Bilt and Blacklane have just formally launched a partnership. With this, we’re seeing the Blacklane booking platform integrated into the Bilt app. On top of that, you can now redeem Bilt Cash, and earn Bilt bonus points, for Blacklane rides.
I wouldn’t get too excited here, but more ways to redeem Bilt Cash are always a good thing. It’s nice to see the momentum from Bilt as of late, especially with the BLADE partnership having been recently expanded.
In this post:
Details of the Bilt & Blacklane collaboration
Effective immediately, luxury chauffeur service Blacklane has been integrated into the Bilt app, meaning that Bilt members can now make Blacklane bookings directly in the Bilt Travel Portal. Furthermore, it’s also finally possible to redeem Bilt Cash for rides with Blacklane (this has been promised for months).
Specifically, members can now redeem Bilt Cash toward Blacklane rides, and the amount you can redeem depends on your Bilt elite status — Platinum members can redeem up to $150 annually, Gold members can redeem up to $100 annually, and Silver and Blue members can redeem up to $50 annually. Credits run on a calendar year cycle, and reset each year.
On top of that, Bilt members can earn 1x Bilt points on every ride with Blacklane when booking through Bilt, in addition to the rewards they’d earn otherwise (you don’t have to use a Bilt credit card, and can instead link another card). It’s also possible to redeem Bilt points for Blacklane rides, though I wouldn’t expect that to represent a very good value.
How do you actually book your Blacklane ride with Bilt?
- Open the Bilt Concierge or Travel Portal and navigate to the “Rewards” tab
- Book your ride under the “Car Service” option, and choose Bilt points, any linked card, your Bilt Cash (or any combination of these) at checkout
- Earn 1x Bilt points automatically on your journey
- Redeem Bilt Cash once a year for your Blacklane credit based on your status
I don’t like Blacklane, but this is a good use of Bilt Cash
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Blacklane as such. While I like the idea of a chauffeur service, I find Blacklane’s pricing to typically be absurdly high for the level of service they offer (which is to say that you’re dealing with a large, faceless tech company).
I recently used Blacklane for the first time in years, and the driver forgot the promised car seat… that was kind of a big deal! That being said, I am a fan of this partnership.
This is perhaps most exciting for redeeming Bilt Cash, given the limited opportunities there have been with that currency, especially for those who earn a lot of it through the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card (learn more), $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and $495 Bilt Palladium Card (learn more) — read my Bilt credit card review and comparison (Rates & Fees).
I kind of view Bilt Cash as being like monopoly money, given that some of mine will likely expire at the end of the year. So if I can redeem some Bilt Cash to get $150 off a Blacklane ride as a Platinum member, that at least offers me some value. It remains to be seen if this is stackable with the Citi Strata Elite Card up to $200 annual Blacklane credit.
If you are a Blacklane customer anyway, you might as well earn an extra 1x points on your Bilt spending with the card.
Bottom line
Bilt and Blacklane have launched a partnership. With this, we’re seeing Blacklane bookings integrated into the Bilt app. That’s good news, because it’s now possible to redeem Bilt Cash toward a Blacklane ride, in the amount of $50-150 per year (depending on your status). It’s also possible to earn an extra 1x Bilt points on Blacklane rides when booking through the Bilt app.
While I’m not a huge fan of Blacklane, I have more Bilt Cash than I know what to do with, so I’ll certainly take a $150 credit with the chauffeur platform each year.
What do you make of the Bilt and Blacklane partnership?
BILT can add all the highly restrictive coupons they want. They’re still a sht issuer. And they will nerf.
Checked in Bangkok - Blacklane was well over $100 more than the service I typically use.
I'll check it in the future, but doubt this is going to move the needle for me.
Hi Ben, do you know if the Blacklane booked is prepay or post paid? I know booking through blacklane places a temporary charge but it only really charges after the ride is complete. Is booking through Bilt the same way?
Hey, Ben, are you a "Close Friend" of BILT? (I'd think you're probably levels up from that.) Their announcement email said: "Kate, our Sr. Director of Product Marketing for Travel, is picking a handful of Close Friends to surprise with a Journey Upgrade: a dedicated driver and car for a trip you've already got coming up." I'd like to think Ben et al is deserving of said upgrade! Bah!
@ 1990_ -- Lol, I'm definitely not. And the press release I got says this, which is quite something:
"To mark the launch, we're rolling out "Bilt for Those Going Places": a campaign following creators and members on chauffeur-driven journeys inspired by their own plans, passions, and places to go – all showing how the journey can be just as memorable as the destination."
Aww. At least the marketing messages are somewhat thoughtful. (It's about the journey!)
There's opportunity but also confusion as to whether the semi-annual $100 Blacklane credit on the Citi Strata Elite (July-Dec) would qualify, if you, say, booked through BILT's platform, used the $100 Bilt Cash, then charged the balance to Citi Strata Elite. Many of these rides are over $200 for a single ride (think, Manhattan-JFK, ouch), so that'd be nice to use both...
Aww. At least the marketing messages are somewhat thoughtful. (It's about the journey!)
There's opportunity but also confusion as to whether the semi-annual $100 Blacklane credit on the Citi Strata Elite (July-Dec) would qualify, if you, say, booked through BILT's platform, used the $100 Bilt Cash, then charged the balance to Citi Strata Elite. Many of these rides are over $200 for a single ride (think, Manhattan-JFK, ouch), so that'd be nice to use both credits in one-go. Also, Blacklane does occasionally do discount codes. So, think of the triple-dip possibility!
I went to a BILT Close Friends happy hour recently since I was wondering how I was selected for it and what it’s for. Turns out, it’s a great avenue for BILT to get customer feedback and for active customers to express their issues. I have a new found appreciation for BILT after last night and their willingness to listen to feedback.
The (in)ability to use all the BILT Cash before YE came up...
I went to a BILT Close Friends happy hour recently since I was wondering how I was selected for it and what it’s for. Turns out, it’s a great avenue for BILT to get customer feedback and for active customers to express their issues. I have a new found appreciation for BILT after last night and their willingness to listen to feedback.
The (in)ability to use all the BILT Cash before YE came up multiple times at the happy hour from both customers and BILT. If you have a good suggestion that’s profitable to them and useful to the customer base, they recommended emailing them what it is so they can consider it.
@DohaDuster -- Cool. If they can uncap Accelerators and still be 'profitable' then just do that, please. Otherwise, I'm not one of those totally-not-astrotruf'd Reddit commenters that regularly spout: 'Palladium is a points-earning machine!' and 'Ignore the BILT Cash!' people.
I'm more of a 'Remember how Wells Fargo lost $10-million-per-month on all of us earning 1x points on our over-priced rent every month?' and a 'I'm probably gonna have thousands of dollars of Bilt Cash...
@DohaDuster -- Cool. If they can uncap Accelerators and still be 'profitable' then just do that, please. Otherwise, I'm not one of those totally-not-astrotruf'd Reddit commenters that regularly spout: 'Palladium is a points-earning machine!' and 'Ignore the BILT Cash!' people.
I'm more of a 'Remember how Wells Fargo lost $10-million-per-month on all of us earning 1x points on our over-priced rent every month?' and a 'I'm probably gonna have thousands of dollars of Bilt Cash expire at the end of the year if they don't fix this soon' kinda person.
Ben, can you suggest a strategy for stacking the BILT cash and Citi Strata Elite credits? I've never used Blacklane before. If there is, say, a $300 charge for the ride, would I pay $200 with one card (Citi) and $100 with another (BILT)?
@ Phred -- We'll have to wait for some data points, but if it works, the idea would be to make the Blacklane booking through Bilt, redeem your Bilt Cash, and have the Citi Strata Elite as the card on file to pay the remaining amount. Again, that's not to say it'll work, but that's the idea!
Oh, you guys were already talking about this here! Nice. I'll just add, consider the triple-dip by also using the occasional Blacklane discount codes that come and go (30% off, etc.) Would be awesome to take a $250 ride, use discounts and BILT/Citi credits to bring cost to near $0.
Perfect timing...I have an early morning flight out of TPE that I needed to prebook a car for, the Bilt Cash basically covered the entire ride from the hotel! $2.50 out of pocket.
@Ben BTW, I don't know if this will trigger the Strata Elite credit. The charge on my Bilt Card was listed as "Bilt Car Service - Lyft". I didn't have a Strata Elite to test it out.
@ Samar -- Thanks for the data point! Hah, funny it shows as being Lyft related, given that Uber is in the process of acquiring Blacklane. Guessing it won't trigger then. Bleh!
@Ben, I just logged into my Bilt account and in there it says "Bilt Car Service - Blacklane" (Lyft came from my iPhone notification), so maybe it'll work? I guess someone else will have to be the guinea pig...
Call 9-1-1, 1990 (aka Veruca) is going to have a stroke.
I got it, NOW!
A 'stroke' because I'm so excited to finally get to burn some of my expiring BILT Cash!
(Yes, please 'stroke' me. Harder!)
Careful.
Some overly sensitive snowflakes here can get your 'stroke' censored.
Or maybe they're just someone's guardian angel.