Bilt Credit Card Guide: Compare Benefits And Rewards Of All 3 Bilt Cards

I don't think you're giving Blue or Obsidian enough credit. For those of us that already have high annual fee cards (Amex Plat, etc.) and don't plan to spend a lot on BILT, these cards are the best options. I'm keeping my account open and transitioned to the Blue card, simply so I could earn minimal BILT points, while paying rent with my Alaska card, combined with Rakuten being linked to BILT. I don't see value in the Palladium card unless you plan to shift spending to BILT, which I don't think makes sense if you have other valuable cads, e.g. Amex Platinum, Alaska Atmos,

Agreed. I went with Blue. My monthly housing costs are around $1700 (no escrow, low LTV). I have about 1400-1700 a month typically of non-bonused spend I can put on Bilt. It's trivial to hit $1000 of that on rent day for 2x, so going with points-only 1.25x, I can get 1000+1700+1700*1.25 = 4825 points/month = 57,900 a year for no AF.

Obsidian is usleless to me (Amex Gold for 4x food spending; groceries very significant in our household), and $495 just isn't worth it for a D-tier servicer like Cardless. Don't want to mess with any more silly hotel credits. Or Bilt Cash.

I can’t use the $10 monthly Bilt cash credit at Walgreens, the app won’t let me

I can’t use the $25 monthly Bilt cash dining credit anywhere because the closest restaurant that has the technology is over 200 miles away

I will use the five $200 Bilt cash 3X multiplier feature for $5000 spend

But I’ll still have a bunch of Bilt cash left over after that. So…

If I can’t use the monthly Walgreens or dining credits, what are the greatest options for using Bilt cash? I’ve got the Palladium card, and don’t have rent payments

Amen. As someone who already has a 2x card with a MUCH lower AF and no couponing involved, the blue made most sense

I know everyone has different spending habits, but the majority of my monthly non-categorized 2x spend is at Costco (and their gas). Can’t use a Mastercard there so yet another reason to not go for the palladium

Ben - do you know of any way to upgrade from the Blue to the Palladium card? When I converted from Wells Fargo I didn't really think about the possible value proposition of the Palladium card and now I'm regretting it

Diversification of your points portfolio is key to award availability options and successful redemption opportunities. IMHO choosing Palladium requires most people to commit a majority of their spend to Bilt, at the expense of Cap1, Amex and Chase. There's an inherent risk in "putting all your 'eggspenses' in one basket" and for that reason I chose the Blue card.

I appreciate the thought and effort that went into this post, Ben. I also appreciate the initial 50K points bonus for the credit card after sufficient spend - though most other credit cards' initial bonuses are greater. But even though you're a pretty clear writer, my eyes still glaze over when I try to understand Bilt Cash, perhaps especially because my house is paid off so I can't exploit that option. Perhaps my own fault, but there seem to be other, better, clearer credit card choices out there, at least for me.

I'll pick option D, None of the above

@Lucky

I haven't seen coverage with regards to Bill 2.0 and HOA fees if paying them separate from your mortgage or if you don't have a mortgage. Do HOA fees count towards earning rent/mortgage points and can you use BILT cash towards them?

HOA fees do count and can be combined with a mortgage on the same or a different property

@Ben - what are your thoughts on just using the initial Palladium Bilt Cash for the first $20k in payments, the switching to using your Alaska card for ongoing housing payments? The 3% fee seems worth it to get 3x Atmos points + status qualification (with Summit card). Also you get a 100k cert at $60k in spend.

Just seems like too much opportunity cost for the non-housing spending required to earn on housing.

My brain hurts.

@ Andrew -- Yeah, honestly, I struggle with that decision as well, because especially incrementally and with the spending thresholds, the Atmos Summit Card with a 3% fee is really compelling for the 3x points. I think there's a good case to be made for that.

@ jc1 -- All good questions, and I covered them in this post:
https://onemileatatime.com/guides/rewards-housing-payments-bilt-credit-card/

Yes, HOA fees absolutely do count for earning rewards using Bilt Cash.

@ baflyer2 -- Unfortunately I haven't seen too many reports of successful upgrades, and often card upgrades within the first year aren't possible. I might be missing something, though. Sorry!

@ Preacher -- Yeah, that's a toughie, and I think "too much Bilt Cash" is a common problem many people (including me!) are having. Beyond the multiplier, I try to cash out the Lyft credits, but that still only uses up $120 in Bilt Cash per year. And with BLADE and Blacklane credits not yet being live, those aren't even "splurge" redemptions when traveling that can be used yet.

I’m not addicted to subs orndesperate enough to mess with BILT.

And they wrecked JAL and had at least a small part in Hyatt’s deval strategy…who’s next?

So noted.

Hey Ben,

Just to clarify....I don't have to spend 75% of my housing payment each month to unlock rewards for my mortgage payment, correct? I have over $600 in Bilt cash and want to shift some spending away temporarily to other cards. I'll still earn points for my mortgage this month if I don't put any spend on the Bilt card, since I only need $84 in Bilt cash redeemed for my payment to qualify? Thanks!

Agreed. I went with Blue. My monthly housing costs are around $1700 (no escrow, low LTV). I have about 1400-1700 a month typically of non-bonused spend I can put on Bilt. It's trivial to hit $1000 of that on rent day for 2x, so going with points-only 1.25x, I can get 1000+1700+1700*1.25 = 4825 points/month = 57,900 a year for no AF.

Obsidian is usleless to me (Amex Gold for 4x food spending; groceries very significant in our household), and $495 just isn't worth it for a D-tier servicer like Cardless. Don't want to mess with any more silly hotel credits. Or Bilt Cash.

Amen. As someone who already has a 2x card with a MUCH lower AF and no couponing involved, the blue made most sense

I know everyone has different spending habits, but the majority of my monthly non-categorized 2x spend is at Costco (and their gas). Can’t use a Mastercard there so yet another reason to not go for the palladium

@ Preacher -- Yeah, that's a toughie, and I think "too much Bilt Cash" is a common problem many people (including me!) are having. Beyond the multiplier, I try to cash out the Lyft credits, but that still only uses up $120 in Bilt Cash per year. And with BLADE and Blacklane credits not yet being live, those aren't even "splurge" redemptions when traveling that can be used yet.

@ baflyer2 -- Unfortunately I haven't seen too many reports of successful upgrades, and often card upgrades within the first year aren't possible. I might be missing something, though. Sorry!

So noted.

HOA fees do count and can be combined with a mortgage on the same or a different property

@ jc1 -- All good questions, and I covered them in this post:
https://onemileatatime.com/guides/rewards-housing-payments-bilt-credit-card/

Yes, HOA fees absolutely do count for earning rewards using Bilt Cash.

@ Andrew -- Yeah, honestly, I struggle with that decision as well, because especially incrementally and with the spending thresholds, the Atmos Summit Card with a 3% fee is really compelling for the 3x points. I think there's a good case to be made for that.