Bilt Rewards Review [2026]: Pay Rent with a Credit Card (without Fees)

Housing eats up a significant portion of most people's income.

If you're a renter, it can sometimes feel like you're throwing that money away every month. You're not getting equity in your apartment, after all. So wouldn't it be nice to get something back for all that spending?

Enter Bilt Rewards, which offers the chance to earn rewards back on your monthly rent payment without having to pay the transaction fees that would come with using a credit card to pay your rent.

Bilt's been a pretty popular program since its launch, but the program's going through some changes, with a significant reboot to the program going live on Feb. 7, 2026, which, among its most notable changes, brings homeowners into the program by offering rewards on mortgage payments as well as rent.

Bilt 2.0 reboot

Over the past several months, Bilt has been stumbling its way through a rocky reboot of the Bilt Rewards program, branded Bilt 2.0. The new program will see the discontinuation of the Bilt Mastercard^® and the launch of three new cards in its place (more on that below).

The whole saga started in November 2025 with the announcement of the program revamp. Then, in mid-January 2026, preorders for the new Bilt cards opened, and the real confusion began to set in.

Bilt Cash and new card earn rates

One of the primary sticking points for many observers (us included) was the introduction of a two-part value proposition on the new cards. Initially, it was announced that Bilt 2.0 cardholders would earn Bilt points on everyday spending at varying rates and in varying categories, depending on the card they choose. So far so good — that's how the existing Bilt Mastercard^® works.

But the announcement also included a new feature called Bilt Cash, which cardholders would earn at a rate of 4% per dollar spent on all non-housing purchases. That cash could then be used to purchase additional Bilt points at $30 per 1,000 points up to the amount of your rent payment in dollars. Bilt Cash would also be eligible for redemptions with select merchants, but came with some stipulations regarding unspent cash at the end of each year (only $100 worth would roll over).

Pivot to two earning options

Did your brain melt reading that? Yeah, me too. But the intro of Bilt Cash wasn't the end of it. Just a couple days later, hoping to address pretty widespread consumer confusion, Bilt made another announcement that backpedaled on the new two-part rewards structure, sort of.

The announcement confirmed that, moving forward, cardholders would be able to choose between two options for earning:

• Housing-only rewards: Earn Bilt points for every $1 spent on housing at a variable rate dependent on the amount of non-housing spending you do on your card as a percentage of your monthly housing payment (rent or mortgage).
• Flexible Bilt Cash: Opt for the original deal and earn a flat 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday, non-housing spending.

The Bilt Cash option is simple enough — sort of. In addition to being able to redeem Bilt Cash for Bilt points as detailed in the initial announcement, Bilt Cash can be redeemed for dollar-for-dollar monthly credits, premium experiences, and to activate enhanced rewards earning.

The housing-only rewards likewise have a few layers of complication:

• If your non-housing spend is at least 25% of your monthly housing payment, you'll earn 0.5 points per dollar spent on housing.
• If your non-housing spend is at least 50% of your monthly housing payment, you'll earn 0.75 points per dollar spent on housing.
• If your non-housing spend is at least 75% of your monthly housing payment, you'll earn 1 point per dollar spent on housing.
• If your non-housing spend is 100% or more of your monthly housing payment, you'll earn 1.25 points per dollar spent on housing.

What's next?

Given all the resounding chorus of "What?" that rang out in response to all these announced changes and Bilt's actions since, it's possible Bilt's not yet done with fine-tuning the 2.0 program. We'll be updating this review as the launch approaches, but in the meantime, you can check out Bilt's program overview page for more details.

Information found below about how the program works applies to its current iteration, except where indicated.

What is Bilt Rewards?

Bilt Rewards is a loyalty program and brand that's part of the Kairos family of companies. Bilt was founded in 2019, but Bilt Rewards, the rewards program attached to Bilt, was launched in 2021. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York.

Bilt was founded by Ankur Jain, who is the CEO of Kairos, co-founder of Rhino (another Kairos brand), and former VP of Product for Tinder. Other Kairos companies include Rhino, Cera, Little Spoon, and Alloy.

Bilt Rewards is not the same as the Bilt Mastercard^®1 <p><a href="https://www.wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/bilt/terms/">See Rates and Fees</a> | <a href="https://www.biltrewards.com/terms/rewards-and-benefits">Rewards and Benefits</a></p> , though having this credit card can help you earn more Bilt Rewards points.

How Bilt Rewards works

Bilt was designed and founded as a way for renters to have a path to homeownership. The Bilt Rewards program, which can be used with or without the Bilt Mastercard^®, provides renters a way to earn rewards on the rent they pay each month without having to pay the typical fees that occur if you pay rent with a credit card.

A large number of expenses can be put on a credit card these days, which allows you to earn rewards if that credit card is part of a loyalty program. Traditionally, rental property owners either haven't allowed credit card payments or charge transaction fees if you want to use a card.

With Bilt Rewards, you don't have to worry about transaction fees when paying rent. There is also no annual membership fee for the loyalty program or the Bilt Mastercard. In addition, the rewards you earn can be redeemed for travel, fitness classes, paying rent, making a down payment on a house, and more.

Bilt Rewards can be used through the Bilt Rewards app, which is available on both iOS and Android devices.

How to earn Bilt Rewards

If you compare credit cards, you'll typically find different ways to earn points or miles with certain rewards cards. With Bilt, you also get a few options for earning points. Here's how they work.

Paying rent

You're able to pay your rent with the Bilt Rewards app even if you don't have the Bilt Mastercard. If you enroll (membership is free) in the Bilt Rewards program and pay your rent through the app, you'll earn 250 points per rent payment. You can only earn points this way on one rent payment per month, which means you could earn a maximum of 3,000 points in a year from paying rent. Also, you'll only earn points if you're a resident of a property in the Bilt Rewards Alliance.

The Bilt Rewards Alliance has over two million apartments in its network. This includes rental units from Windsor Communities, Morgan Properties, Equity Residential, The Related Companies, Starwood Capital Group, and much more. You can check if your rental is in the network by going into the Bilt Rewards app and seeing if you're able to connect your residence.

If your landlord doesn't accept credit cards, you can still pay your rent through the Bilt app, and Bilt will pay your landlord in the way they prefer, whether it's by mailed check, ACH, or another form of payment.

Keep in mind that you'll only earn points through Bilt Rewards if you pay rent through the app and your apartment is in-network, unless you also have the Bilt Mastercard.

Using a Bilt card

New Bilt 2.0 cards

As a part of this Bilt 2.0 program reboot, Bilt is discontinuing the Bilt Mastercard^® and replacing it with three new cards: The Bilt Blue Card, the Bilt Obsidian Card, and the Bilt Palladium Card.

Existing cardholders had until Jan. 30, 2026, to select one of the new Bilt cards in order to qualify for the benefits of what they're calling a "seamless upgrade."

Cardholders who initiate their transition by that date can:

• Keep their same card number
• Get auto-updates to any digital wallets to which they've connected their existing Bilt card
• Avoid a hard credit inquiry for their selected new card
• Get their new Bilt card by Feb. 6, 2026

Cardholders can continue to use their Bilt Mastercard^® through Feb. 6, 2026, after which point the cards will be retired and no longer work. Those who use their card to make rent payments with BiltProtect will only have until Feb. 3, 2026, to do so.

Cardholders can either choose to transfer their balance from the old card to their new Bilt card and close their Wells Fargo account, or not close their account, which will trigger a conversion of their existing card to a Wells Fargo Autograph^® Card.

How truly seamless this transition will be remains to be seen. With the consumer confusion induced by the rollout issues we mentioned above, we wouldn't be surprised if some details regarding the new cards end up changing before all's said and done.

Bilt Mastercard^®

The soon-to-be-discontinued Bilt Mastercard offers cardholders 3X points on dining, 2X points on travel, up to 1X points on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year), and 1X points on other purchases; must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points.

Plus, it has a $0 annual fee. With those rewards rates, you're able to earn points on both your rent payments and any other type of purchase where you can use a Mastercard credit card.

You're also not limited to only earning points on rent payments for apartments that are in the Bilt Rewards Alliance. If your apartment is out-of-network, you're still able to pay your rent with your card through the Bilt Rewards app and earn points.

Here's an overview of the different status tiers within the Bilt Rewards program:

The Bilt Mastercard also offers these perks and benefits:

• Cellular Telephone Protection: Receive up to $1,000 per year for lost or damaged cell phones.
• Purchase security (theft and damage protection): Receive up to $1,000 for lost or damaged items purchased with your Bilt Mastercard in the last 90 days.
• World Elite concierge: Access 24/7 concierge services for all your personal assistant needs, which could include getting tickets to a concert, making dinner reservations, or finding a gift for someone.
• BiltProtect: If enabled, this included feature protects your credit line from being used for rent payments. A linked bank account would instead be used to pay for rent, which can help protect your credit score from a high rate of credit utilization.

Other options

Bilt Rewards also allows real estate owners the opportunity to provide additional ways for their renters to earn points through the program. This could include signing a new lease, renewing a lease, or other similar actions. Check with your landlord if you're curious about other points-earning opportunities.

How to redeem Bilt Rewards

The best rewards credit cards often offer different redemption options. Similarly, Bilt Rewards provides a variety of ways to redeem the points you earn.

Travel

Your Bilt Rewards points can be transferred to certain travel partners at a 1:1 ratio. These are the loyalty programs of the available transfer partners:

• Avianca Lifemiles
• American Airlines AAdvantage
  
• IHG Hotels & Resorts
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Flying Blue Air France / KLM
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Iberia
• British Airways
• AerClub
• United MileagePlus
• World of Hyatt
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Emirates Skywards
• Cathay Pacific 
• Hawaiian Airlines 
• Air Canada Aeroplan
  
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
  

These transfer partners could provide loads of opportunities for travel, especially if you consider how each of these transfer partners could also partner with other airlines or hotels. This opens up additional options for using your points on flights and hotel stays.

For example, if you transfer your Bilt Rewards points to the American Airlines AAdvantage program, you also get access to AAdvantage travel partners. So you not only have the option to book flights with American, but also Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and more.

Keep in mind, Bilt frequently updates its travel partner information, including adding more transfer partners. To find this updated information, check the Bilt Rewards app.

Home decor

Redeem your points for items from the Bilt Collection, which features art, home decor, and apparel from different artists. This could include items such as speakers, candles, decorative boxes, vases, and more.

Exercise

Redeem your points for classes from top fitness companies, such as Y7 Studio, Rumble Boxing, and SoulCycle. Y7 Studio offers vinyasa yoga classes, and Rumble offers boxing and other fitness classes, while SoulCycle offers cycling and spinning classes. Classes start at 3,000 points.

Rent

If you're in a city where rent has increased, you might be looking for a way to lower your rent payments. With Bilt Rewards, you have the option to cover all or a portion of your rent payment using points.

Down payment on a house

If homeownership is your goal, consider using your points to cover a portion of a down payment. Your points can be converted into cash and deposited into a home-sale escrow account where the funds will be applied toward a down payment. Keep in mind that accruing enough points to make a dent in the cost of a down payment will likely take some time, probably years.

Bilt offers an example of putting a 5% down payment on a home that costs $250,000. A 5% down payment of $250,000 is $12,500. In this scenario, your points would be worth 1.5 cents each. For this payment, you might use 500,000 points and also pay $5,000 in cash, since your points would cover $7,500 of the cost of the down payment.

Who can use Bilt Rewards?

Access to the Bilt Rewards program was initially available by invitation only but has now been opened up to everyone. Now that the program is fully launched, you should be able to freely sign up on the website or app and use the platform if you're a renter, whether you're in-network or not. This could be beneficial for millions of renters who want to earn rewards on rent payments without having to pay transaction fees for the opportunity to do so. Though, it still may not be the best option for earning credit card rewards.

How much can you earn with Bilt Rewards?

The number of points you can earn with Bilt Rewards depends on a few factors, including how much rent you pay, whether you have the Bilt Mastercard, and whether you live within the Bilt Rewards Alliance.

If you don't live within the Bilt Rewards Alliance and don't have the Bilt Mastercard, you can't earn any Bilt Rewards points.

If you live within the Alliance and don't have the Bilt Mastercard, you're capped at earning 250 points per rent payment. Considering the fitness class redemptions start at 3,000 points, it would take you a full year to earn enough points from rent payments to pay for an exercise class in points.

But if you have the Bilt Mastercard and spend a decent amount on it each month in both rent and non-rent purchases, you could earn loads more points. For example, you can earn up to 100,000 points per year on rent. Let's say you earn that, and you also spend $15,000 on other non-rent expenses. At the bare minimum, you would end up with 115,000 points. If some of that spending involves the card's bonus categories, you could have more.

Here are a few examples of what 115,000 points could get you:

• 23 nights at Category 1 Hyatt hotels (5,000 points per night)
• A round-trip economy flight from Los Angeles, California, to Tokyo, Japan, with American Airlines (~65,000 points per flight)
• Eight one-way flights between New York City, New York, and Miami, Florida, with American Airlines (7,500 points per flight)
• $990 toward a down payment on a house

FAQs about Bilt

How to sign up for Bilt Rewards

To sign up for Bilt Rewards, head to the BiltRewards.com website and click on the "Sign Up" button in the upper right corner. This will start the sign-up process for you, which typically entails giving your email address, first and last name, and home address.

Note that this isn't the process for applying for the Bilt Mastercard — that would be a separate process that requires more information. You don't need the Bilt Mastercard to become a Bilt Rewards member.

Bottom line

One of the best ways to earn points and miles is to use rewards cards on purchases you're already making or expenses you already have, such as gas, groceries, and other common costs. But rent payments have traditionally been hard to leverage for earning rewards because of high transaction fees.

Plastiq was previously one of the best alternatives for paying rent with a credit card — check out our guide to Plastiq — but you still had to pay fees. The Bilt Rewards program rewards you for rent payments and doesn't charge transaction fees.

It still may not be the best strategy for every situation since you don't earn many points without the Bilt Mastercard, and not everyone will qualify. But it could make sense for you if you're in the right living situation.

Alternatively, if your goal is to earn points and miles for travel, you might be better off checking out our list of the best travel credit cards.

2026 Award Winner Best Overall Cash Back Credit Card

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

Benefits Card Details

• Low spend threshold for its welcome offer — $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
• Cell phone protection benefit (subject to a $25 deductible)
• Can redeem rewards at an ATM for literal cash
• Apply Now

• Apply Now to take advantage of this offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
• Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
• 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 18.49%, 24.49%, or 28.49% variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5.
• $0 annual fee.
• No categories to track or remember and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
• Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
• Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.

5.0

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

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Rates and fees

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Intro Offer

$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

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Why we like it

• If you love earning cash rewards but prefer to avoid the hassle of tracking spending categories, the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card could be a good option for you. Card members can earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

• This card also offers a 0% intro APR on qualifying balance transfers and purchases for 12 months from account opening, then 18.49%, 24.49%, or 28.49% Variable. Those looking for straightforward rewards and an introductory APR will likely find value in this card.

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