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Old Oct 7, 2023, 1:25 pm
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Last edit by: Dr Jabadski
Bilt Rewards Mastercard WikiPost

(10/7/23 Original author (Dr Jabadski) note: As I posted here on 9/9/23 Considering Ive been salivating about simple no-cost points-etizing (like monetizing) my condo payments for about 25 years, I see Bilt as a game changer. I should have added almost a Holy Grail (a thing that is eagerly pursued or sought after). I successfully applied for a Bilt Mastercard 1 month ago thus Im far from an expert. Both before and after approval I posted multiple questions many times on this thread and several other FTers were highly gracious and informative. Thought a WikiPost might save some others a good deal of time, effort and aggravation, at least in not repeating my questions and searching for the answers. I certainly hope the experts will edit and update this WikiPost as necessary. Im also exercising Writer's Prerogative to officially coin the term pointsetize, like monetize convert into or express in the form of currency, to earn points from payments which otherwise would not earn points.)

Bilt Rewards Mastercard (Bilt MC) was first launched in mid-2021, in good part as a no fee way to charge and pointsetize rent payments. (Perhaps the only no fee way to pointsetize rent payments.) There are multiple reports of earning Bilt points for paying condominium monthly maintenance/common charges, sometimes even when the word condo or condominium is in the transaction description.

Bilt MC is a personal credit card, WF reports credit card information to the various credit bureaus and Bilt MC will count toward Chase 5/24.

This post and this post (both from 9/7/23) describe shutdown reports perhaps related to micro transactions, fluctuating rent payment amounts or multiple rent payments. This 10/11/23 post includes several references to Reddit user quotes about shutdowns and several Reddit Bilt quotes in response.

Links to Bilt Rewards Terms of Use and Evolve Bank & Trust (Bilt Technologies) Customer Account Agreement. The Terms state Bilt may make available to you a Bilt Rent Account (Account), which is a transaction bank account that can be used by you solely to make rent payments. The Agreement states: For the avoidance of doubt, the Account is a transaction bank account that can be used by you solely to make rent payments. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not an account that you may use to deposit or withdraw funds for any other purposes outside of rent payments.

Bilt MC is a metal card weighing ~16 grams (comparisons: AmEx biz plat 18.5 gm, AmEx Gold 15 gm, Chase Sapphire Reserve 13 gm, traditional plastic card 5 gm).

Bilt Mastercard is issued and managed by Wells Fargo. Bilt Rewards is a separate website and app (which contains some credit card information but not as much as WF website).

Most reports are of instant approvals, Wells Fargo reconsideration phone number and experiences are not well documented. Reported initial Credit Limits vary $4,000 - $30,000 with higher limits more commonly reported. This post (9/1/23) describes one instance of a Something went wrong message upon application and the steps toward approval several days later.

In March/April 2025 Bilt initiated a new and different process for paying rent and HOA fees which requires preauthorization and/or "auto-pre-authorization" within 5 days of payment. Rent payments can be made in multiple different ways. Bilt will provide a (bank) routing number and account number. ACH rent payments can be sent (deposited) by Bilt or withdrawn by a managing company.

Bilt MC is shipped via trackable no-signature-required First Class mail in a small (4.5 x 6.5) white box with unique packaging inside as pictured at the bottom of this post. As of Feb 2024 no reports of expedited shipping.

Reports on this thread starting in late November 2023 indicate this "quasi-SUB" may be offered randomly and/or only to some people, selection criteria unknown. This post may be the only report of being offered the quasi-SUB prior to Bilt Mastercard application, based on existing Bilt Rewards account. Bilt's quasi-SUB" is offered via an email and a text message notification the same day as card receipt informing of 5x/5 days/max 50K (email quoted verbatim in this post). (Quasi* due to very short duration in contrast to many traditional SUBs of 3 month duration.) Please note this quasi-SUB maxs out at $12,500 (not $10,000) and tax payments will count. No reports yet of returns and their effect on quasi-SUB. (* quasi- a combining form meaning resembling, having some, but not all of the features of, used in the formation of compound words: quasi-definition; quasi-monopoly; quasi-official; quasi-scientific.)

Newly earned Bilt points will display as pending until 5 transactions per statement cycle. After 5 transactions, points will post and become available shortly after a transaction, before statement date. The Bilt Rewards website has a transaction counter which disappears upon reaching 5.

Bilt points for linking partner programs (100 points each) and for adding a credit card to Bilt Wallet (100 points each for first 3) post immediately. Original author received 500 point bonus for first rent payment.

Bilt Rewards points are transferable at 1:1 usually within a few minutes to multiple different airline and hotel programs.

Theres discussion of the long term viability of Bilt with some of those posts linked at the bottom of this post after BREAK.

Bilt Status Tiers: Blue - anyone enrolled in Bilt Rewards with under 25,000 points, Silver - 25,000 points earned, Gold - 50,000 points earned, Platinum - 100,000 points earned. Tier status earned at any point in a year remains active through the end of the following year. Earn Interest on Points (Silver, Gold, Platinum Tiers) is minimal, discussed on this post and this post.

Bilt Points Quest Trivia was discontinued as of July 2024. Bilt Points Quest Trivia on the first of each month offers up to 250 points for correctly answering, within 10 seconds, 6 (out of 15-20) questions. Must get first 5 questions (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 points) correct to see the 6th bonus 100 point question. Theres often a Reddit thread with the Q & A. (Point Quest - October 2023 Answers) The lower half of this post has comments from a highly experienced test taker regarding memory, recall and studying for Points Quest Trivia.

Bilt Rent Free may also have been discontinued in 2024 or 2025. Bilt also has various RentFree games, available a few days prior to and/or on the 1st of the month, different people get different games. Could be a Family Feud style question with enough time to Google answers or a Where's Wally? (Bilt Brick) type of game or something else. Successful completion enters to be one of 3 people for whom Bilt pays their monthly rent (up to $2500).

List of Bilts Rent Day promotions going back to October 2022 at the bottom of the page here: DEALSPOINTS.

June 2024: Bottom of this post describes one persons experience paying a significant assessment (and earning points) with Bilt MC, at this time (only 3 weeks later) no report of clawback or shutdown (based on using Bilt to pay rent more than once a month and/or for something other than rent/condo fees).

June 2024: Bottom of this post contains Bilt quotes regarding Bilt BiltProtect.

June 2024: Important post (and link) stating that WF is losing money every month on Bilt.
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 12:57 pm
  #481  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
I....worth the minimal impact of a hard pull.
It's not only a hard pull, it's also a new account at a time when some issuers, notably Chase, are focused on new accounts in addition to pulls.
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 1:00 pm
  #482  
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Originally Posted by mia
It's not only a hard pull, it's also a new account at a time when some issuers, notably Chase, are focused on new accounts in addition to pulls.
But it's one pull for a lifetime* (of the card). Chase hasn't added lifetime accounts language as far as I'm concerned.
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 1:05 pm
  #483  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
.... Chase hasn't added lifetime accounts language
Sorry, I do not know what that means. Chase tallies the new personal accounts opened during the last 24 months. If you open a Bilt account now it will not fall off until 2026.
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 1:23 pm
  #484  
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Originally Posted by mia
Sorry, I do not know what that means. Chase tallies the new personal accounts opened during the last 24 months. If you open a Bilt account now it will not fall off until 2026.
What I mean is that since most sign on bonuses are moving to once in a lifetime, I'm not super concerned if I get a bonus for another card now or have to delay it for a few months, vs getting the Bilt now and keeping it forever. Hope that makes sense.
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 1:47 pm
  #485  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
What I mean is that since most sign on bonuses are moving to once in a lifetime, I'm not super concerned if I get a bonus for another card now or have to delay it for a few months, vs getting the Bilt now and keeping it forever. Hope that makes sense.
Other than Amex and Capital One, and Amex does release a decent amount of NLL offers especially business side, what's lifetime?
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 2:00 pm
  #486  
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Originally Posted by notquiteaff
If they did something like Amex where they offer you at least XYZ or up to XYZ and show you the offer before you submit your final application, that would, I suppose, be an acceptable way to not give everyone a pseudo-SUB. But I have zero interest in signing up for the card without knowing the entire deal.

https://frequentmiler.com/up-to-some...elcome-offers/
The main reason I signed up for this card is the ability to pay rent without incurring fees of, at minimum, 2.9% that my landlord charges. And being here in NYC, that's a lot of points I used to NOT earn that, in one year, will equate to a sign-up bonus on most cards. And the only thing it is 'costing' me is the spend on the 5 charges per month on non-rent spend, which will be very little.

As to the speculation that their business model is sustainable or not...I have no idea. I plan on going to Bilt points first for any transfers I need for flights, and after my first one I will have more than earned any value that I would have gotten by putting those 5 monthly charges somewhere else.

IF this model is sustainable, then to me, this card would be a very good Chase Sapphire Pref killer since the earning rates are so similar and it has no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 2:09 pm
  #487  
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Only think that prevents me from burning Bilt points instantly is that it transfers to so many good partners - AA, Hyatt, TK, AF, AC, CX, BA, and so on...
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 3:48 pm
  #488  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
It's a free card that lets anyone get points on either rent or condo/HOA fees. That alone is worth the minimal impact of a hard pull.
I don't have any rent or HOA payments, though. So for me the credit card has to earn its keep - and an initial signup bonus has to be good enough that I don't look elsewhere instead. Frankly, it doesn't even have to be $10k at 5X - most of the time I don't really have an easy ability to create that much spend. Once a year there is the opportunity to combine property taxes and estimated taxes, but the rest of the year it would be quarterly estimates, and I don't want to overpay that much when I could instead earn 5% (minus taxes).

If I had rent or HOA payments, I would probably more motivated to sign up for the card. And maybe they would be more motivated to offer me a bonus.
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Old Nov 30, 2023 | 10:23 pm
  #489  
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Originally Posted by fredc84
I'd be curious to know what metric they use to hand out those offers…
Wouldn’t we all. In addition to helping with the initial application decision it might be helpful in determining if this card is churnable.

Originally Posted by notquiteaff
If they did something like Amex where they offer you “at least XYZ” or “up to XYZ” and show you the offer before you submit your final application, that would, I suppose, be an acceptable way to not give everyone a pseudo-SUB. But I have zero interest in signing up for the card without knowing the entire deal. https://frequentmiler.com/up-to-some...elcome-offers/
Excellent point, I hadn’t seen that (before) for AmEx applications, thank you.

Originally Posted by josephstern
I truly think this card is worth having even without a sign-up bonus. … No annual fee and no forex fee, plus bonus categories - it has its place in my wallet long-term.
Originally Posted by Smiley90
It's a free card that lets anyone get points on either rent or condo/HOA fees. That alone is worth the minimal impact of a hard pull.
Originally Posted by fredc84
The main reason I signed up for this card is the ability to pay rent without incurring fees ….
Agree that this card is a no-brainer for anyone who pays rent (or condo fees). Others need to evaluate the benefits and their other CC benefits and their 5/24 concern and status, for them it could go either way, basically a “Deal or No Deal”.

Originally Posted by notquiteaff
… $10k at 5X ….
If you do apply and get the quasi-SUB, it maxes out at $12.5k, not $10k.

Originally Posted by Smiley90
… most sign on bonuses are moving to once in a lifetime….
As others have mentioned “most” might not be the applicable word, some is probably more accurate. And even for that “some”, lifetime is an ambiguous word due to some lifetimes being 7 years and some NLL offers essentially offering unlimited lifetimes.
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Old Dec 1, 2023 | 6:43 pm
  #490  
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Bilt Trivia 12/1/2023


Many Americans run in a thanksgiving day race commonly referred to as what ? Turkey Trot

In the childhood rhyme humpty dumpy, what food is humpty portraid as ? Egg

Which of the following is not a popular dip while eating meditaerrian food? Guacamole

Who is the creator of the beloved animated file “The nightmare before Christmas” Tim Burton

which country popularized the bread "panettone" - Italy


Creator of Nightmare before Christmas - Tim Burton

Popeye's favorite food - spinach

Famous chef who says Bam - Emeril Lagasse

Depending on genetics, this herb might taste like soap to you. - Cilantro

What is the most popular annual parade in the U.S. - Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

What is a popular ingredient in Risotto? Rice.

Which of the following cereals has a bird as its mascot? Fruit Loops.

Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter after this fruit? Apple.

Rachel famously includes beef making this dessert? English Trifle.

What cheese in Caprese - mozzarella

(assembled from various sources)

Edit: and one not on the list that I promptly got wrong

Song the Mean Girls cast perform in film’s Christmas talent show - Jingle Bell Rock.

Last edited by notquiteaff; Dec 1, 2023 at 6:52 pm
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Old Dec 2, 2023 | 11:16 am
  #491  
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The app shows that my rent payment was processed yesterday. Out of curiosity, how long does it take the points to hit my account?
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Old Dec 2, 2023 | 11:57 am
  #492  
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Originally Posted by fredc84
The app shows that my rent payment was processed yesterday. Out of curiosity, how long does it take the points to hit my account?
This is only my 3rd month so I cannot answer definitively. I too got an email from Bilt very early today stating that my rent has been paid, I can see the pending charge on the WF website.

IIRC I received a similar email the past 2 months. The charge at WF website apparently goes from “pending” to “posted” in 1 day, Bilt points have posted the day the charge is “posted” (and I already had 5 charges in the billing periods). I’ve sometimes transferred Bilt points (including referral points from a certain someone , if he/she is reading thanks very much again ) immediately after they posted at Bilt. All transfers have been to Hyatt, taking 20-30 minutes to post at Hyatt.

BREAK

It’s interesting that all 3 of my Bilt rent payments have had the exact same timing; email and pending charge on the 2nd, posted and points on the 3rd. Interesting because when my management agent used to do an ACH withdrawal from my bank the exact date varied every month between the 2nd and the 7th and now with Bilt it’s always on the 2nd. I provided Bilt account number and routing number to the managing agent and presumably they are still withdrawing the ACH payment (rather than Bilt sending (depositing) it).

Banking procedures are well beyond my area of expertise. Has the managing agent always sent the payment on the 1st or 2nd and in the past my bank (USAA) had a delay in posting? Has Bilt somehow “taken over” the payments thus making the exact same date more reliable? Mere coincidence? Too few Bilt payments to draw a conclusion? Something else? Thank you.

Last edited by Dr Jabadski; Dec 2, 2023 at 12:05 pm Reason: clarification
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Old Dec 2, 2023 | 12:09 pm
  #493  
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Originally Posted by Dr Jabadski
This is only my 3rd month so I cannot answer definitively. I too got an email from Bilt very early today stating that my rent has been paid, I can see the pending charge on the WF website.

IIRC I received a similar email the past 2 months. The charge at WF website apparently goes from pending to posted in 1 day, Bilt points have posted the day the charge is posted (and I already had 5 charges in the billing periods). Ive sometimes transferred Bilt points (including referral points from a certain someone , if he/she is reading thanks very much again ) immediately after they posted at Bilt. All transfers have been to Hyatt, taking 20-30 minutes to post at Hyatt.

BREAK

Its interesting that all 3 of my Bilt rent payments have had the exact same timing; email and pending charge on the 2nd, posted and points on the 3rd. Interesting because when my management agent used to do an ACH withdrawal from my bank the exact date varied every month between the 2nd and the 7th and now with Bilt its always on the 2nd. I provided Bilt account number and routing number to the managing agent and presumably they are still withdrawing the ACH payment (rather than Bilt sending (depositing) it).

Banking procedures are well beyond my area of expertise. Has the managing agent always sent the payment on the 1st or 2nd and in the past my bank (USAA) had a delay in posting? Has Bilt somehow taken over the payments thus making the exact same date more reliable? Mere coincidence? Too few Bilt payments to draw a conclusion? Something else? Thank you.
Yea, it doesn't help that it's a weekend and that might delay the posting. As I said, I'm just curious, not concerned. I paid using the direct billing to our checking account instead of it going through the card, so it will be interesting how that all gets posted. (And honestly, it's crazy that they allow the rent payment to not even hit my credit card (by using the BiltProtect Debit feature) but I might get points anyway.)
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Old Dec 2, 2023 | 12:50 pm
  #494  
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Originally Posted by notquiteaff
Bilt Trivia 12/1/2023….
Thanks for posting. I hope my thoughts and suggestions (lower half of this post) about “studying” (and not “memorizing little factoids that are of zero interest”) have been helpful.

FWIW, now having done it a few times, I’m even more confident of those thoughts and suggestions and in some ways “studying” and doing Bilt PointsQuest has taken me back (~ 45 years) to my college and medical school days. “Studying” for Bilt PointsQuest (time limited multiple choice trivia) is different than “studying” for Bilt’s RentFree game (no time limit Family Feud style question).

RentFree requires (and is worth) no studying. There’s no time limit, can Google while doing it. The reward (an unknown % chance for free rent) is lesser value.

For PointsQuest the past couple of months I’ve found “reddit bilt points quest November (or December) 2023” to be the proper wording for the most expeditious search. I’ve read the Reddit thread(s) 2 or 3 times, over 2-3 minutes, then immediately done the PointsQuest questions, voil, 250 points. Do that for a year or so and we’re talking real points ! Good luck all.

(I hope this post doesn’t read like bragging or gloating, truly just trying to be helpful.)
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Old Dec 2, 2023 | 12:58 pm
  #495  
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Originally Posted by fredc84
The app shows that my rent payment was processed yesterday. Out of curiosity, how long does it take the points to hit my account?
Do you have the 5 other transactions required yet? They wint post until you do.
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