Editor’s note: TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt advisor and investor.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
If you carry the Bilt Mastercard, there’s a good chance you use it at the start of each month when you pay rent. There’s more reason now to keep it handy when the first day of the month rolls around.
Beginning in October, Bilt rewards is launching a new promotion it's calling “Bilt Rent Day,” which will take place on — you guessed it — the first of each month. As part of Bilt Rent Day, cardholders of the Bilt Mastercard will earn double points on all their non-rent spending that day.
While we often talk here at TPG about making sure you use the best credit card for the purchase you’re making, it’s not too often the date of the month figures into the decision equation.
Put a reminder on your phone or otherwise mark your calendar, though, because this could be a great way to earn extra points at the start of each month.
Bilt rewards refresher
Most Bilt Mastercard members probably closely associate the card with paying rent. After all, a primary benefit of the program is that you can use the Bilt card to pay and earn points on rent payments, as long as your rental property is part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance. Bilt cardmembers can earn one point per dollar spent on rent (capped at 100,000 points annually).
It’s a great option for renters, considering those monthly payments are likely the biggest monthly payments made; someone with a $1,700 monthly rent would pay $20,400 annually — thus earning 20,400 points — which can be transferred to a variety of loyalty programs at a rate of 1 point per dollar, including the American Airlines AAdvantage program.
There’s reason to use your Bilt Mastercard on other purchases too, though: cardholders also earn 3 points per dollar on dining purchases, 2 points per dollar on travel and 1 point per dollar on other non-rent spending.
Bilt Rent Day bonus categories
Those non-rent spending categories are where Bilt Rent Day comes into play.
On the first of each month, cardholders will earn double their normal accrual rates on non-rent spending. That means cardholders will accrue 6 points per dollar on dining, 4 points per dollar on travel and 2 points per dollar on other non-rent spending categories. This certainly makes for some accelerated earning potential.
Sure, you can capitalize on a $100 meal out by earning 600 points instead of the usual 300 points. But when it comes to travel, if you can wait until the first of the month to make your purchase, you could really accelerate your earnings.
For instance, if you waited until the first of the month, on Bilt Rent Day, to book, say, a $350 flight for yourself and a traveling companion and $600 for a hotel, you’d earn 5,200 Bilt rewards points. That would get you a good portion of the way to a low-level redemption on American Airlines if you were to transfer your points to the AAdvantage program.
The cap is 10,000 bonus points.
Bottom line
Bilt is already a great way to earn points on rent, which is one of the biggest payments most people have each month. As part of the company’s new "rent day" promotion, though, cardholders of the Bilt Mastercard could earn big on non-rent purchases, too, making the first of the month a great time to book travel or go out to eat if you carry the card.
