👍 The Good Stuff
- ✅ Rent Rewards: Earn points on rent without fees.
- ✅ Dining Multiplier: 3x points on dining.
- ✅ Rent Day: Double points on the 1st of the month.
- ✅ Partners: Transfers to Hyatt, United, and Alaska.
👎 The Bad Stuff
- ❌ 5 Transaction Rule: You MUST use the card 5 times per cycle.
- ❌ No Bonus: Usually no traditional sign-up bonus.
- ❌ Rent Cap: Earning on rent is capped at 100k points/year.
The Deep Dive
The Bilt Mastercard is in a league of its own. It turns your biggest monthly expense into free travel. It is the only “must-have” card for renters. Period.
The Math (Free Money?)
If you pay $2,000/month in rent, this card gives you 24,000 points a year for free. That’s a round-trip flight or a few nights at a Hyatt.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Rent Transaction Fee: $0 (Normally 3%).
- Points on Rent: 1x (up to 100k points/year).
How the “Rent” Thing Actually Works
Usually, paying rent with a credit card incurs a 3% fee. Bilt gives you a unique Routing Number and Account Number. To your landlord, it looks like an ACH bank transfer. To you, it’s a credit card charge earning points. Does your landlord only take checks? Bilt will print a paper check and mail it to them for free.
The “5 Times” Rule (Don’t Screw This Up)
This is the only catch, and it’s a big one. To earn your rent points, you must make 5 transactions on the card every statement period.
The Strategy: Your rent payment counts as 1. You need 4 more. Buy a coffee, pay your Netflix bill, buy a pack of gum. Just make sure you hit 5, or your points vanish.
“Rent Day” (The First of the Month)
On the 1st of every month, Bilt doubles the rewards on non-rent spend:
- Dining: 6x points
- Travel: 4x points
- Everything Else: 2x points
Who Should Get This Card?
- You pay rent.
- You love Hyatt or United points (Bilt is one of the few cards that transfers to both).
- You want a solid dining card (3x) with no annual fee.