Choosing the right travel rewards card can be a challenge. Most of the top cards are for the premium market, and all of those have an annual fee. Yet most credit card users prefer cards without an annual fee.
The Bilt Mastercard® from Wells Fargo combines the features and benefits of premium travel rewards cards but doesn’t impose an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee. It also has a uniquely valuable feature for those who rent their homes.
Everything you need to know about the Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt card offers points in the Bilt Rewards program. This program was created for renters, but it can also be very valuable for homeowners and anyone else.
This card offers 3x points for dining, 2x points for travel and 1x for everything else. You’re also able to use this card to pay your rent, with no additional processing fees. If you complete five transactions during a statement period, you’ll also receive 1 point per dollar paid in rent (up to 100,000 points in a calendar year). Earning rewards for paying rent, without incurring any fees, is a feature unique to the Bilt Mastercard.
And the points you earn from this card can be very valuable. As with other rewards programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards points can be transferred to airline miles and hotel programs. When these points and miles are redeemed, it’s possible to get a lot of value for your rewards.
Airline partners include:
- Alaska Airlines
- Avianca Lifemiles
- United MileagePlus®
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue®
- Virgin Red®
- Emirates Skywards®
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Iberia Plus
- Air Canada Aeroplan®
While its hotel partners are:
- Hilton Honors
- Marriott Bonvoy™
- World of Hyatt®
- IHG® One Rewards
The perks of having Bilt
What’s fascinating about the Bilt Rewards Card is that it manages to feature competitive cardholder benefits without charging an annual fee.
Benefits include trip cancellation and trip interruption protection, as well as trip delay reimbursement, and an auto rental collision damage waiver policy. This is what you might expect from a travel rewards card with an annual fee of $95, although many cards in that class don’t even offer all of these benefits.
How to maximize the rewards from this card
This is a good card for all-around use, as you’ll earn bonuses on travel and dining purchases. Bilt also features a “Rent Day” promotion where you can earn double points on the first of the month -- that means 6x points on dining, 4x on travel and 2x on other purchases (excluding rent) capped at 1,000 points per month.
Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to watch for the frequent Rent Day promotions, which are disclosed toward the end of the month.
These promotional opportunities often let you earn bonus points for transferring your rewards to specific travel partners, which can be a useful way to maximize the value of your rewards. Another way to earn more Bilt Rewards points is to participate in its dining rewards program, which lets you earn an additional 3x points at featured restaurants in your area.
But the best way to earn the most value from your Bilt Rewards points is to transfer them to travel partners and redeem them for high-value rewards.
Bilt’s large list of transfer partners allows cardholders to find some incredible deals, including standouts like Hyatt, Alaska, Virgin Red, United and Air Canada. These rewards are often worth 2-3 cents per point or mile redeemed.
Who is the Bilt card best for?
This card is best for two types of users. The first is anyone who wants a premium travel rewards card without paying an annual fee.
The other type is someone who uses the Bilt card to pay rent. As the only credit card that lets you pay rent without any additional surcharges, it's a unique opportunity to earn points for one of your largest monthly expenditures. For renters, this card likely makes sense even if you aren’t looking for a travel rewards card.
Drawbacks and limitations
To be clear, there’s no such thing as a perfect credit card, and there are always some tradeoffs.
One of this card's downsides is that it doesn’t have a welcome bonus. While competing cards may offer new applicants 100,000 points or miles after reaching a minimum spending threshold, this card has no such bonus. It also lacks a 0% APR promotional financing period for new purchases, balance transfers or both.
The bottom line
The Bilt Rewards Card offers premium travel rewards and benefits, without any annual fee. By learning how to maximize its rewards and cardholder benefits, you can stretch the value of this card further.
