Bilt Card 2.0: How to Earn Points on Rent and Mortgage
Bilt just rolled out Bilt Card 2.0 (available for new applications on February 7th) and while the headlines focus on “earning points on rent and mortgages,” the real story is a little more nuanced — and honestly, more interesting once you understand the math.
Instead of automatically earning points on your housing payment, Bilt 2.0 introduces Bilt Cash, which acts as the unlock that allows your rent or mortgage to earn points without transaction fees.
Let’s break this down in plain English.
What Is Bilt Cash?
With the new Bilt cards, you earn Bilt Cash from everyday nonhousing spending — things like groceries, dining, gas, and online purchases.
On all three cards, everyday spending (excluding mortgage and rent) earns 4% back in Bilt Cash. This Bilt Cash isn’t just a rebate — it’s what you use to activate points on your housing payment.
How Housing Payments Earn Points Under Bilt 2.0
Bilt Cash determines how much of your rent or mortgage earns points.
You can still pay your full rent or mortgage through Bilt without fees, but only the portion covered by your available Bilt Cash will earn points.
The Rule of Thumb
Every $30 in Bilt Cash unlocks 1,000 Bilt Points for rent or mortgage payments, so roughly 3% of your housing payment in Bilt Cash will unlock points on the full amount.
Example: $4,000 Rent Payment
Let’s say:
Your monthly rent is $4,000
You’ve earned $60 in Bilt Cash from everyday spending
What happens?
You can still pay the full $4,000 through Bilt with no transaction fees.
Your $60 in Bilt Cash allows you to earn points on $2,000 of that rent payment:
$60 ÷ 3% = $2,000
The remaining $2,000 of your rent does not earn points.
That works out to 0.5 points per dollar across the full payment
So How Much Spend Do You Actually Need?
This is where it helps to see your own numbers.
Before we go any further, this is the part most people are confused about — so I built a simple calculator to help.
With Bilt Card 2.0, you don’t earn points on your full rent or mortgage automatically. Instead, you earn Bilt Cash from everyday spending, and that Bilt Cash “activates” points on a portion (or all) of your housing payment.
A good rule of thumb: you need about 3% of your housing payment in Bilt Cash to earn points at a 1-to-1 rate. The calculator below shows exactly how much Bilt Cash you’d need — and how much card spend it would take to earn it — based on your own numbers.
Spend Needed to Earn 1 Point per Dollar on Housing
Assumes you need ~3% of your housing payment in Bilt Cash to earn points on the full amount, and you earn Bilt Cash at ~4% on everyday card purchases. Always confirm final terms with Bilt.
Real-Life Example: $1,800 Monthly Mortgage
Let’s walk through a concrete example.
Mortgage payment: $1,800
Bilt Cash needed to earn points on the full payment:
$1,800 × 3% = $54 in Bilt Cash
If you earn Bilt Cash at 4% on everyday spending, that means:
$54 ÷ 4% = $1,350 in monthly spend
So if you’re putting $1,350 per month on your Bilt card:
You’d earn enough Bilt Cash to activate points on your entire mortgage
Plus the Bilt points you’d earn on the spend depending on the Bilt credit card you have!
Is This Worth It?
This isn’t meant to be a “free points hack” on your mortgage overnight.
This works best if you:
Already put a meaningful amount of spend on one primary card
Like the idea of earning some points on a bill that normally earns zero
Plan to transfer Bilt points to travel partners, where the value can exceed 1¢ per point
The Bottom Line
Bilt Card 2.0 can turn rent and mortgage payments into travel rewards when paired with consistent everyday spending.
It rewards people who already use their card for everyday purchases by letting that spending unlock points on housing costs — something most credit cards don’t offer at all.
With a clear understanding of the Bilt Cash math, this can be a useful long-term strategy for renters and homeowners.
Related Posts:
Bilt Card 2.0: Full Breakdown of the New Card Lineup
FREE Beginner’s Guide to Points and Miles
Want to travel for free?! ✈️ Grab a FREE Beginner's Guide to Points and Miles and learn how to redeem FREE TRAVEL this year! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!
I appreciate it so much when you use my affiliate links that are linked in the post.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: