6 of the best ways to redeem Bilt Rewards points for maximum value

Editor’s note: TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt advisor and investor.

Bilt Rewards is a newcomer to the travel rewards world, but its points have already become one of our favorite currencies to collect — even winning two TPG Awards in 2022.

It’s got a very interesting collection of transfer partners — including some that competing programs with transferable points (like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards) have been unable to capture.

The main draw of Bilt is that you can use it to earn points when you pay your rent with no fees. By doing this, you can quite easily end up with 20,000-plus points annually that you wouldn’t otherwise have earned. Plus, you can earn points when you spend on the no-annual-fee Bilt Mastercard®. Just note that you'll have to make five monthly transactions to earn points.

But what should you do with your Bilt Rewards points? Let’s look at six ways to maximize Bilt Rewards for your upcoming travels.

Book domestic economy flights on American Airlines for as little as 6,000 Bilt points

American Airlines publishes an award price called “Web Specials.” These are usually steeply discounted rates for random routes that can often be found for 6,000 miles.

If you can be flexible with your travel dates, you’ve got a good shot at finding a Web Special price from your home airport to your destination for between 6,000 and 9,000 miles. Below is a random search from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) — a transcontinental flight for just 6,000 American Airlines miles.

This flight isn’t very expensive, anyway (just over $100), but if free travel is your aim, Web Specials are a great way to achieve domestic hops with minimal out-of-pocket cost. You can read more about deals like this in our complete guide to American Web Special awards.

Related: Your ultimate guide to American Airlines AAdvantage

Fly to Ireland in Aer Lingus economy for 13,000 Bilt points

When you transfer Bilt points to Aer Lingus (the airline of Ireland), you can fly to both Dublin and Shannon for as little as 13,000 points each way on the following routes:

• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Dublin Airport (DUB) and Shannon Airport (SNN).
• O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to DUB.
• Bradley International Airport (BDL) to DUB.
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to DUB.
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to DUB and SNN.
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to DUB.
• Dulles International Airport (IAD) to DUB.

That’s a great deal — especially considering many other airlines charge more than twice that amount to reach Europe — but note that Aer Lingus passes along just enough taxes and fees to irritate. Expect to pay $200-plus round-trip.

To get these low prices, you’ll have to fly on off-peak dates (you can click here to view Aer Lingus’ award calendar). Otherwise, you’ll pay 20,000 points each way.

To learn more about this trick, read our complete guide to using Avios to fly to Ireland.

Related: The ultimate guide to British Airways Avios

Book free hotel stays starting at 3,500 Bilt points

One of the best uses for Bilt points is to transfer them to Hyatt for free nights at a hotel. Hyatt charges from as little as 3,500 points per night for modest roadside hotels on off-peak dates to up to 45,000 points per night for luxe five-star hotels on peak travel dates.

The best value will often come when booking either low-end or luxury hotel stays. For example, the unmemorable Hyatt Place Indianapolis / Fishers is a convenient hotel for road-trippers. It costs as little as 6,500 points per night.

But that same room on the same night costs $295 in cash. That means you’re getting a value of 4.5 cents per point by booking this room.

Hyatt has a healthy selection of luxury properties that can net you a similar return when transferring your Bilt points to the hotel program. Read our guide to Hyatt award charts for more details.

Book Qatar Qsuite before anyone else

If you’re not acquainted with Qatar Airways' Qsuite business-class seats, know they’re some of the best in the world. Qsuite is most famous for giving travelers sitting right next to each other the ability to create a double bed during the flight.

The most popular way to book Qatar Qsuite is with American Airlines miles, as it tends to be the cheapest. However, if you transfer your Bilt points to British Airways instead of American Airlines, you can then convert your rewards into Qatar Airways Avios. Depending on the route you’re flying, it can be a bit more expensive — but you’ll be able to book flights an entire month further out than American Airlines will allow. This means you should have an easy time finding award availability.

For example, you can book Qsuite on American Airlines up to 330 days in the future.

But you can book these seats with Qatar Airways Avios 360 days in the future.

This should give you the first crack at award seats before those using other award currencies.

Note: British Airways allows you to book seats up to 355 days into the future — so you’ll have a little less than a week to book flights before those using British Airways Avios.

Read our post on converting British Airways Avios into Qatar Airways Avios. And check out our ultimate guide to Qatar Qsuite for more information about these award-winning business-class seats.

Related: Which airlines can I book with Avios?

Fly to Europe in Iberia business class for 34,000 Bilt points

An extremely cheap way to reach Europe with Bilt points is by transferring them to Iberia. You can fly to Spain in a lie-flat business-class seat for as little as 34,000 Iberia Avios each way on the following routes:

• BOS to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) and Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN).
• ORD to MAD.
• JFK to MAD and BCN.

These prices apply only for off-peak dates. On peak dates, you’ll pay 50,000 points each way. You can click here to see Iberia’s award calendar.

Other airlines routinely charge 60,000-plus miles to fly to Europe in a business-class seat. Just note that Iberia will charge over $100 each way in taxes and fees.

You can read more about this trick in our guide on how to fly to Europe in business class on Iberia.

Related: The best ways to travel to Europe using points and miles

Fly to Hawaii in United Airlines economy for 7,500 Bilt points

Turkish Airlines offers one of the sweetest deals in air travel. Because of this, it can be difficult to find availability — everyone wants to book it.

Turkish Airlines is a partner of United Airlines. You can use Turkish Airlines miles to book domestic United Airlines flights (including to Hawaii) at the following rates:

• 7,500 miles one-way in economy.
• 12,500 miles one-way in business class.

While it’s absolute murder to find a business-class flight to Hawaii, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem finding economy flights as long as you stick to United Airlines hubs as your origin airport and are flexible on when you fly.

You can read more about how to book this flight in our guide for how to fly Turkish Airlines to Hawaii.

Related: The best ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles

Bottom line

Bilt Rewards points are extremely versatile, with perhaps the best mix of travel partners offered by any flexible-points program. TPG estimates Bilt Rewards are worth 1.8 cents each — but there are endless ways to get even more value from them if you put some strategy into it.

See Bilt Mastercard rates and fees here.

See Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits here.