The world is changing. With the rise of new technologies, people are able to travel more easily than ever before. And while some may be hesitant about this change, there are many benefits that come with it.
The pay rent with credit card without fee is a great way to earn points on your rental payments.
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If you utilized Plastiq.com to charge your rewards credit card and mail your landlord a check, paying $50,000 in rent for a year would cost you $1250. As part of the redesign of the new Bilt Rewards program, you may now charge up to $50,000 in rent each year and earn transferrable points without paying a fee.
Bilt, a new loyalty program based on paying rent, was introduced this summer. It has points that may be transferred to American Airlines, Hyatt, and other valued programs. And in only three months, they’ve already enhanced the Bilt Mastercard’s value proposition, making it even more appealing. They’ve also made changes to their elite status scheme.
There is now a queue to join the program, and it is said to take months to be accepted in. However, you may join the queue by going to BiltRewards.com/waitlist, entering your email address, and being asked whether you have a fast track code. VFTW4BILT will welcome you with open arms. (I don’t get any referral credit for this; I’m just passing it along as a courtesy.)
For Bilt Mastercard, a new very competitive earning structure has been implemented.
The Bilt Mastercard, which has no annual charge, currently earns:
- Rent (up to $50,000 per year) and other unbonused qualifying purchases get 1 point per dollar.
- 2x on the road
- 3 times in the dining room
Even current cardmembers may earn straight immediately, which is excellent since they weren’t earning in bonus categories and had a complicated system for earning on rent payments before (up to 4000 points per month, with earn rate based on a sliding scale of card spend). This new framework is obviously more appealing on all levels.
Points earned in the Bilt program may be transferred to:
- American AAdvantage, Air Canada Aeroplan, Emirates Skywards, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Turkish Miles & Smiles, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Hawaiian Airlines are some of the airlines that participate in the program. HawaiianMiles
- Hyatt and IHG Rewards are some of the hotels available (new)
There are two exceptions. The card’s initial bonus is modest (2x on non-bonus category expenditure for the first 30 days), and earning points requires at least 5 transactions each month. Splitting a single supermarket or gas station trip into several purchases is a simple way to achieve this goal. But the idea is that cardholders would utilize the card instead of making a single “one and done” rent transaction, which will be a money loss.
It’s almost pointless to add IHG Rewards as a 1:1 transfer partner. I valued an IHG point at 6/10ths of a penny two and a half years ago, and they’re now worth less. It ‘completes the program’ by adding a second hotel, and Bilt’s Director of Loyalty, Dave Canty, formerly worked in loyalty at IHG and JetBlue.
I appreciate that they’ve invested in Mastercard safeguards like Premium Cell Phone Protection, Purchase Protection, concierge, Trip Cancellation, and Trip Delay, in contrast to the way other issuers and products have gone.
Instead of a more complicated monthly system, status is now earned by accumulating points over the course of a calendar year.
- General member (blue)
- 25,000 points for silver
- 50,000 points for gold
- 100,000 points for platinum
Surprisingly, you do not always gain status for the remainder of the year and the whole next year. Instead, if you gain status in the first six months of the year, it only lasts until January 31 of the next year, while if you earn status in the second six months, it lasts for the remainder of the year as well as the following year. It’s preferable to get status in July rather than June!
Every month, all elite members will receive interest on their points balance. We’re in the midst of a time of historically low interest rates, so they’ll pay using the FDIC’s national savings rate. Right now, earning 0.06 percent isn’t thrilling, but the idea is interesting. Why should your currency not make a profit?
We’ve seen credit card programs give incentives for points accumulated over the course of a year. The Chase Sapphire Preferred, for example, used to offer you 7% on top of the previous year’s profits when it first launched, and they’ve brought back a less ambitious version of this. However, no one is paying you interest on your whole current unpaid amount. As the Fed starts to taper and increase rates, this may become more attractive.
Signing new contracts or renewing existing leases with participating rental properties earns elites extra points (large rental companies in major markets, generally).
They provide a ‘Homeownership Concierge’ to Gold and Platinum members who use their points to put a down payment on a home. They seem to be in a position to profit here, collecting referral fees from realtors and mortgage brokers. Limiting this to members with the highest points may indicate that they are high-value consumers.
Platinum members, meanwhile, will get a Bilt Collection Gift upon achieving tier qualifying. “Additional status advantages will be pushed out in the coming months,” Bilt assures.
Other Important Features of the Program
Whether or not you get their credit card, the program is worth joining because of the bonus opportunities, the fact that they give you 250 points for paying rent with their app using a linked checking account, and the fact that they report on-time rent payments to credit bureaus, which may help you improve your credit score.
What Does The Bilt Mastercard Have In Common With Other Credit Cards? Should You Purchase One?
They’ve created a card that competes directly with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but with two advantages:
- There is no yearly charge.
- Gets 1 point for every dollar spent on rent up to $50,000 per year (without going through any third parties like Plastiq.com)
It isn’t comparable in any way. For example, Chase’s policy includes main rental vehicle collision coverage. There are nuanced differences. However, the fundamental earning structure is quite similar, and the points you earn are transferrable. Bilt has partnered with a number of excellent airline and hotel programs.
The absence of a tempting up front benefit on the Bilt card is a major disadvantage when compared to the Sapphire Preferred card. New Bilt cardholders will get an additional point for every dollar spent in the first 30 days. When you spend $4000 on Sapphire Preferred, you get 100,000 points. To get 100,000 points, you’ll need to pay a lot of rent, and the points will cover a lot of yearly expenses.
This is without a doubt the finest card for accumulating American Airlines points. Amex Everyday would be a rival in the no annual fee market that still enables transfers to miles and points, since it is probably the finest standalone no annual fee card for spending.
And these changes are a step forward; there is no longer a complicated scheme in which how much you spend on your card on things other than rent determines how many points you can earn on rent, which was more difficult to understand than United’s offer to let elites fly to keep their status this year.
In conclusion, should you get the card?
If you can’t obtain a Chase card because you’re above the age of 24 and you don’t own a house, this sounds like a no-brainer for making money while paying rent. And once you’ve done that, your eating budget becomes very competitive.
Remember what each kind of card is for at the very least. You can obtain cards for the advantages (but not necessarily spend money on them). There are several cards that you receive for the first bonus offer (but don’t necessarily use). There are also cards available for purchase. The Bilt Mastercard offers competitive rewards on spending in general, and it’s a no-brainer to acquire if you rent where you live.
Get the other cards for the bonuses and this one for the rent. Then, after you’ve got it, think about if it’s your best dining card. Simply use it at least 5 times each month to earn points on your purchases.
More From the Wing’s Perspective
The best credit card to pay rent reddit is a blog that discusses the best credit cards for paying rent.
