Since its launch in 2021, Bilt has been known as the program that awards points for rent. Through the years, Bilt has undergone a bevy of updates and changes — perhaps none quite as splashy and newsworthy as the rollout of three all-new Bilt 2.0 cards in January 2026.
But there's much more to Bilt than housing rewards and credit cards. And you don't have to make housing payments through Bilt or have a Bilt credit card to earn valuable Bilt Points through the loyalty program.
These points can be redeemed for travel through loyalty partners, put toward rent or future down payments on a house, shopping on Amazon, and more.
TPG's February 2026 valuations deem Bilt points to be the most valuable currency on the market, at 2.2 cents apiece. However, there are plenty of ways to get even more value from them.
Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees): Earn 50,000 Bilt points plus Gold status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days. You can receive $300 of Bilt Cash upon approval (up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year).
Let's dive into all the details of the Bilt loyalty program and explore how to earn and redeem points for maximum value.
What is Bilt?
Bilt is a loyalty program that lets you earn points to redeem toward travel, a down payment on a home, gift cards, Lyft rides, Amazon purchases and more.
You can earn Bilt points by simply becoming a member (for free), linking a qualifying card to your Bilt account and transacting with Bilt partners.
Perhaps most notably, you can earn Bilt points on rent and mortgage payments and by spending on one of the issuer's three cobranded cards:
- Bilt Blue Card (see ): Entry-level card, $0 annual fee (see )
- Bilt Obsidian Card (see ): Mid-tier card, $95 annual fee (see )
- Bilt Palladium Card: Premium card, $495 annual fee (see )
As mentioned above, you don't have to be a renter, homeowner or Bilt cardholder to be a Bilt member. You can create a free rewards account, link your cards and earn Bilt points any time you transact with one of Bilt's partners (including restaurants, ride-hailing services, pharmacies, fitness classes and more).
Related: Are you eligible for a new Bilt card welcome offer? Your biggest Bilt card questions answered
How do you earn Bilt points?
There are multiple ways you can earn Bilt points. Here's a deep dive on each method.
Earning Bilt points with a Bilt card
Each Bilt card provides a unique points-earning structure. These cards also earn points on rent and mortgage payments and offer the option to earn Bilt Cash (a separate rewards currency) on everyday purchases, but we'll dive into these earnings later. Right now, let's focus on how many Bilt points these cards earn on everyday, nonhousing spending.
With the Bilt Blue, you'll earn 1 point per dollar spent on everyday purchases.
With the Bilt Obsidian, you'll earn:
- 3 points per dollar spent on your choice of grocery (up to $25,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar) or dining*
- 2 points per dollar spent on travel
- 1 point per dollar spent on everyday purchases
*Your category choice remains in effect for the entire calendar year.
With the Bilt Palladium, you'll earn 2 points per dollar spent on everyday purchases.
To learn more about the Bilt cards, read our full reviews of the Bilt Blue, Bilt Obsidian and Bilt Palladium.
Earning Bilt points on rent and mortgage payments
If you have the Bilt Blue, Bilt Obsidian or Bilt Palladium, you can make rent or mortgage payments through Bilt without incurring a transaction fee (see for the Bilt Blue; see for the Bilt Obsidian; see for the Bilt Palladium).
However, you have to track your spending — and do a little bit of math — to unlock your housing points through Bilt.
A note on Bilt Cash: We will dive deeper into the ins and outs of Bilt Cash, Bilt's internal rewards currency, and how to redeem it later. For now, it's worth noting that all three Bilt cards earn 4% back on everyday purchases in the form of Bilt Cash** — as long as you opt in to earn Bilt Cash when you decide on your housing rewards structure.
**Up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year.
Related: I earned points paying my mortgage via Bilt — how to set up your account to do the same
When you set up your Bilt card, you are prompted to select between two housing rewards structures. These are as follows:
- Flexible Bilt Cash option: Redeem Bilt Cash to unlock Bilt points on your housing payment at the following rate: $30 in Bilt Cash equals earning 1 point per dollar spent on $1,000 of your housing payment (maintaining the ability to earn 4% Bilt Cash on all nonhousing purchases).
- Housing-Only (no Bilt Cash option): Earn Bilt points automatically on your housing payments each billing cycle based on how much you spend on everyday purchases with your Bilt Card (forgoing the ability to earn 4% Bilt Cash on all nonhousing purchases). The number of points you earn depends on how much everyday spending you do compared to your monthly housing payment during that billing cycle.
If you choose the Housing-Only system of earning (and forgo earning Bilt Cash), these are your earning tiers:
- If you spend at least 25% of your monthly housing payment(s) on everyday purchases on the Bilt card, you'll earn 0.5 points per dollar spent on your rent or mortgage payment that month.
- If you spend at least 50% of your monthly housing payment(s) on everyday purchases on the Bilt card, you'll earn 0.75 points per dollar spent on your rent or mortgage payment that month.
- If you spend at least 75% of your monthly housing payment(s) on everyday purchases on the Bilt card, you'll earn 1 point per dollar spent on your rent or mortgage payment that month.
- If you spend the amount of your monthly housing payment(s) or more in everyday purchases on the Bilt card, you'll earn 1.25 points per dollar spent on your rent or mortgage payment that month.
To learn more about these earning structures, read our full article on earning housing rewards through Bilt.
You could also use a credit card that isn't a Bilt card to pay rent, though it may not be the best option. If you use a Visa, Discover or Mastercard, you'll earn 1 Bilt point per dollar spent on rent. Using an American Express card, you'll earn 1 Bilt point for every $2 spent. However, you'll incur a 3% transaction fee with this option.
Earning Bilt points through Bilt Dining
Bilt also has its own dining rewards program called Bilt Dining.
You can link any Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit card to the Bilt Dining program to earn up to 3 points per dollar spent at Bilt Dining restaurants when you pay with any eligible card in your Bilt Wallet. These earnings come in addition to what you earn with your credit card.
For example, if you pay with the Bilt Palladium, you can earn up to 3 additional points per dollar spent on top of the 2 points per dollar spent earned on everyday spending with the Palladium — for a total of up to 5 Bilt points per dollar spent. That's an 11% return on your dining purchases, according to TPG’s valuations.
If you have the Bilt Obsidian and opt to earn 3 points per dollar spent on dining purchases, you could potentially earn up to 6 total Bilt points per dollar spent at Bilt Dining restaurants, a return of 13.2%, per TPG's valuations.
There is no cap on how many points you can earn through Bilt Dining.
To learn more about earning Bilt points this way, read our full Bilt Dining guide.
Earning Bilt points on the Bilt Travel portal
The Bilt Travel portal allows members to earn points on flights, hotel stays, car rentals and activities.
As a Bilt member, you earn 1 point per dollar spent on flights booked through the portal and 2 points per dollar spent on hotel bookings made through the portal.
These points also stack with what you'll earn using a Bilt card, resulting in the following earning rates:
- Bilt Blue: 3 points per dollar spent on hotel stays booked through the Bilt Travel portal, 2 points per dollar spent on flights booked through the portal
- Bilt Obsidian and Bilt Palladium: 4 points per dollar spent on hotel stays booked through the portal, 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked through the portal
Earning Bilt points with Lyft
You can earn 2 Bilt points per dollar spent on Lyft rides when you link your accounts.
As with earning on the Bilt Travel portal, these points also stack with what you'll earn using a Bilt card, resulting in the following earning rates:
- Bilt Blue: 3 points per dollar spent on Lyft
- Bilt Obsidian and Bilt Palladium: 4 points per dollar spent on Lyft
Earning Bilt points with Walgreens
Bilt members also earn bonus points when they use a linked card in their Bilt Wallet or a phone number associated with their Bilt account at Walgreens checkout. These rates stack with everyday spending rates on Bilt cards.
Here is what you can expect to earn:
- 2 points per dollar spent on Walgreens-branded products
- 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases made at Walgreens
- 100 points per prescription refill with Walgreens (on up to 26 refills per calendar year)
Earning Bilt points with fitness studios
You can also earn up to 3 points per dollar spent when you book certain fitness classes through Bilt and use any linked card from the Bilt app or website. These earning rates also stack with everyday spending bonuses on Bilt cards.
Here are some example partners:
- Barry's
- BFT
- CorePower Yoga
- CycleBar
- Pure Barre
- Rumble Boxing
- SoulCycle
- YogaSix
- Y7
Many fitness studio partners also provide complimentary items, such as mats, shoes, towels or smoothies, when you book through Bilt.
Bilt elite status tiers
Bilt offers four status tiers: Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
You can reach Bilt elite status in two ways: earning Bilt points and receiving fast-track status through spending on your Bilt card and within the Bilt ecosystem.
While you won’t earn fast-track status on rent and mortgage payments, you can earn status through:
- Bilt Dining restaurant purchases made with any card linked to your Bilt Wallet
- Fitness classes booked through Bilt
- Lyft rides when Bilt is set as your rewards partner
- Nonhousing spending on your Bilt card
- Purchases made in the Bilt Travel portal
- Walgreens spending with any card linked to your Bilt account
Every Bilt member starts in the Blue tier.
Here’s a quick overview.
| Elite status tier | Blue | Silver | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option 1: Bilt points qualification | All Bilt members | 50,000 points | 125,000 points | 200,000 points |
| Option 2: Fast track with spending | All Bilt members | $10,000 spent | $25,000 spent | $50,000 spent |
