Skip to Main Content

Bilt Mastercard Review: A first for renters and future homebuyers

What could be better than paying rent, earning rewards and skipping the fees? Keep reading to find out.

 /  15 min
Bankrate logo

The Bankrate promise

At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for and how we rate our cards. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

Snapshot

4.0

Bankrate rating
Info
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Bottom line

This card is the first to let you pay for your rent without transaction fees. For maximum value, pair it with a card with high-earning bonus categories that fit your spending habits.

awards-badge
2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
Best for renters
  • Rewards value
    Rating: 5 stars out of 5
    5 / 5
    APR
    Rating: 1 stars out of 5
    1 / 5
    Rewards flexibility
    Rating: 4 stars out of 5
    4 / 5
    Features
    Rating: 4 stars out of 5
    4 / 5
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit

N/A

Intro offer

Info

N/A

Offer valuation

Info

1X Points - 3X Points

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Bilt Mastercard overview

The Bilt Mastercard® is a unique and versatile rewards card that will appeal to renters and fee-averse travelers. One of the card’s standout features is rewards for rent payments without any transaction or processing fees. Try paying rent with any other credit card and you’ll find yourself paying fees that negate the points you’ve earned.

The card also earns bonus rewards on travel and dining and offers multiple redemption options, including for travel, fitness, future rent payments or a down payment on a home — a fantastic feature for leveraging rent expenses to save for a down payment.

Renters looking for creative ways to minimize the cost of living will find the Bilt card enticing. But people who want to maximize their rewards on purchases should pair this card with another rewards card. Depending on your budget and spending habits, you’ll likely earn more from boosted rewards on another card than you will purely from rewards for rent expenses. That doesn’t mean the Bilt card isn’t worth it, but it best serves to pair it with other cards.

  • Credit Card Cash Back

    Rewards

    • 3X points on dining
    • 2X points on travel
    • 1X points on rent payments (up to a maximum 100,000 points per year) 
    • 1X points on other eligible purchases 
    • Earn full points only when you make five transactions that post each statement period; otherwise, earn a flat 250 points on rent when you use your Bilt Mastercard to pay rent through the Bilt App.

    Expert Appraisal: Good
    See our expert analysis

  • Credit Card Search

    Rates and fees

    • Annual fee: $0
    • Regular APR: See terms
    • Foreign transaction fee: None

    Expert Appraisal: Typical
    See our expert analysis

  • Congrats

    Other cardholder perks

    • Bonus points on the first of every month for 24 hours
    • Potential to earn elite status with points earned
    • Travel insurance

    Expert Appraisal: Good
    See our expert analysis

Bilt card pros and cons

Pros

  • Checkmark

    You can earn points on rent without paying transaction or processing fees.

  • Checkmark

    Unused points accrue interest if you achieve Silver or above elite status.

  • Checkmark

    Fund your next trip by transferring your points to one of 16 travel partners.

Cons

  • Other travel and cash back cards offer more bonus categories with better rewards rates.

  • The lack of a welcome bonus or intro APR offer gives the card poor short-term value compared to the top rewards cards.

  • Renters with fair or bad credit who could benefit the most from this type of card are unlikely to be approved because the card requires good to excellent credit.

Why you might want the Bilt card

This rewards card offers rewards for rent without additional processing fees and unique redemption options. With no annual fee, you can reap a lot of benefits from this card.

Rewards: Earn on rent with no transaction fees

Earning 1X points on rent while avoiding a transaction fee is the biggest reason to use the Bilt card since this is its most rare, coveted feature. The 3X points on dining is a fine rate, but many rewards cards offer the same rate.

The spending cap on rent rewards of 100,000 points per year won’t affect anyone who pays $4,166 or less per month. But there are some restrictions to keep in mind:

  • 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 the maximum amount of points. 
  • If you fail to make the minimum required transactions each month, you’ll only earn a flat rate of 250 points for paying your rent.

The biggest standout is the requirement that you use the card at least five times per month to earn the maximum amount of points. This means you can’t just use the card for one rent payment each billing cycle if you want maximum value. You’ll need to use it for four more transactions. If you’re pairing this card with another card that earns generous dining rewards, make sure to use the Bilt card for four small transactions in addition to your rent payment. This strategy will help you maximize all of your cards without sacrificing rewards potential.

Redemption: Flexible point transfers and redemptions

The Bilt Rewards program provides a variety of different options to redeem your points, like using the Bilt Travel portal to book flights, hotels, car rentals and more. But what makes the card even more unique is that you can use your points to cover rent or save up for a down payment on a home. You can also transfer your points to one of Bilt’s 16 transfer partners. These programs include: 

  • Aer Lingus AerClub
  • Air Canada Aeroplan
  • Air France-KLM Flying Blue
  • American Airlines AAdvantage
  • Avianca lifemiles
  • British Airways Executive Club
  • Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • Emirates Skywards
  • Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
  • Iberia Plus
  • Marriott Bonvoy
  • Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
  • United MileagePlus
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  • IHG One Rewards
  • World of Hyatt 

Other redemption options include items on Amazon.com or for curated art, apparel and decor through the Bilt Collection. Fitness classes are another option, with classes at companies like SoulCycle, Y7 Studio and [solidcore] starting at 1,600 points per class.

Rate and fees: No annual or foreign transaction fees

The Bilt card has no annual fee, making it easy to come out ahead when you start earning rewards. It also doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, which is a terrific plus when traveling abroad.

However, the card’s variable APR (See Terms) and common credit card fees are fairly typical. If you are concerned about debt management, a low-interest credit card or balance transfer card with a long intro APR offer might be more valuable for you.

Perks: One-of-a-kind features

The Bilt card is a unique card, so it’s no surprise that it has some unique perks. Since it’s not the most traditional credit card available, you should explore its features to see how you can make the most of them.

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 may not be the best fit for everyone. Here’s why you might skip the Bilt card.

No welcome offer: Lacks first-year value

The Bilt card doesn’t have a welcome offer, putting it at a disadvantage for first-year value compared with many other rewards cards. While there are other features to look for in a rewards card, welcome bonuses have become a standard feature for many cards, especially for people with good credit, who can typically find offers worth $200 or more. These offers are also widely available on cards that charge no 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 (670-850). But people with fair credit, low credit or no credit would benefit the most from building credit as they pay rent. If you already have a good to excellent score, you may not need to work on your credit, making this feature less advantageous. 

If you need help finding your score, our guide on how to check your credit score can help.

We tried it: Here’s what our experts say

Bankrate credit cards writer Ryan Flanigan often saves purchases for the first of the month to use the Bilt Mastercard.

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. The ability to pay rent fee-free is a unique and helpful feature for a lot of people.

— Ryan Flanigan, Writer, Credit Cards

How the Bilt card compares to other no-annual-fee cards

The Bilt card is unrivaled if you’re looking for a card that rewards your rent payments and helps you save money for a home. But there are other rewards cards that may do a better job of getting you the most value on your purchases.

Image of Bilt Mastercard®
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Wells Fargo's secure site

Annual fee

None

Intro offer

N/A

Rewards rate

1X Points - 3X Points
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Image of Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Bankrate Score
Apply now Lock
on Chase's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Up to $300 cash back
Info

Rewards rate

1.5% - 5%
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Image of Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Wells Fargo's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

20,000 bonus points
Info

Rewards rate

1X - 3X
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info

Best cards to pair with the Bilt Mastercard

To make the most of the Bilt card’s strengths, consider pairing it with a high-earning rewards card that fits the purchases you make on categories Bilt doesn’t cover. Pay your rent with the Bilt card and use it for dining purchases, but for all other purchases using another card can help you bring in more rewards.

Who is the Bilt card right for?

For such a specialized card, the Bilt Mastercard offers enough flexibility for a few types of consumers. 

Bankrate’s Take — Is the Bilt card worth it?

The Bilt card is a solid pick for many people who want to take advantage of this no-annual-fee card’s main feature: the ability to use a credit card to pay your rent without having to deal with transaction fees.

The card comes with some additional features that could be appealing to renters looking for an easy way to earn and use rewards without having to pay an annual fee. This is also the card with the highest average rewards value on the market according to Bankrate’s valuations. But this is the kind of card you want to pair with another rewards card, or even multiple rewards cards, to ensure you’re doing all you can to bring down the cost of travel, save up for a home or continue maximizing on rent payments.

How we rated this card

Document
150+
cards rated
Congrats
50+
rewards programs valued
Search
1800
data points analyzed
Credit Card Reviews
40+
perks evaluated

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 weighting 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:

Frequently asked questions

Written by
Robert Thorpe
Editor, Personal Finance

Most recently before joining Bankrate, Robert worked as an editor and writer at The Ascent by The Motley Fool, covering a number of personal finance topics, including credit cards, mortgages and loans.

Edited by Senior Editor, Credit Cards

* 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.