As Bilt transitions from Wells Fargo to Cardless, Bilt announced details of its 2.0 cards (see screenshot at the end), and the internet lost its mind. I applied for the Bilt Platinum Card, Bilt’s highest tier card, got denied, and then applied for one through my SO and finally got one approved. Let’s dig into the details.
First, Bilt 1.0 was a free lunch, and as the saying goes, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”—or if they exist by chance, they tend not to last. Any sane person knew this was ending. But any sane person also knew that even if Bilt 2.0 was 2x better than it is now, there would be outrage as long as the free lunch was being taken away. However, the outrage took on a bigger shape as it felt it got validated by Bilt’s CEO’s comments on Reddit and social media in general (let’s not get into that; go read r/biltrewards if you want).
Second, if Bilt 1.0 didn’t exist, I guarantee people would be calling Bilt 2.0 a decent program. When I heard the rumors that essentially said your earnings from rent or mortgage depend on the amount of usage you make, it reminded me of a similar scheme Fold debit card offers. I used to talk about the Fold debit card, but now I don’t, but hey, at least it seems to be sustainable? But it’s important to remember that when fintech becomes sustainable and isn’t burning through VC money, they often don’t become attractive to this community.
Anyway, what makes it a Bilt’s $495 annual fee card worth signing up for? The 50k points, which you can transfer to nice travel partners. At the very minimum, you can say the 50k signup bonus negates the $495 annual fee. The $300 Bilt Cash as a signup bonus isn’t bad either. At the very minimum, this covers a fee for $10,000 in rent, which then gets you roughly 10k points (equivalent to a minimum of $100). The 2x earning on everyday spending is also nice, especially because of Bilt’s strong travel partners.
It also comes with a $400 hotel travel credit, which unfortunately requires travel booking through their portal, but this has become the norm as it leads to less abuse and likely also allows banks to make some bucks via commissions. The card also comes with $200 annual Bilt Cash, which at the very minimum cover fee for $6,666.67 in rent, which then can get you roughly 6,667 points (equivalent to a minimum of $66.67). There’s also 4% in Bilt Cash on everyday spending, which is in addition to 2% Bilt points.
This card is DEFINITELY not earning you true 6% cashback. I suspect there will be caps on how much Bilt Cash you can use towards things other than covering rent fees, but I would like to think of anything else obtained as “free.” To be determined if Bilt Cash lasts or if it gets dumbed down, but I suspect there will be some sweet spots. Suppose you can use up to $10 towards Lyft—that would translate into spending $250 to get a “free” $10 Lyft credit, which again isn’t bad. The point is, there will likely be some mediocre-to-decent “free” stuff that may eventually get nerfed, but those who hop on the train early may be able to benefit from it.
Closing Thoughts
With $500 in Bilt Cash ($300 from the signup bonus and $200 annual credit), you get a solid head start—covering fees on roughly $16,666 worth of rent payments. For most people, this initial boost will be enough as they accumulate additional Bilt Cash through the 4% earning rate on everyday spending. In the best case scenario, the Bilt Cash becomes valuable enough that you use it for other purchases and skip paying rent through Bilt’s platform altogether, just paying your landlord directly as you normally would.
This is definitely not a “wow” card, but I’ve decided to give it a shot based on the signup bonus and the potential opportunities that may emerge. There’s a real possibility I’ll cancel it next year when the annual fee hits again. Time will tell.
My advice? Judge it based on your own situation instead of getting swept up in rage-bait content. I saw people furious that you can no longer float rent money on a credit card, arguing about the interest they’d earn in a high-yield savings account during that one-month float. Look, the free lunch has ended. I’ve chosen to accept that and churn the card as usual.
P.S. I’m hoping that 5x offers get sent out as they used to be. We shall see.
