If I understand option 1 and 2 can kind of get the the same rent/housing rewards. Except Option 1 you can max out at 1.25x but Option 2 would be 1x.
And by picking option 1 you don’t earn Bilt cash, correct?
What is over time Bilt cash becomes more valuable, more options etc and you’ve chosen option 1. Can you change to option 2? Or flip back and forth? How often?
You can switch between the two options each month. The new option takes effect at the start of the month immediately after the switch.
So the new option is based on monthly spend? So if you have $2k in rent and spend $3k in month one you get 2.5k points right? But if you spend $1k in month two you get 1.5k points? Or does the extra $1k from month one carry over so you would still get 2.5k points?
What a train wreck.
And how are they tracking monthly spend because credit card statements dont usually align perfectly with calendar months
Wow, more confused on 2.1…If I have to re-read an article or explanation more than once to understand a credit card’s reward structure, it’s too complex and not worth the effort.
This card makes the coupon clip book and monthly credits look appealing. BILT will fold or reengineer again in 2 years tops.
I get this is a complicated setup, but at the end of the day, even if I value Bilt Points at 1c and I don't have any mortgage to complicate things, I'm earning 5% in normal spend (4%+1%) on a no-annual-fee card. Sure, I have to redeem the 4% as a dining credit (or whatever), but so what? It's still 4%. Earning 5% back on everything w/o any brain damage seems like, well, a no-brainer. Bin the rent/mortgage overlay. What am I missing?
What you are missing is this: There are those who would venomously criticize Bilt no matter what it rolled out. Separately, many don't have the insight you have to strip away the noise to get to the heart of the matter. Think about what you wrote: forget about rent, this is a 5% cash back card on everything (with no foreign transaction fees). For some, this is great.
"or whatever" - that's the key. We don't know how you can use the Bilt Cash, so calling this 4% + 1% is generous at best. Based on the new option, Bilt Cash was never really intended to be used for any good value, it was just a new phantom metric for paying 1.33x Bilt points on housing.
IE let's say you can use your Bilt Cash 1x per month for $5 off a $30+ Lyft ride, or a similar coupon for a fitness class. Or up to $50 on a $200+ 2+ night hotel booking through the portal. Would you still consider this a 5% cash back card?
I give up.
I don't fly as much as you guys do. This site is nothing but ads and promos it cedudir cards. Where is Tiffany?
Good luck Ben. No reviews on anything lately. Still not one from your dad in Africa.
Just clit bait ads. You are better than this. At least you used to be.
I can see myself toggling between Options 1 and 2, depending on what I have to pay that upcoming month. Spending 75% of my rent payment in everyday spend MIGHT happen twice a year, at most.
The answer to nearly every question asked on their AMA was "we aren't sure yet"... not exactly a good sign when the card is already launched.
This appears like they were deciding between these 2 possible options for how to do the points on rent and when everyone hated the first one they just gave us both and said "ok you pick then" instead of asking their cardholders for feedback before launch.
Seems like a good first year value with the sign up bonus but long term value is TBD. The average consumer is likely just going to drop the card since the no annual fee card is bad compared to the current version. Their app is also the most bloated app I've ever used, it crashes nearly every time I use it. Lack of decisiveness in all areas with BILT.
If I understand this correctly (and that’s a very big if), this new option shouldn’t be the choice for most unless you’re a big spender with low rent/mortgage. They’re basically setting these thresholds to match the amount of Bilt Cash you have to use for all but the 1.25x option, so you’re coming out behind. And you’d have to switch a month in advance, so you’d need to know your spending plans.
As convoluted the Bilt Cash option is, it actually seems better for points earning.
If I understand this correctly (and that’s a very big if), this new option shouldn’t be the choice for most unless you’re a big spender with low rent/mortgage. They’re basically setting these thresholds to match the amount of Bilt Cash you have to use for all but the 1.25x option, so you’re coming out behind. And you’d have to switch a month in advance, so you’d need to know your spending plans.
As convoluted the Bilt Cash option is, it actually seems better for points earning.
Ben, your recent discussions of Bilt seem to imply that Bilt points are more valuable than other transferable currencies. However, your published valuation remains 1.7 cents, just like all the rest. Maybe you should update this.
What all comments miss is that whatever option you choose it seems to be worse than the current set up (unless maybe you're a high spender?). But then no one will be surprised about this, 2.0 was always going to be how can we screw over people. Since I live in NYC my monthly rent earned a lot of points, my monthly spend will need to be pretty high even to earn 0.5x points. Example for $4k rent, previous version 4k points earned from a minimum 5 transactions made, plus whatever points you got from those. New version need $1k pm spend on card to get 0.5x points, total points $2k on rent + ~$1k base points on card spend = 3k points. Loose by at least $1k. To earn 1x on rent (as before) need to spend $3k on the card.
"there have been record applications for the cards"... Because you're basically asking your entire customer base to apply for one! You'd not get millions of applications at once normally... and I'm sure it's not because people are so excited to get one as it seems most options are worse than previously (unless you're a high spender). But then no card or points revamp is ever better than the previous proposition these days
what a smooth transition... I applied for the 2.0 card but only rejected because my email address that I have been using for over a year with 1.0 card "could not be verifiied". called and emailed them and they said nothing they can do and I'm welcome to apply again in 45 days. absolutely ridiculous.
I like to think of myself as pretty savvy with credit cards, but Bilt has me flummoxed. Simple question: With their new program, and assuming I don't want to play with Bilt Cash, is my rent payment an EFT from my bank account, or is it a credit card payment like it is currently with WF? To avoid fees, I think the former, but damned if I know for sure