Bilt Rent Day Earning Cap

Earlier today I shared the details of the August Bilt Rent Day promo, which is pretty good. I always look forward to what they will come up with every month. Sometimes it is a dud, like increased rates on Bilt art redemptions. Other times it is great, like the 100% Alaska Airlines transfer bonus last month. One thing that was always secure is the Bilt double points earning on Rent Day and Points Quest. Both things have taken a drastic turn for the worse with a new Bilt Rent day earning cap though. Let's take a look at the details of this devaluation.

Update 8/2/24: There was another devaluation that Bilt didn't disclose with the latest email about taxes which I added below (HT FM)

Taxes Don't Earn Bonus Points

During an interview with TPG, it was hinted at that taxes will not earn bonus points on rent day starting October 1st. That seems kind of redundant with the 1,000 bonus point cap on Rent Day now. Many people will already skip using their Bilt card since their taxes are above the $1,000 cut off. Maybe they would have split them across a few cards, but there are better options for paying your taxes with a credit card anyway.

Here is what Bilt said in the interview:

We discovered that bonus points on tax payments during promotions accounted for 20% of our bonus category costs, yet only 0.8% of cardmembers (or 0.12% of our total members) use the card for taxes. That’s why as part of the above Oct. 1 Rent Day update, tax payments will be excluded from bonus point promotions. This allows us to reinvest in benefits that all members can enjoy.

Points Quest Goes Bye Bye

The first Bilt Rent Day earning cap victim is the loss of Points Quest. This was a quiz like game where you could earn up to 250 free points every month. It was a brilliant marketing ploy that got everyone to open up their Bilt app each month. I guess the few dollars per person is was costing added up to too much, because it isn't on the press release for August's Rent Day promotion. Maybe it could come back in the future though. It was always a fun, and quick, way to rack up a few points.

Bilt Rent Day Earning Capped At 1,000 Bonus Points

First spotted by Reddit user yitianjian, Bilt added new terms for that will change things for Rent Day earning in the near future. Here is what it says:

Effective 10/1/2024, the maximum amount of bonus points you can earn under this promotion will be 1,000 per month regardless of how much you purchase.

That is in stark contrast to the 10,000 bonus points you can earn now. Here are the multiples for the categories for easy reference for Bilt Rent Day earning:

•  6 rewards points (3 bonus points) for every $1 spent on net dining purchases (purchases minus returns/credits)
• 4 rewards points (2 bonus points) for every $1 spent on net travel purchases (purchases minus returns/credits)
• 2 rewards points (1 bonus point) for every $1 spent on net purchases outside of rent, travel, and dining

That puts the new Bilt Rent Day earning cap at the following amount of spend for each category, or any combination of the three:

• $333.33 in dining before you hit the 1,000 bonus points earning cap
• $500 in travel before you hit the 1,000 bonus points earning cap
• $1000 in non bonus spend before you hit the 1,000 bonus points earning cap

It just doesn't give us a ton to get excited about on Rent Day anymore, at least in terms of spending.

My Thoughts On These New Earning Caps

Do I think a 10,000 point cap was too generous and many people took advantage / abused it? Yes, 100% I do. Do I think a 1,000 bonus point cap is laughably small each month? Yes, 100% I do. I imagine many people will hit that cap without even trying each and every month. Because of that they will decide to use a different card to do their spending instead of losing out on the backend of purchases.

I think something like a 2,500 – 3,000 point cap would have been a much more reasonable adjustment. That would put the bonus earning in line with a Freedom Flex etc. each year. The problem is, outside of free rent payments, this was the biggest selling feature of the card. There is no welcome offer, the earning structure leaves out high spend areas like grocery and gas, and this gave people a reason to look past that as a reason to apply for the card.

The possibility of 12,000 bonus points a year just won't carry that water. I will admit Bilt has been nimble in the past making adjustments as they get feedback. If they see the swipes and applications drop off, I hope they adjust course. There was real fomo created over Bilt Rent Day earning. Especially since you need a pile of points to actually take advantage of the transfer bonuses (when they are good).

The Rent Day double points earning was enough to overlook other shortcomings, which just isn't the case anymore. I imagine this changes the calculations for all those people that are getting the heave-ho at the end of the year too. My guess is anyone that hasn't already re-upped with the Wells Fargo card just got a sign that their best course of action is to just let it go (Elsa style).

Bilt Rent Day Earning Cap: ToP Thoughts

Bilt can continue to run fun and inventive promos on Rent Day, but with these new earning caps I don't think people will chase earning the points as hard. If they roll out some other improvements on the card, like adding gas and grocery at a 2x earning level, then it could turn things around. Until then, I don't see people being as excited pulling out their Bilt card going forward.

Not when you can get 3x, 4x and 5x with the competition every single day and they routinely run multiple transfer bonuses every single month.