Bilt launched today three new credit cards: Bilt Blue Card with $0 annual fee, Bilt Obsidian Card with $95 annual fee, and Bilt Palladium Card with $495 annual fee. We discussed rumors/teases on these cards in these prior posts: here, here, here, here, here. Much of what was discussed has played out.
Direct application link – cards are live for application now (this is just informational; you’ll want to signup using the TPG link, see below).
Existing cardholders from the old Wells Fargo Bilt card can choose the card they want to transition to. Cards for new and existing members will be sent out in February 2026.
All Cards
All three cards get the following:
- All three cards earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on all purchases (excluding rent and mortgage). This 4% Bilt Cash is in addition to your regular earn of the valuable Bilt points earned on each purchase, that’s between 1x-5x (mostly 1x, 2x, or 3x), depending on the card and merchant, see details below.
- The Bilt Cash cash be used to cover the 3% fee on your rent/mortgage payment. Bilt cash can be used dollar-for-dollar to pay for Lyft credits, Hotel credits, Dining credits, Fitness credits, Home Delivery credits, Bilt Collection credits and more.
- All Bilt Cash expires at the end of each calendar year, regardless of when you earned it. However, up to $100 will carry forward to the following year.
- All three cards earn 1x Bilt points per dollar when you pay Rent or Mortgage through Bilt – provided that you pay the 3% fee or that you use Bilt Cash to offset the fee. If you choose the fee-free option for paying your rent/mortgage then you won’t earn any points on the payment. You can also split your mortgage payment and pay partial with your Bilt Cash and partial fee free – you’ll get points on whichever portion is paid with Bilt Cash.
- You can no longer earn free points for your rent payment – all three cards now require paying the 3% fee, or using your Bilt Cash to offset the 3% fee, in order to earn Bilt points on your rent/mortgage payment.
- It’s still be possible to pay your rent with your Alaska card to get 3x points per dollar or with your United card and get 2x points per dollar. That will cost the same 3% fee, no change there. However, mortgage payments are not eligible for the 3x/2x.
- All three cards have no foreign transaction fees.
- All three cards have Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection, Purchase Protection, Car Rental insurance (car rental insurance is secondary, not primary).
- All three cards offer a 10% intro APR rate for 12 months.
- All three cards get a special signup offer when applying via the TPG link which offers 5x points per dollar for the first five days from signup, up to 50,000 bonus points (maxed out at $10,000 in spend). Presumably this is only for new card applicants, not those transitioning from an old Bilt card.
- Important note, the Bilt terms exclude a number of things from earning any Bilt points and Bilt Cash. Here is an abridged version (bolding is mine): Purchases that do not earn Bilt Points or Bilt Cash: prepaid cards, gift cards, person-to-person payments (such as Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or Zelle), tax payments, online resale marketplaces (such as eBay or Facebook Marketplace), cryptocurrency or other digital currency purchases, lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, race track wagers or similar betting transactions.
Blue Card
Details of the Bilt Blue card:
- $0 annual fee
- Welcome Bonus: $100 Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved. (Apply through TPG link for additional 5x, see above.)
- Rewards:
- 1x points everywhere + 4% Bilt Cash.
- 3x points at partner restaurants (when you choose the Dining category) + 4% Bilt Cash
- 3x at partner fitness studios + 4% Bilt Cash
- 3x points on Lyft rides (after linking) + 4% Bilt Cash
- 2x+ points at Walgreens + 4% Bilt Cash
Obsidian Card
Details of the Bilt Obsidian card:
- $95 annual fee ($50 for authorized user)
- Welcome Bonus: $200 Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved. (Apply through TPG link for additional 5x, see above.)
- Rewards:
- 3x points on your choice of dining or grocery + 4% Bilt Cash. The Grocery option is limited to $25K/year.
- 2x points on Travel + 4% Bilt Cash.
- 1x points everywhere else + 4% Bilt Cash.
- 5x points at partner restaurants (when you choose the Dining category) + 4% Bilt Cash
- 3x at partner fitness studios + 4% Bilt Cash
- 3x points on Lyft rides (after linking) + 4% Bilt Cash
- 2x+ points at Walgreens + 4% Bilt Cash
- $100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit (two $50 credits for the two halves of the year; minimum two night stay).
- Premium Mastercard World Elite everyday benefits: Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection, Trip Delay Reimbursement, Extended Warranty, Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection, Purchase Assurance, MasterRental Coverage.
Palladium Card
Details of the Bilt Palladium card:
- $495 annual fee ($95 for authorized user)
- Welcome Bonus:
- $300 Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.
- 50,000 points bonus after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months.
- Gold status after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months.
- Apply through TPG link for additional 5x, see above.
- Rewards:
- 2x points earned on all spend + 4% Bilt Cash on all regular spend (non rent/mortgage).
- 4x points at partner restaurants + 4% Bilt Cash
- 4x at partner fitness studios + 4% Bilt Cash
- 4x points on Lyft rides (after linking) + 4% Bilt Cash
- 3x+ points at Walgreens + 4% Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit (two $200 credits for the two halves of the year; minimum two night stay).
- $200 Bilt Cash credit each year as an annual benefit.
- Priority Pass
- Premium Mastercard World Legend benefits: Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection, Trip Delay Reimbursement, Extended Warranty, Baggage Delay Insurance, Lost or Damaged Luggage Insurance, Price Drop Protection, Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection, Purchase Assurance, MasterRental Coverage.
- Palladium applicants can choose between the mirror finish card offered on the Obsidian, or the silver card.
Our Verdict
Bummer on the loss of the easy/free 1x points when paying rent each month.
Moving on from that, the value here will depend much on how you can use the Bilt Cash. An earning rate of 4% + 1x is an excellent return for the no-fee Blue card, and it would be even better on the other cards which can get 2x everywhere or 3x on Grocery/Dining.
As an example, someone with a lot of Lyft expense might be able to get the no-fee card and basically earn on all their spend: 4% back per dollar which they’ll use to cover their Lyft bills + 1x Bilt points on all spend. They might not even want to use the valuable Bilt Cash to pay their rent/mortgage. We’ll have to see how this plays out.
Math is Hard
If the other uses of Bilt Cash (Lyft, hotel bookings, etc) don’t pan out, then it’s a matter of spending $750 on the card per $1,000 of your rent/mortgage payment. E.g. someone with a $4,000 mortgage payment would spend $3,000 on the card to earn $120 in Bilt Cash which would cover the 3% fee on the mortgage.
Basically, you’ll end up earning an extra 1.33x per dollar spent, if you align your spend and mortgage payment exactly.
For example, if you have the fee-free Blue 1x everywhere card, you’re essentially getting 2.33x per dollar everywhere if you spend the perfect amount to get in your mortgage payment. That’s because when you spend $3,000 you’ll end up getting an additional 4,000 Bilt points back when you make the mortgage payment. You’ll end up with 3,000 points from the 1x and an additional 4,000 points when you pay your mortgage. That’s 2.33x per dollar on your first $3,000 of spend each month.
Similarly on the Palladium $495-fee card you’ll be getting 3.33x per dollar everywhere if you spend exactly $3,000 each month. And on the Obsidian card you’ll be getting 4.33x per dollar if you do all the spend in the bonus 3x category (subject to the $25k limit per year if you choose Grocery).
Signup Bonus
Regardless, for a lot of people applying now fresh the card can make sense for the 50,000 points signup bonus + the other bonuses mentioned. After that you can gauge value and decided how to proceed. I’d hope they’ll freely allow upgrading and downgrading between the card.
