New Bilt 2.0 cards have arrived: How you can earn points on rent, mortgages and more
Editor's Note
Welcome to the world of Bilt 2.0, where it turns out most of the rumors about the new card portfolio were true — and there's a lot to celebrate for those who are more than ready to start earning points on their mortgage payments.
Starting with the really good news: You will now be able to earn 2 Bilt Points (TPG's most valued currency, per our January 2026 valuations) per dollar spent on everyday spending if you hold the premium-tier Bilt Palladium Card.
This is huge news to me because of the top-tier transfer partners in the Bilt Rewards program, such as Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, World of Hyatt and United MileagePlus, which make these points so highly sought after. I'm not saying I now think of this as earning "2 Hyatt or Atmos Rewards points per dollar spent on all purchases," but I'm not saying I don't think that way.
Additionally, for the very first time, there's a legitimately big Bilt welcome bonus.
The Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees) is offering 50,000 bonus Bilt Rewards points and Gold elite status after spending $4,000 on non-housing purchases within the first three months from account opening. Plus, cardholders will earn $300 in Bilt Cash upon application approval.
But that's not all.
You can earn additional Bilt points with TPG's exclusive offer: Earn 5 points per dollar spent on all purchases for the first five days of card membership (up to 50,000 bonus points). To be eligible for this limited-time offer, you must apply through TPG's exclusive link.
Although there are many positives to the Bilt 2.0 cards, some current Bilt enthusiasts may have not-so-positive reactions to a few changes.
For instance, as rumored, the days of accessing fee-free rent payments with as few as five small monthly transactions on a Bilt card are coming to an end.
According to Bilt, you can still use all three cards to pay your rent — and now your mortgage — with no transaction fee. However, in order to unlock the ability to earn points on those payments, you'll need to utilize Bilt Cash (another new program feature).
View this post on Instagram
This is a lot, and it may sound complicated at first, but that's exactly why we are here, so let's jump to it.
Details about the new Bilt credit cards
The now-confirmed details about the three new Bilt credit cards are:
Bilt Blue Card
- $0 annual fee.
- Welcome bonus: Earn $100 Bilt Cash when you apply and are approved.
- TPG exclusive: Earn 5 Bilt Rewards points per dollar spent on all purchases for the first five days of card membership (up to 50,000 points). To be eligible for this limited-time offer, you must apply through TPG's exclusive link.
- Everyday earning structure: Earn 1 point per dollar spent on everyday spending.
- Housing earning structure: Earn up to 1 point per dollar spent on mortgage and rent payments.
- Receive 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spending purchases; you can use Bilt Cash to unlock fee-free points earning (up to 1 point per dollar) on your housing payments.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Apply here: Bilt Blue Card (see rates and fees)
This is the card to consider if you want to explore Bilt's ecosystem (without paying an annual fee) and want to earn some Bilt points for housing payments and/or everyday purchases.
Since Bilt points are worth 2.2 cents apiece based on TPG's January 2026 valuations, you are still getting a good return for your everyday spending on this card. However, I'd argue that if you're planning to spend significantly on the card, you should consider a higher-tier Bilt card.
Bilt Obsidian Card
- $95 annual fee.
- Welcome bonus: Earn $200 Bilt Cash when you apply and are approved.
- TPG exclusive: Earn 5 Bilt Rewards points per dollar spent on all purchases for the first five days of card membership (up to 50,000 points). To be eligible for this limited-time offer, you must apply through TPG's exclusive link.
- Everyday earning structure: Earn 3 points per dollar spent on dining or grocery purchases (up to $25,000 per year), 2 points per dollar spent on travel and 1 point per dollar spent on everyday spending.
- Housing earning structure: Earn up to 1 point per dollar spent on mortgage and rent payments.
- Receive 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spending purchases; you can use Bilt Cash to unlock fee-free points earning (up to 1 point per dollar) on your housing payments.
- Receive a $100 annual Bilt Travel portal hotel credit ($50 available biannually per calendar year).
Apply here: Bilt Obsidian Card (see rates and fees)
This mid-tier card is a good option to consider if you don't want to pay a high annual fee but want to take advantage of some bonus points categories (i.e., travel, dining and groceries).
With the $200 Bilt Cash welcome offer, this card can likely more than pay for itself in its first year for cardmembers looking to earn points on their rent or mortgages, as Bilt Cash can be used to cover the transaction fee for those payments.
Bilt Palladium Card
- $495 annual fee.
- Welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 Bilt points plus Gold elite status after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months; plus, earn $300 in Bilt Cash after application approval.
- TPG exclusive: Earn 5 Bilt Rewards points per dollar spent on all purchases for the first five days of card membership (up to 50,000 points). To be eligible for this limited-time offer, you must apply through TPG's exclusive link.
- Everyday earning structure: Earn an unlimited 2 points per dollar spent on everyday spending.
- Housing earning structure: Earn up to 1 point per dollar spent on mortgage and rent payments.
- Receive 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spending purchases; you can use Bilt Cash to unlock fee-free points earning (up to 1 point per dollar) on your housing payments.
- Receive a $400 annual Bilt Travel portal hotel credit ($200 available biannually).
- Receive $200 in Bilt Cash annually.
- Enjoy a Priority Pass membership.
Apply here: Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees)
I'd argue this is the best of the three new cards for those serious about earning Bilt points, though paying a $495 annual fee may not be right for everyone.
If you don't want to mess with category bonuses — or simply already have other cards where you want to direct your travel, dining and/or grocery spending — then earning 2 points per dollar spent on all purchases with this card is likely the way to go.
Interestingly, even if this card had nothing to do with earning points on housing payments, it would still be big news, given the value and versatility of Bilt points and the card's enticing earning rate of 2 points per dollar spent on all purchases (excluding rent and mortgages, which are up to 1 point per dollar spent).
TPG values 2 Bilt Rewards points at a 4.4% return on spending per our January 2026 valuations — and that's before factoring in the 4% Bilt Cash being earned simultaneously.
Therefore, the welcome offer of 50,000 Bilt points is worth $1,100, per our valuations. With TPG's exclusive offer (must apply through TPG's link) to earn up to an additional 50,000 points at 5 points per dollar spent in the first five days (potentially earning 100,000 Bilt points), you have the ability to receive up to $2,200 in value.
That's before factoring in earning $300 in Bilt Cash and Gold elite status.
Bilt Cash: The pathway to fee-free rent and mortgage payments
All three new Bilt cards will award 4% Bilt Cash on nonhousing purchases. So, for example, if you spend $1,000 on your Bilt card per month (excluding rent or mortgage payments), you'd earn $40 that month in Bilt Cash at the 4% rate. You can use that Bilt Cash for a variety of things in the Bilt ecosystem, including for Bilt status upgrades and Bilt travel bookings.
But perhaps importantly for this example, you can also use your Bilt Cash to earn points on rent and mortgage payments made using your Bilt card without transaction fees. The more you spend on the card, the more Bilt Cash you earn — and the more you amplify your fee-free earning potential on housing payments.
For every $30 in Bilt Cash, you can earn 1 point per dollar on $1,000 in rent or mortgage payments without paying a transaction fee.
This can be complicated at first, so let's look at two example scenarios.
$750 in everyday purchases, $2,000 in rent per month
Let's start with a scenario where you spend $750 per month on everyday purchases with your new Bilt card. This spending earns you $30 in Bilt Cash each month.
At the end of the month, you have a $2,000 rent payment due. This entire payment can be made through Bilt without fees if you like. However, your $30 in Bilt Cash allows you to earn points on $1,000 of that payment — the other $1,000 earns you no points in that scenario if you want to avoid transaction fees.
In other words, you'd earn 0.5 points per dollar spent on your $2,000 in rent if you had half the Bilt Cash needed to earn fee-free points on the full amount.
Pro tip: To figure out the amount of Bilt Cash you'd need available to earn 1 point per dollar spent on the full amount without fees, multiply your housing payment by 3%.
$1,500 in everyday purchases, $2,000 in rent per month
Now, let's say you make double the amount of everyday purchases on a Bilt card than in the first example ($1,500). At a 4% Bilt Cash earning rate, you're earning $60 in Bilt Cash each month.
In this scenario, the $60 in Bilt Cash allows you to earn points without fees on your entire rent payment of $2,000.
Think of this amount as the "break-even" point on these cards. More specifically, if you spend at least 75% of the amount of your housing payment on everyday purchases on a Bilt card in a given month, you'll have enough Bilt Cash to earn points on the full amount of your rent or mortgage without paying a fee.
There will be an automatic setting for this
Not a math person? Not to worry — Bilt will do it for you. You can select the setting to automatically apply your available Bilt Cash to earn as many points as possible on your rent or mortgage payment (again, at a rate of $30 in Bilt Cash for $1,000 in housing spend).
If you have enough Bilt Cash available, you'll earn 1 point per dollar spent on the entire payment without a fee. If you have less, you'll only earn points on part of it if you want to avoid transaction fees (which otherwise would be 3% if you want to earn points on the rent or mortgage payment without Bilt Cash available).
Note: If you apply for one of the cards today, factor in the time it will take to receive it in the mail. According to the company, it will turn on all Bilt 2.0 cards Feb. 7.
Are the new Bilt cards worth it?
As a mortgage holder who never benefited from the Bilt 1.0 rent system, I am personally pretty thrilled at the prospect of easily earning Bilt Rewards points.
When it comes to whether the new Bilt cards are worth it, let's look at a few more numbers rather than offering a simple yes or no answer. Here's the math on how I can now earn 90,000 Bilt Rewards points per year with the new Bilt Palladium Card.
- Spend $2,250 in everyday purchases each month, earning me 4,500 Bilt points plus $90 in Bilt Cash.
- Pay my monthly $3,000 mortgage on my Bilt Palladium Card.
- Earn 3,000 points on that transaction by using my $90 in Bilt Cash.
This translates to a grand total of 90,000 Bilt Rewards points per year with no transaction and payment fees.
Even if that's all I put on the Bilt Palladium Card — and it probably won't be — earning 90,000 Bilt Rewards points per year from an average of just $2,250 in everyday purchases on the card each month, plus the monthly mortgage payment, is pretty fantastic.
And that's before I factor in the ability to earn 50,000 bonus Bilt Rewards points with the welcome bonus after spending at least $4,000 on nonhousing purchases within the first three months of card membership. I'll also get to try out Gold status after meeting the welcome offer spending requirements, which will likely get me access to even more lucrative monthly Rent Day bonuses, airline and hotel partner transfers and more. (Note: Gold status is valid through the rest of the calendar year in which it was earned and the following calendar year.)
My advice for deciding if the new Bilt cards are worth it for you: Take a moment to mourn the past if you need to, then crunch the numbers for yourself. Numbers should drive your rewards card decisions, not emotions.
For me, the numbers are clearly in my favor, and the new Bilt cards — especially the new Bilt Palladium Card — are definitely worth a slot in my wallet.
Plus, since Bilt Rewards is really a comprehensive ecosystem, this may be just the beginning. For now, though, I can easily earn thousands of dollars in rewards over the next year and finally maximize my largest monthly expense.
Bottom line
There's a lot to wrap your head around with the launch of three all-new Bilt cards, including the evolution of Bilt Cash and their new welcome offers.
We aren't going to try and cram every detail and scenario into this one article.
Instead, you can keep this article bookmarked for the information you're after to help you decide if Bilt 2.0 makes sense for you and which card may be the best fit for your wallet. We will continue to add links to newly created content as it publishes to help you navigate this Bilt 2.0 world.
Apply here: Bilt Palladium Card
Apply here: Bilt Obsidian Card
Apply here: Bilt Blue Card
Related reading: