Originally Posted by
jdsva
I agree that having the right transfer partners is critical, but also keep in mind, you don't HAVE to play the rent/mortgage game with BILT to get decent value out of the Palladium card. It's a drop in replacement for the VX but with "better" points for most people. Yes, you lose the C1 lounges if that is important to you, and it's a $100 more in AF (assuming no AUs, another notch in the C1VX column). If earning 2x BILT points vs 2x C1 miles is worth those tradeoffs, it isn't bad - evening ignoring whether you can spend enough on it to get rent/mortgage bonus points.
For me it's also a way to diversify a bit more - I have way too many C1 miles because of non-bonused spend, and I don't really want that buck to grow too much.
For comparison using previous example, but with the C1VX,
the $495 Bilt Card:
Assume a $2,000/month rent/mortgage in year one, you’re more than covered by the welcome bonus value. But what about year two? You lose the bonus categories of the $95 card in exchange for 2x points on non-category spend. If you prefer Bilt points to Capital One Venture points, the 2x earning rate is fine (similar to Venture X’s 2x on all purchases). You also get $200 Bilt Cash annually, so you’re at the same $13,000 in non-rent spend to cover fees in succeeding years, or $1,083.33/month If you manage to get value out of the 2x $200 hotel credits, you’re in good shape; it’s trickier if not.
Second-Year Math on the $495 Bilt Card vs. Capital One Venture X:
Assuming you manage $13,000 in spendyou can’t get better returns elsewhere:
- Bilt Card:
- 26,000 points from 13k spend at 2x + 24,000 points from 24k rent at 1x = 50,000 points/year at a cost of $495 annual fee.
- Capital One Venture X:
- 26,000 points from 13k spend at 2x + no rent points = 26,000 points/year, but the $395 annual fee is offset by the $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles (worth ~$100), effectively reducing the fee to $0.
So the question is: is 50k points per year at a cost of a $495 annual fee worth it? I’d say no, but it might be yes for others. With the Capital One Venture X, you earn 26k points, plus strong travel multipliers (10x on hotels and 5x on flights booked through Capital One Travel). The effective $0 annual fee makes it a better option for general spending and travel rewards.