sullim4

https://www.reddit.com/r/biltrewards..._bilt_partner/

Interesting glitch in the Bilt app. This as they announced the termination of their relationship with AA: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bilt-...rship-in-june/

This will make it much easier to earn AS miles, and it makes me really wonder what partner redemptions will cost in practical terms. Also makes me wonder if Wells Fargo is a potential future transfer partner for some of their recently announced cards.

jbs2886

Thanks for the update. I’ve liked transferring my points to AA to use for international upgrades ($350 + 25K points, although it tends to mess up the reservation linked with an AS number).

tth6133

It's highly unlikely, IMO. If AS decides to get into the transferrable mileage currency game, its likely bank partner would be BoA, which is about 3x bigger in card issuance than Wells.

gleff

This would have nothing to do with Wells.

Alaska hasn't been a transfer partner with any bank because of their exclusive relationship with BofA. They can't do it.

Bilt Rewards is not a bank transfer currency. It's a loyalty program that has a credit card. Think along the lines of Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott points can transfer to a variety of airlines without violating their co-brand exclusivity deals. (United can only do bank deals with Chase for transferable points, Delta with Amex, etc.) So can Bilt, which is how Bilt has had American and Hyatt and United.

sullim4

BoA doesn't have any transferable currency though, right?

Of the legacies, UA partners with Chase and Bilt, AA partners with Citi and Barclays (and Bilt for a little while longer), and DL is the only one going it alone with AMEX. It's not unheard of to have multiple banking partners. Especially when your banking partner, well... isn't exactly known for its stellar competence or customer service and might be a reason why your customers don't want the card. BoA is fine until you have a problem and then it's like pulling teeth to get it fixed. Chase and AMEX are no picnic but I've never had anywhere near the amount of problems with fraud with them that I've had with BoA cards I've held, including the Alaska card.

tth6133

Bilt Rewards couldn't be excluded by agreements between banks and frequent flyer/guest programs when it was an unaffiliated startup. Now it has a strategic partnership with Wells, which other banks would obviously compete with. Those other banks would likely insist their exclusivity agreements cover programs like Bilt, even if they aren't explicitly excluded as of now.

notquiteaff

But Bilt isn’t a banking partner. And AA doesn’t accept any transfers from any bank transferrable currencies.

I would be surprised if AS wasn’t joining the Bilt program. It’s unlikely that anyone would be including AS accidentally as a partner if it wasn’t on the near term roadmap. This was a screwup of someone testing in production (or similar), not someone adding random airline logos in production.

eponymous_coward

My guess is that if HA and AS merge their loyalty program into MP, there will be a period of time where transfers from Bilt -> HA becomes Bilt -> AS, assuming HA's contract runs through the date the combined loyalty program is MP.

I would question whether or not AS renews it though. It was a bit different having AA join in 2021 when Bilt's card issuer was through some rando fintech firm affiliation with Evolve Bank (I actually have this card, not the WF card) as opposed to Wells Fargo, which is very obviously a direct competitor to BofA and Citi (and is implementing transferrable points that have some overlap with Bilt).

FWIW though... AF/KL issue cards through Bank of America like AS does, and they also partner with EVERYONE in the transferrable miles space: AMEX, Chase, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, Wells Fargo. So maybe BofA won't care. Maybe AS won't care if they lose some control of their mileage minting (I suspect they view BofA not having transferrable miles as a feature, not a bug, it helps with controlling the program).

tth6133

US credit card issuers pay more for miles from US-based airlines than those from foreign airlines, so they probably care more about exclusivity with these US-based airlines. Foreign airlines (including BA, VS, AF, etc.), I guess, are "permitted" to have more "promiscuous" relationships.

tth6133

It's not a rumor anymore. Bilt Rewards has added AS as a transfer partner.

GuzziQuota

my guess, more Bilt card holders going for "our" seats ;-) , im not seeing the advantage to AK flyers, am I wrong ? https://www.cnbc.com/select/bilt-par...aska-airlines/

eponymous_coward

The AirAsia (AK) flyers are probably going to be all right. Maybe not the Alaska (AS) fliers, though they do now have access to a no annual fee earner that’s 3x dining , 2x travel, 1x rent and has a day where points are doubled (Rent Day).

Even more interesting… looks like you can pay rent with the AS BofA card at some points and get 3x AS miles (and credit for the companion certificate and EQM)…at a 3% rake.

https://frequentmiler.com/bilt-alaska-3x-rent/

sullim4

This may actually push me to get the card. I'm heavily invested in Hyatt and the flexibility of being able to transfer to either Hyatt or AS is intriguing.

Earn categories are significantly better than the AS visa for most customers. 3x on dining and 2x on general travel. Very similar to the CSP, but in exchange for no annual fee you give up things like primary CDW and the related travel protections.

tth6133

The Bilt Rewards card has primary CDW coverage. It also has trip interruption/delay coverage (actually its coverage kicks in at 6hrs vs 12hrs for the CSP). However, it doesn't have checked baggage coverage that CSP has.

sullim4

Wowza! Very interesting.