Bilt Rent & Mortgage Payments

Today is a big day in the credit card space, and a really big day for the Bilt Rewards network. Not only did they launch 3 new credit cards, which range from entry level up to premium, but they also kind of relaunched the Bilt Rewards program. We had heard about the Bilt Cash program in the past, but we weren't really sure what it was. There are still a lot of unknowns there, but we do know how it works with Bilt rent & mortgage payments at least. There in lies the rub though, and it may not be a good deal for Bilt rent and mortgage payments because of it.

How Bilt Rent & Mortgage Payments Will Work

We learned a lot about the how Bilt rent & mortgage payments will work with the cards launching today. If you would like to earn the 1x Bilt Rewards point per dollar of rent / mortgage payments you will need to pay a 3% fee. That sounds pretty bad, but the silver lining is that you can offset this fee with Bilt Cash. That is sounding a bit better…

How do we earn this Bilt Cash though? You can earn it as you progress through Bilt status levels, as a yearly card perk on the Bilt Palladium Card or from spending on your Bilt credit card. That last part is how most people will be racking up their Bilt Cash. Each of the three credit cards offer an identical 4% back in Bilt Cash on every $1 of spend. The really unique thing is that this Bilt Cash is in addition to the normal Bilt Rewards points you earn with your Bilt credit card too. While that is cool, it is also kind of confusing.

Adding Bilt Cash Changes The Value Proposition

The way Bilt set up rent and mortgage payments, mostly via Bilt Cash, actually changes the value proposition here. I should say at least it potentially does. If Bilt had just said you need to have so many transactions, spend so much money per month or carry a specific card etc. to earn points on Bilt rent & mortgage payments, then that would have been easy to quantify. It would have added an extra earning level to your spend and just been an overall part of the return you get for using the card.

By introducing Bilt Cash it changes the way I plan on looking at this though. Since Bilt Cash can be used on other things I am considering Bilt Cash as its own currency. It is no longer just additional earning from rent / mortgage payments on my spend. The extra step required to earn the points (redeeming Bilt Cash) changes things.

What it does is makes it so that we are essentially buying Bilt Rewards points at 3 cents per point in Bilt Cash. That is assuming we value Bilt Cash around the same as money. Buying points that are worth 1.5 – 2 cents a piece for 3 cents is not something I find exciting. I try to avoid negative value propositions wherever I can. This is all true if I can find useful options for Bilt Cash elsewhere at least.

Why I Would Consider Other Uses For My Bilt Cash

This all depends on what Bilt Cash looks like going forward, and how useful it will be on a regular basis. Bilt has said that Bilt Cash will be usable dollar-for-dollar in value toward fitness classes, hotel bookings, home delivery orders, rideshare, and more. I believe even select Bilt dining restaurant locations have been thrown around as a redemption option in there too. If I can get a dollar for dollar value elsewhere, why would I take a less than dollar for dollar option to pay my mortgage?

This all hinges on there being good options for Bilt Cash redemptions. That may be slim pickings early on, but I bet this is where a lot of the program focus will be going forward. I wouldn't even be surprised if they hope you take this approach, versus paying your rent & mortgage, because Bilt Cash will likely be offered at partners where Bilt likely gets a kick back. If you book a hotel through the Bilt travel portal with Bilt Cash, then they likely make a commission that offsets what you earned. This would be discounting their overall cost, so of course they would offer more value here. When you compare that to paying your rent & mortgage – they are likely just trying to cover their interchange fee cost for the payment.

A Couple Of Examples Of How This Could Play Out In Real Life

Let's hypothetically say there was a Hyatt hotel that you needed to book for an upcoming trip. Let's also say that the Hyatt hotel was bookable via the Bilt travel portal with Bilt Cash. That would mean booking with World of Hyatt points would need to give you over 3 cents per point to make paying your mortgage the better play. Because you could book the hotel with Bilt Cash at a 1 to 1 rate, but would be earning Hyatt points via a rent / mortgage payment at a 3 to 1 rate. Which leaves your break even points at 3 cents per point on the same Hyatt stay. Getting 3 cents per point is not unheard of with Hyatt, but it is far from the norm.

Bilt has also said that they will likely offer status buy ups with Bilt Cash for transfer bonuses. Depending on the cost, and your Bilt Rewards stash, this could be insanely valuable. That is because increasing the transfer bonus you get by let's say 50% works for ALL of your Bilt points – not just some of them. I think that will offer value that could greatly exceed the 1/3 value you get with rent / mortgage payments.

My Plan Going Forward

There is still a lot of unknown with the Bilt Cash program at this time, so I am going to hedge my bets. I will set up my mortgage payments for both houses (I do like that you can do this for more than one) and have that option available. The plan will be to make the payments without earning points to avoid the fee, but to have it there should I need it.

If I end up earning more Bilt Cash than I need, or if there are not enough good redemptions to burn my whole stash each year, then I'll offset the mortgages to earn points. That is especially true as we get to the end of the year because you don't want to have any Bilt Cash expire. Only being able to roll over $100 each year is kind of a bummer, but they are probably hoping many people just let it expire. Bilt Cash may be their version of the coupon book in that way. Offer value but hope a lot of it goes unused.

If they offer enough useful things in the Bilt Cash lineup then these cards could be insanely profitable for us. It would be earning the most valuable points on the market for every dollar of spend PLUS 4% in funny money that works on real world things. If I could use Bilt Cash to book my hotel, rideshare to and from the airport plus dine out while on the trip, then I am going to put every dollar I can on these cards. I could even use the Bilt Rewards points earned from the spend to book my flights there. In this scenario I could potentially take care of almost every aspect of my travels with the same spend. Pretty incredible if they get the program to that level.

Bilt Rent & Mortgage Payments: ToP Thoughts

I know people don't like new things, and the immediate reaction is to toss new things we don't fully understand in the gutter. Thinking like that lacks creativity and is only going to cost you in the long run though. I am taking the wait and see approach here instead. My plan is to get everything set up in case I need to go the mortgage payment route. But, my hope is that I am able to fund a lot of my everyday lifestyle with Bilt cash instead. That is on top of earning some of the most valuable points out there every time I swipe my card.

I'll be grabbing the Palladium card for the welcome offer and then decide whether to keep it or downgrade in year two. Being able to earn 2x Bilt Rewards on every dollar of spend (3% – 4%) plus 4% in Bilt cash is kind of mind boggling. A total return of up to 8% on every single dollar of spend – nuts! At least if Bilt Cash becomes what I think it will that is. If it doesn't, then I'll turn my Bilt Cash into Bilt Rewards at 3 cents per point and move on to focusing mostly on other cards. If they pull off a useful ecosystem though, my card's chip will need to be replaced every year from being worn the heck out.