Bilt is the platform known for offering rewards for housing payments, including rent and mortgages.
While there are many ways to earn Bilt Points (and also to rack up Bilt Cash), one of the primary ways is through Bilt’s three co-branded Cardless credit cards, which include the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card (learn more), $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and $495 Bilt Palladium Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees).
One thing that’s often overlooked is that Bilt Rewards also offers elite status, which is earned either based on how many points you rack up, or how much you spend on an eligible card. I don’t want to suggest that this is a major reason to be involved in the Bilt ecosystem, but I think it’s worth covering as part of the larger context of the value of the rewards program.
Link: Apply for a Bilt credit card, with three options to choose from (Rates & Fees)
How to earn Bilt Rewards elite status
Bilt has four membership tiers — Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum — and you can qualify for status in one of two ways:
- Based on qualifying points, which would include all the Bilt Points that you earn, regardless of the method; the only exceptions are referrals, courtesy points, points from member surveys, and incremental campaign bonus points, which don’t qualify
- Based on spending, whereby you can fast track your way to elite status with all eligible non-rent spending, including Bilt credit card spending, spending on Neighborhood Fitness classes, Bilt Dining restaurants, and Walgreens, on any cards linked to your Bilt account, spending on Lyft rideshares when Bilt is set as your rewards partner, and spending in the Bilt Travel Portal
Just to be crystal clear, with the latter method, earning status is literally based on the cumulative spending via all these means, rather than the number of points earned.
So, what are the elite requirements for Bilt status?
- You can earn Bilt Silver status with 50,000 qualifying points or $10,000 of eligible spending
- You can earn Bilt Gold status with 125,000 qualifying points or $25,000 of eligible spending
- You can earn Bilt Platinum status with 200,000 qualifying points or $50,000 of eligible spending
Status is valid for the year in which it’s earned, plus through the end of the following year. In other words, status earned in 2026 would be valid through December 31, 2027.
What perhaps makes this most compelling is that the Bilt Palladium Card is actually pretty rewarding for spending, as it offers 2x points per dollar spent. That’s a card many people may want to use for everyday, non-bonused spending, and therefore, people may in the process easily earn Bilt elite status.
The benefits of Bilt Rewards elite status
What are the perks of having elite status with Bilt? I wouldn’t say the perks are huge, but there are definitely some benefits worth being aware of. I’ll be ranking the perks roughly in the order that I personally value them, though admittedly we’re all looking for different things.
Access to better Rent Day promotions
Ironically the best perk of elite status is something that isn’t even published. On the first day of every month, Bilt has a Rent Day promotion, which offers a different deal each month.
Bilt Rent Day promotions are often differentiated based on elite status. Generally speaking, the higher your elite status, the better the perks you receive as part of the Rent Day offer. Let me emphasize that there’s no guarantee these promotions are differentiated, but at least historically, that has been the case.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Gold status
Bilt Platinum members receive Air France-KLM Flying Blue Gold status, which also earns you SkyTeam Elite Plus status. In order to activate this offer, you need to transfer 10,000 points to Flying Blue. The status match is valid for 12 months, though it should be possible to do this again in the following year, as there’s no end date for this offer.
It’s awesome to get SkyTeam Elite Plus status through Bilt. This gets you all kinds of priority services across SkyTeam airlines, lounge access on many itineraries, and more. Furthermore, when flying with Air France-KLM, you can assign seats for free, and can even select premium seats in some situations. The nice thing is that earning status with Flying Blue is incremental, so if you receive Gold status through this match, that also makes it easier to earn Platinum status.
Free flight & lounge access with BLADE
Thanks to a partnership between Bilt and BLADE, it’s possible to get perks with the urban air mobility platform. While everyone can score 2x bonus Bilt Points on BLADE purchases by linking an eligible credit card to their Bilt account, elite members receive extra perks:
- Bilt Silver members can save 10% off BLADE airport flights booked through the Bilt app or website
- Bilt Gold members can save 10% off BLADE airport flights plus can receive access to BLADE lounges even when not flying; when visiting lounges and not flying, you’re limited to two beverages
- Bilt Platinum members receive the above benefits, plus one free BLADE flight between EWR or JFK and Manhattan, or between Nice and Monaco; eligible members will receive the free flight per occurrence of qualifying for the status
These are some pretty significant perks, especially for Bilt Platinum members, as you’re getting a free flight every year. Keep in mind you can also redeem Bilt Cash for up to two additional BLADE flights per year.
Best transfer ratio with Rakuten shopping
Bilt has a partnership with Rakuten, letting members earn Bilt Points for online shopping through Rakuten. Essentially, this lets cardmembers convert cash back earned with Rakuten into Bilt Points.
The transfer ratio you get between Rakuten and Bilt depends on whether or not you have Bilt elite status. Bilt Silver members and above get the best transfer ratio, where each cent cash back gets them one Bilt point (as opposed to non-elite members, who get one cent cash back per two Bilt Points).
That’s an incredible opportunity for online shopping, if you ask me, and could be a reason to try to maintain elite status. If you don’t have Bilt elite status, I recommend earning Amex points with Rakuten.
Rack up Bilt Cash for points accrual
While not directly tied to elite status, it’s worth mentioning the Bilt Cash concept, whereby you can earn $50 in Bilt Cash for every 25,000 points earned (in addition to earning 4% Bilt Cash on all credit card spending). Each Bilt Cash award expires 12 months after you earn it, on the last day of that month.
Bilt Cash can be redeemed in a variety of ways, for everything from housing payments, to BLADE flights, to Lyft and Walgreens credits, and more.
Interest on your points balance
Bilt has a unique feature that you won’t find with any other points loyalty program. Silver, Gold, and Platinum members earn interest on their points, giving them an incentive to keep their points. Every month, members will be paid interest in the form of additional points based on their average daily points balance for the previous 30-day period. The rate is based on the FDIC published national saving rates, which are published here.
Let me just say that while I love the idea of this, don’t get too excited. The FDIC savings rates don’t offer competitive interest to what’s out there in the market otherwise (like with Bask Bank). For example, when your balance is in the tens of thousands of points, you can expect to maybe get a couple of dozen points monthly.
I very much appreciate the concept of this, and I won’t say no to free points, but this isn’t a reason to maintain your points balance.
Complimentary Bilt Collection gift
Upon reaching Platinum status, Bilt members can receive a gift from Bilt Collection, featuring a curated assortment of home decor and art. The exact gift will differ based on the person, but expect it to be something along the lines of a coffee table book.
Bonus points on new lease or lease renewals
Bilt Silver, Gold, and Platinum members can receive bonus points on new leases or renewals. Specifically, Bilt will deposit up to 50% bonus points on top of points issued by landlords to members when they live at Bilt Rewards Alliance properties.
Bilt home ownership concierge
Bilt Gold and Platinum members who redeem Bilt Points toward a down payment on a home purchase can use a dedicated concierge to walk them through the home buying process step-by-step. Maybe that’s something that some people value, though it is pretty niche, if you ask me.
Bottom line
Bilt has a unique elite status program, with status being based on how many points you rack up in a calendar year. I love the idea of a credit card program with elite status based on how many points you earn, since it gives you an incentive to spend more on the card.
While the published benefits of Bilt status aren’t life-changing, there’s at least some value to this. In particular, the better Rent Day promotions for elite members can be valuable, and Platinum members may appreciate the Flying Blue Gold status, plus a free BLADE flight every year.
If you have elite status with Bilt, what has your experience been like?
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