you use your Bilt Mastercard to pay rent through the Bilt app if your rent payment is less than $250.
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- No annual fee
- Regular APR: See terms
- No foreign transaction fee
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Earn double points, up to 1,000 bonus points, on the first of every month. (Use your card five times each statement period to earn points. See Rewards & Benefits.)
- Trip cancellation and interruption protection
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- Lyft credits (available until January 31, 2026)
- Cellular telephone protection (up to $800, subject to $25 deductible, two paid claims per year, see Guide to Benefits)
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
Bilt Mastercard pros and cons
Pros
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You can earn points on rent without worrying about transaction fees eating into your rewards (up to 100,000 points per calendar year).
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Rent Day promotions offer solid boosts to earning rates.
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You can fund your next trip by transferring your points to one of 19 hotel or airline partners.
Cons
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Competing travel and cash back cards offer better bonus rewards rates all the time as opposed to one day per month.
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The lack of a welcome offer gives the card poor short-term value compared to the top rewards cards.
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Renters with fair or bad credit who could benefit the most from this card are unlikely to be approved since the card requires good to excellent credit.
First-year value vs. ongoing value
There's no welcome offer with the Bilt Mastercard, so that won't affect your value calculations. What might be a factor, though, is the elite status you can earn in your first year. If you earn it, you'll get the benefit of increased offers for Rent Day transfer bonuses and other offers — and whether that's an ongoing value is entirely subjective.
Personally, I just use the card for rent and the required five monthly transactions. Even with this light approach, I've managed to earn elite status. Unfortunately, I haven't found elite status too meaningful. Whether you'll find it useful depends on the amount of your rent, how much you like the card perks and if the monthly offers match your interests.
If Bilt has an especially valuable promotion, that might sway me. But for now, the main value is the transaction fee-free rent payments. Considering these transactions are typically 3% of your rent amount, that could save you quite a bit over the course of a year.
Why you might want the Bilt Mastercard
This no-annual-fee credit card offers numerous valuable benefits and redemption options to choose from.
Rewards: Earn on rent with no transaction fees
Earning 1X points on rent while avoiding a transaction fee is a major reason to use the Bilt Mastercard — and it’s the primary reason I use the card. No other card offers this unique, sought-after feature.
While you can only earn 100,000 points per year on rent payments, this cap won’t affect anyone paying $8,333 or less per month in rent. Here are some other restrictions:
- Rent payments can only be made to one rental property per month.
- You must use the Bilt Mastercard at least five times each statement period to earn points.
- If you fail to make the minimum required transactions each month or your rent payment is less than $250, you’ll only earn a flat rate of 250 points for paying your rent.
The main requirement is to remember to use the card at least five times per month to earn the maximum number of points. This means you can’t just use the card for one rent payment each billing cycle if you want to maximize value.
One way to meet this requirement is to use the card on a few dining transactions on Rent Day, when these purchases earn 6X points. If it helps, many restaurants allow you to load funds on an app. For example, you can add money to your Starbucks app in small amounts to earn bonus points and achieve the needed amount of transactions.
You can also set a reminder to use the card on the first of the month, which is simple enough. You're limited to earning 1,000 bonus points each Rent Day, but with several excellent transfer partners, it's worth making the effort.
Redemption: Flexible point transfers and more
The Bilt Rewards program offers various options for redeeming your points. You can redeem points as statement credits, toward future rent payments or a down payment on a home or in the Bilt Travel portal to book flights, hotels, car rentals and more. You can also transfer points to one of Bilt’s 19 travel partners at a 1:1 ratio (except one). These programs include:
- Accor ALL (3:2 ratio)
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan®
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue®
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Avianca Lifemiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards®
- Hilton Honors
- Iberia Plus
- Marriott Bonvoy™
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG® One Rewards
- World of Hyatt®
Bilt is the only bank program with direct transfers to Alaska Airlines, and World of Hyatt is a notable partner. The rest participate in other bank programs, but overall, this is an incredible collection. I personally love — you guessed it — Alaska and World of Hyatt. And it's a sweet deal that you can access these extremely valuable programs without paying an annual fee.
Other less valuable redemption options include items on Amazon.com or curated art, apparel and decor through the Bilt Collection. Fitness classes are another option, with classes at companies like SoulCycle, Y7 Studio and more — but I'd advise you to stay away from this option because you can get better value elsewhere. With such valuable transfer partners, your value per point can easily be 2 cents or more (sometimes much more). Other options generally net you 1 cent per point in value, so if you're interested in these kinds of redemptions, you should choose another card.
Rates and fees: No annual or foreign transaction fees
With no annual fee (See Rates & Fees), the Bilt Mastercard makes it easy to come out ahead with your rewards. It also doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees (See Rates & Fees), which is a terrific advantage when traveling abroad. Another way to think of it is there's no cost to keep the card long-term, so if a good deal comes along, you can be poised to take advantage.
The card’s variable APR (See Rates & Fees) and other fees are fairly typical. If you're concerned about debt management, a low-interest credit card or balance transfer card with a long intro APR offer will be more valuable.
Perks: One-of-a-kind features
The Bilt Mastercard comes with unique perks that offer significant additional value.
Why you might want a different no-annual-fee card
While the Bilt Mastercard comes with plenty of perks and benefits for renters and travelers, it's ultimately a niche card that best serves a few specific purposes.
No welcome offer: Lacks first-year value
The Bilt Mastercard doesn’t have a welcome offer, putting it at a disadvantage in first-year value compared to many other rewards cards. While there are other features to consider, welcome bonuses have become standard for many cards, especially for people with good credit, who can typically find offers worth $200 or more on many no annual fee cards.
That said, if you typically pay fees with your rent payment or have a plan for Bilt points, you can recoup quite a bit of value along the way, so it's more of a long-term plan than a one-and-done bonus. This is how I use it, and it's a pretty easy tool to maintain since the card doesn't charge an annual fee.
Credit score: Requires good to excellent credit
While this card allows you to build credit by paying your rent and reporting to all three credit bureaus, those who would benefit the most may not qualify. The recommended credit score to apply for this card is good to excellent (670 to 850). But people with fair credit or lower would benefit greatly from this feature, especially with rising housing prices.
History of changes: Earning potential could go down
The Bilt card's value has slowly eroded since it launched. The monthly Rent Day hasn't been stellar in quite a while, and the 1,000-point limit was announced in the fine print at the bottom of an email.
Bilt doesn't have a history of timely or straightforward communication with cardholders, and the product is a loss leader for Wells Fargo. The Bilt card seems likely to deteriorate, which is a reason you may want to consider another card. Or, pick up the card and earn points for rent while it's still worthwhile, but stay near the exit in case negative changes drop.
Niche value: Little to offer for homeowners
If you don't have a rental housing payment: congratulations! Also, you'll want to find another card. If you own your home, there's not much that this card is going to offer you over other reward cards.
The only reason why you'd get this card without monthly rent to pay is because you're a serious points nerd like me and love the list of transfer partners. In that case, I fully encourage you to make the most of this card — but everyone else should skip it.
We tried it: Here’s what our experts say
Our esteemed Bankrate credit cards writer Ryan Flanigan often waits to make purchases until the first of the month to take advantage of using the Bilt Mastercard.
Bankrate staff insights
I was initially skeptical about this card, but the earning rates along with the exceptional value of the rewards program are definitely worth a spot in my card portfolio. I like that this program takes a different approach to the rewards space, offering useful promotions and other out-of-the-box ways to earn points. This card comes out in full force on the first of the month when earning rates are doubled (except for rent payments). I’ll often save planned expenses for that day to boost my earnings. And the ability to pay rent transaction-fee-free is a unique and helpful feature for a lot of people.
Ryan Flanigan, Writer and Certified Credit Counselor, Credit Cards
I agree with Ryan's take here — the Bilt Mastercard's transaction fee-free rent payments put the card in a league of its own. My rent is $2,600, so that's an easy 31,000 Bilt points that I earn over a year. I can parlay that into an award flight or a couple of free nights at a nice Hyatt hotel.
However, I get the feeling that the overall value is becoming diluted. Making five transactions per month is simple enough, but if Bilt adds more hoops or further lowers points-earning ability, I'd have to reevaluate if the card is worth keeping.
As it stands, the opportunity cost of only earning 1X on non-bonus purchases is high, and Bilt elite status isn't worth earning. All that to say: Having the Bilt Mastercard gives you another reward program to manage, and the return is decreasing all the time. You'd really need to lean into the card's strengths to make having the card worthwhile. If you don't, it's likely too much hassle for not enough value.
How the Bilt Mastercard compares to other no annual fee cards
The Bilt Mastercard is unrivaled if you’re looking for a card that rewards your rent payments and helps you save money for a home. But other rewards cards may do a better job of getting you the most value.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Earn 3x Bilt Points on dining. Earn 2x points on travel. Earn 1x points on other purchases, and rent (up to 100,000 points each calendar year).
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Intro Offer: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
Rewards rate
Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more. 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service. 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value.
Rewards rate
Earn unlimited 3X points on restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services and phone plans. Earn 1X points on other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Best cards to pair with the Bilt Mastercard
To maximize the Bilt Mastercard’s strengths, combine it with a high-earning rewards card that aligns with the purchases you make in categories not covered by Bilt, but shares similar transfer partners. Pay your rent with the Bilt Mastercard and use it for dining purchases, but use another card for other purchases to earn more rewards. Here are a few options I like to use:
Is the Bilt Mastercard right for me?
While the Bilt Mastercard card has the highest average rewards value on the market, it works best as part of an overall card rewards-earning strategy to ensure you’re maximizing its value, or as a one-off tool in your wallet. It may appeal to:
Renters seeking a convenient way to earn and redeem rewards
Rewards enthusiasts looking to diversify their points options
Those with good credit who prefer a card with no annual fee and can use the benefits
Alternative picks
Frequently asked questions about the Bilt Mastercard
How we rated this card
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weight based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
What cardholders think
Bilt Mastercard®
In May 2024 and March 2025, Bankrate collaborated with a third-party vendor to survey 8170 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and our vendor collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder's product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate's own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
