Bilt 2.0: Earn Points on Rent or Mortgage

What changed in 2026

Bilt Card 2.0 replaced the single card with three tiers: Blue ($0), Obsidian ($95), and Palladium ($495). The old rule requiring five transactions a month is gone. In its place, what you earn on housing now depends on how much other spending you put on the card. You pick one of two ways to earn on housing, and you can switch between them. A switch takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle.

Two ways to earn on housing

How Bilt Cash works

Bilt Cash is a separate balance from your points. You earn it at 4% on everyday purchases if you choose the Bilt Cash option, and some tiers add it as a welcome bonus or yearly credit. You can use it two ways:

• Unlock housing points. $30 of Bilt Cash unlocks 1,000 points on your rent or mortgage, up to 1x of the payment. It doesn’t pay the bill itself.
• Monthly credits. Dollar for dollar on Bilt’s partner credits (dining, rides, and others), each with its own monthly cap.

Bilt Cash can’t be transferred to airlines or hotels. Up to $100 rolls over into the next year, and anything above that expires. The Bilt Cash rules have the details.

Which option earns more

Each everyday dollar earns 4 cents of Bilt Cash, and 3 cents unlocks one housing point, so every dollar of everyday spending is worth about 1.33 housing points under the Bilt Cash option, capped at 1x of your payment. Here’s how that compares with the housing points option, by how much you spend on the card each month relative to your rent or mortgage:

So the Bilt Cash option isn’t automatically better. If your everyday spending clears a quarter of your housing payment, housing points earn as much or more on rent. Bilt Cash wins when your spending is light, or when you’ll actually use the monthly credits. Run it with your own numbers before picking.

Which card to get

Bilt Blue Card

Cardless · $0 annual fee

Best for

Earning on rent or a mortgage without paying a fee

Welcome offer

$100 Bilt Cash

• Same housing options as the paid tiers
• 1x on everyday purchases, so a 2% cash back card beats it everywhere except housing

Review Bilt Blue →

Bilt Obsidian Card

Cardless · $95 annual fee

Best for

Heavy dining or grocery spending

Welcome offer

$200 Bilt Cash

• 3x on dining or groceries, up to $25,000 a year
• $100 a year in Bilt Travel hotel credit
• For general travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred gives you more for the same fee

Review Bilt Obsidian →

I carry this

Bilt Palladium Card

Cardless · $495 annual fee

Best for

High housing costs and enough everyday spending to use the 2x

Welcome offer

50,000 points, Gold status, and $300 Bilt Cash after $4,000 in purchases in 90 days (rent and mortgage excluded)

• 2x on everything, the best everyday rate of the three
• $400 a year in Bilt Travel hotel credit and $200 of Bilt Cash
• Priority Pass lounge access

Review Bilt Palladium →

Is Palladium’s fee worth it?

Two credits count toward the $495 fee: $400 in Bilt Travel hotel credit and $200 of Bilt Cash. That’s $600 if you use both, so the card is $105 ahead before you earn a point. The catch is the hotel credit, which only applies to stays booked through Bilt Travel. If you wouldn’t book there anyway, count it at less than face value, and the fee looks a lot closer. The partner dining and Lyft multipliers aren’t credits; they only help if you already spend there.

My setup

I carry the Palladium for everyday spending and the Bank of America Premium Rewards for dining and travel, where it earns 3.5% cash back with my BofA Rewards bonus. Between the two, nothing goes on a card earning less than 2x.

I use the Bilt Cash option and put the Bilt Cash toward points on my mortgage. I’m reevaluating whether the $495 fee still clears for me at renewal. If it doesn’t, Blue keeps the housing points with no fee.