Bilt 2.0 Review: Are the new credit cards worth it?
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Bilt’s New Credit Cards have been released!
January 14, 2026, was a date many in the points-and-miles world had been waiting for. Bilt made it really easy to earn points when paying your rent. All you had to do was pay your rent and make 5 additional purchases, regardless of the amount, and you would get 1x points on your rent. For many, this was an easy way to earn points and transfer to their favorite airlines and hotels. What made this even better was that the card had no annual fee, and there was no transaction fee for paying your rent this way!
But now, honestly, Bilt has lost me. As a Bilt credit card holder, I, along with thousands of others, have until January 30, 2026, to decide. Do we sign on to the three new cards that Bilt is offering, Bilt 2.0, do we let the card change to the Wells Fargo Autograph, or do we cancel it altogether?
I am not toooo excited about the changes and am currently debating about what I want to do. In this post, I will weigh the pros and cons of the new Bilt Credit cards so that, if you are like me and unsure of what to do next, you have to make your decision soon, because as of today, we only have 13 days left.
But I am still here thinking, can we go back to Bilt 1.0 and I earn points on my rent and just gotta buy 5 snacks each month?
What is Bilt 2.0?
Bilt 2.0 is the release of 3 credit cards that you can now choose from:
Bilt Blue, Bilt Obsidian, and Bilt Palladium.
| Bilt Blue | Bilt Obsidian | Bilt Palladium | |
| Annual Fee | $0 | $95 | $495 |
| Bilt Cash | $100 | $200 | $300 |
| Sign Up Bonus | 50,000 points | ||
| Everday Spend | 1x | 1x | 2x |
| Travel | 1x | 2x | 2x |
| Dining or Grocery | 1x | 3x | 2x |
| Bilt Neighborhood Partners | – 3x or more on restaurants – 3x or more on Fitness -3x Lyft Rides – 2x Walgreens | – 5x or more on Restaurants – 3x or more on Fitness – 3x Lyft – 2x Walgreens | -4x or more on restaurants – 4x or more onFitness 4x lyft – 3x Walgreens |
| Other Notable Features | – No foreign transaction fee -purchase insurance -cellphone protection – master rental coverage | – All Bilt Blue Card Benefits -$100 of Bilt Hotel Travel Credit – Trip Delay Insurance -Extended Warranty | – All other card benefits from Blue and Obsidian – Priority Pass – $400 Bilt Hotel Travel Credit – $200 of Bilt Cash awarded annually, and can carry over $100 – Baggage Delay and Price Drop Protection |
Each card earns 4% Bilt Cash on every transaction you make with the credit card.
What is Bilt Cash?
Bilt Cash is a fixed-value rewards currency that can be used within the Bilt ecosystem.
So $1 of Bilt Cash is the same as $1 at merchants within the Bilt Ecosystem. You can use your Bilt Cash for Dining, Fitness, Travel, Housing, Lyft Credits, and Status.
What does Bilt 2.0 do for housing payments? How many points am I earning for paying rent?
There are two options for earning points on your rent/mortgage. You can switch between the two whenever you want.
Option 1:
Earn points on housing payments instead of earning Bilt Cash. You will no longer earn Bilt Cash on your everyday spend with this option, but will still get the Bilt Cash from when you initially sign up for the credit card. Keep in mind that the more you use your card for everyday spending, the higher your points multiplier will be. Also, if you do not spend any additional amount on the card, you will simply earn 250 Bilt points each month. Check out the chart below.
Who could this option be good for?
This is a good option if you’re not located in an area with a strong Bilt ecosystem. Honestly, I don’t really care about Bilt Cash even though I live in NYC. My lifestyle does not include many of the Bilt ecosystem restaurants and fitness studios, so I don’t want to earn something I will not use.
In addition, this option would allow me to spend about $500 outside of my rent payment and earn about 1,000 points per month from the rent payment. Any other card I would use would incur a transaction fee on my rent, which I am not willing to pay.
Option 2:
For this option, you will need to utilize Bilt Cash to unlock the points. Every $30 of Bilt Cash unlocks 1,000 points. You do not have to use all of your bilt cash to unlock points; you will just not get all of our rent/mortgage points. It is up to you.
Who could this option be good for?
If you plan to move most of your spending to this card because you like the multipliers, it could be a good idea. In addition, if you want to use your Bilt Cash to unlock any of the benefits in the ecosystem.
What is staying the same with Bilt 2.0?
With Bilt 2.0, there is still no transaction fee when you are paying your rent. In addition, you can still pay rent through your rental portal, check, or Venmo!
Bilt Credit Card Pros and Cons
Pro: Earning points for rent/mortgage on multiple properties
With the new cards comes some good news that many can be excited about. First, you can pay your mortgage with the new Bilt Credit Card.
This is a game-changer for many who have been looking for a way to earn points on one of their biggest expenses. In addition, you can pay for multiple properties, so if you have a child in college who lives in an apartment building and you pay their rent, now you can do it through your account. This is even helpful if you own multiple properties.
Pro: Earn up to 1.25x points on Rent/Mortgage
If you spend your rent/mortgage amount on the Bilt card, you can earn 1.25x points on that amount. For those in HCOL areas, this could be helpful.
Pro: No Preset Spending Limit on Housing
Before the rollout of the new credit cards, there was a limit of 100,000 points a year earned from rent; this has been removed. In addition, since you are no longer using your credit line to pay rent
Con: Rent/mortgage payments do not go on your credit line
You are no longer able to charge your rent to the actual credit card. Now you have to have it come directly from your bank account. After talking with other Bilt account holders, I heard stories of individuals using Bilt to charge rent on the first, then using their check a week or so later to fully pay off the bill. You can no longer float your rent!
Con: Bilt multipliers are low
Bilt seems to be competing with other credit cards, such as the Capital One Venture X and the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Most people are not going to be willing to give up Lounge Access and a Global Entry credit from Capital One, or from a Chase card that anchors most points-and-miles ecosystems. You need the Chase Sapphire to transfer points if you have any Chase cards. If the Bilt card had multipliers that were slightly higher, that could have been a real battle.
What Bilt 2.0 Credit card am I getting?
Honestly, I am torn. I was not planning to add another annual fee to my already long list of credit card annual fees I pay. But here is my thought process.
I am not getting the Bilt Palladium Card. First, I do not want to pay the $495 annual fee. Second, it seems to be competing with the Capital One Venture X, which has a lower annual fee of $395 and 2x on everyday spend. I think the Palladium can be an option for someone who is willing to put more of their spend on the Bilt Card. In my opinion, Bilt has better transfer partners than Capital One, but Capital One has lounges and provides a Global Entry credit.
I am choosing between the Bilt Obsidian Card and the Bilt Blue Card. With either of these cards, I plan to go with Option 1, not earn Bilt Cash. My rent is around $2100, so I will spend at least $525 monthly on the Bilt Card.
My hesitation with the cards is mainly that I have the Capital One Venture, which earns 2x points on everyday spend; the Amex Gold, which gives me 4x on Dining and Groceries; and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which earns me 2x on Travel and 3x on Dining.
While these cards can earn me more, I do find the Bilt Transfer Partners extremely valuable, so more than likely I will get the Obsidian and choose Dining as my category, and then use it outside of America when my Amex Gold does not work or use it at restaurants when I go out to eat with friends. This will make the card worth it. I do not use my Amex Gold points that often anyway.
I wish it had similar multipliers to the Amex Gold, and then this card would have been a no-brainer for me. I am not giving up my Chase Sapphire Preferred, but I would have considered getting rid of the Amex Gold, especially given the $325 Annual fee and the fact that I barely use the points for anything outside of Delta, when I already have a Delta Amex.
Which Bilt 2.0 credit card is right for you?
Think about your spending, what could you move to Bilt that can meet the multipliers and make it worth it to you?
Also, do you want to pay an annual fee?
Will you use the Bilt cash?
The Bilt Blue Card
If your monthly spend outside of rent is less than 25% of your rent, I would look into the Blue Card and just earn the $250 points each month by choosing option 1. It does not hurt you and allows you to still earn some points for rent.
The Bilt Obsidian
If you’re like me and have a great ecosystem of cards but aren’t ready to give up some of your other cards, I would go with either the blue or obsidian, depending on which spending you plan to move. I know my travels this year will take me to places that don’t accept American Express, and while I could use the Chase Sapphire, I do like the Bilt Card, which will allow me to earn more rent points. Being able to earn about 1,000 rent points with no transaction fee will be helpful to my points strategy.
The Bilt Palladium
If you are diving in and can move significant spending to the Bilt Card and have a high rent or mortgage, I would go for the Palladium for at least a year. I would also put an equal amount to my rent on this card so that I could earn 1.25 points on my housing payment.
What is next for Bilt?
I went to their Fireside Chat in New York on January 14, 2026, and from the conversation Bilt was having, it felt like they wanted to power your lifestyle. They want you to be able to live, work out, eat, and order food all through the system they are building. It is kind of scary, but I am definitely invested.
In addition, they said this is the smallest update they have for this year, which means more things are coming from Bilt throughout the year. I truly hope they open lounges or offer entry credit globally to become more competitive, in my eyes. Oh, and if they partner with Delta, I think I might leave the Amex train.
Bilt 2.0 Review
Bilt 2.0 really took the points-and-miles world by storm when it launched. From adding Bilt Cash to changes in how you earn points when paying your rent, to now being able to pay your mortgage. There were some things that made this change exciting and something that has changed, which left many rethinking whether this is the right card for them. It does feel like they moved away from the strategy that made us all invested, but most of us knew it could not last forever. We are silently waving goodbye to the best credit card for paying rent and possibly saying maybe to a credit card for mortgage and rent payments.
While I am not excited about the changes, I do think the card can still be beneficial for some, and you may need ot make adjustments to make it work for you. I am planning to keep the card and make some adjustments to my spending, but I will see a decrease in points, which is a little frustrating.
Make sure to decide on your Bilt Credit card by January 30, 2026, to ensure a seamless transition to Bilt 2.0.
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