If you’ve been following the Bilt saga, buckle up—the rewards program that made earning points on rent a thing just got way more complicated. Bilt Card 2.0 officially opened for pre-order on January 14, 2026, with cards launching on February 7.

The short version? Bilt has launched three cards (Blue, Obsidian, and Palladium) with new cards arriving by February 6. The good news: mortgage rewards are finally here. The plot twist: rent and mortgage payments will now be subject to spending requirements, which you’ll need to offset using a new currency called Bilt Cash.

Yeah, we need to talk about this.

Bilt 2.0: Three Cards and a Whole New System

Here’s a breakdown of the new Bilt card lineup:

Bilt Card Comparison Chart

	Bilt Blue	Bilt Obsidian	Bilt Palladium
Annual Fee	$0	$95	$495
Annual Fee	$100 Bilt Cash	$200 Bilt Cash	50,000 Bilt Points + $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold Status (after $4K spend in 90 days)
Bilt Points Earning	1x Everywhere up to 1x Rent/mortgage	3x Dining OR Groceries (capped at $25K/year) 2x Travel 1x Everything else up to 1x Rent/mortgage	2x Everything else up to 1x Rent/mortgage
Bilt Cash Earning	4% on everyday spend	4% on everyday spend	4% on everyday spend
Hotel Credits	None	$100/year ($50 semi-annually via Bilt Travel)	$400/year ($200 semi-annually via Bilt Travel)
Annual Bilt Cash	None	None	$200
Other Benefits	Bilt Neighborhood Phone insurance No foreign transaction fees	Purchase Protection Bilt Neighborhood Phone insurance No foreign transaction fees	Priority Pass Travel Insurance Purchase Protection Bilt Neighborhood Phone Insurance No foreign transaction fees
	Apply now	Apply now	Apply now

Minimum Spend Requirement

Here’s where things get interesting (and by interesting, I mean potentially expensive). All rent and mortgage payments will now require high monthly spending to earn points when you pay with your Bilt card. You will have two options for how your spending unlocks points.

Option 1: Spending Tiers

You can reach predefined spending tiers in 25% increments to unlock rent or mortgage points. This ranges from earning 0.5x points to 1.25x points, depending on your level of spending. With this option, you will not earn Bilt Cash on any card spending.

Option 2: Bilt Cash

You will pay $30 in Bilt Cash for every 1,000 points. You’ll earn 4% Bilt Cash on all everyday spending across all three cards, which can then be used to unlock the rent or mortgage points. This option provides more flexibility for earning partial points.

Let’s do the math on what this actually means.

Option 1: Spending Tiers

Spending tiers offers a relatively simpler approach to earning housing points. You reach spending tiers relative to your rent or mortgage, and you get a certain number of points (0.5x-1.25x) per housing dollar. Here’s the chart that breaks down the exact spending tiers.

Points on Housing	Minimum everyday spend as a % of monthly rent / mortgage (Example of $2,000 rent)
0.50x points	Spend at least 25% of monthly rent ($500)
0.75x points	Spend at least 50% of monthly rent ($1,000)
1.00x points	Spend at least 75% of monthly rent ($1,500)
1.25x points	Spend the same or more as your monthly rent ($2,000)

If you don’t reach the 25% spending threshold, you will earn a baseline 250 points. This isn’t much, but it’s still 3,000 Bilt points per year with no requirements other than paying your housing through Bilt.

Choosing this option, you will not earn Bilt Cash on your Bilt card spending.

Understanding Bilt Cash

Bilt Cash is replacing the old Milestone Rewards program. Starting in 2026, you’ll earn $50 in Bilt Cash for every 25,000 Bilt Points you accumulate—that’s a 0.2% return on your spending, automatically.

Bilt Cash can be used for:

• Points toward Rent or Mortgage
• Points acceleration
• Dining and Groceries
• Travel and Transportation
• Health and Wellness
• …and more

See all the ways you can redeem Bilt Cash

One important caveat: Bilt Cash earned in 2026 expires at year-end, except for up to $100, which rolls over. So this isn’t something you can stockpile indefinitely.

Breaking Down the Bilt Cash Economics

To earn Bilt points on rent or mortgage, you need to spend $30 in Bilt Cash for every 1,000 points.

Here are examples of what you’d need to spend to earn your full rent or mortgage points each month:

Example: $2,000 monthly rent

• Bilt Cash needed to earn 2,000 points: $60
• Spending required at 4% Bilt Cash: $1,500 per month

Example: $4,000 monthly mortgage

• Bilt Cash needed to earn 4,000 points: $120
• Spending required at 4% Bilt Cash: $3,000 per month

For a specific number based on your housing cost, use this simple formula:
$ Housing Cost x .75 = $ Spend required

In other words, you’d need to spend 75% of your rent or mortgage payment amount on the card each billing cycle to earn the full points. You can, of course, earn partial points if you don’t want to shift all your spending to Bilt.

That’s a massive shift from the current structure, where you needed only 5 transactions per month to unlock rent rewards (let’s be honest, it was very generous).

The old Wells Fargo version was basically free money if you were strategic (make five small purchases, earn points on rent, done). This new system requires you to actually make the Bilt card your primary spending card to get any value from paying rent or a mortgage with it.

The Mortgage Rewards Situation

Let’s address the elephant in the room: mortgage rewards are finally here, which is huge for homeowners who’ve watched renters rack up points for years. You’ll be able to earn Bilt Points on mortgage payments regardless of who your servicer is.

But (and this is a big but) the economics are now fundamentally different. 1X Bilt Points isn’t achievable unless you’re actively using your Bilt card for everyday spend to earn Bilt Cash (which unlocks the mortgage points).

The Palladium card’s 2X earning rate on everyday spend makes this math slightly better.

Imagine your mortgage is $4,000/month. You’d need to spend $30,000 in a year for full points. That would earn you $1,000 Bilt Cash + $200 card benefit = $1,200 Bilt Cash. You’d need $120 Bilt Cash per month to unlock points.

You’d need to put $2,500/month on the card to offset a $4,000 mortgage payment, and you’d earn 6,000 Bilt Points monthly from that spend alone (plus 4,000 points from the mortgage payment itself). That’s 108,000 points annually—enough for some solid travel redemptions through partners like Hyatt or Alaska Airlines.

But you have to actually put that level of spend on the card consistently. Every. Single. Month.

Is Bilt 2.0 Worth It?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Bilt 2.0 is designed to make money, not hemorrhage it like the Wells Fargo partnership did (reportedly losing $10 million per month). The new structure essentially forces cardholders to make Bilt a primary spending card rather than just a rent hack.

For some people, this could still work:

The Bilt 2.0 sweet spot might be:

• You can realistically put 75% of that amount in everyday spending on the card monthly. Or you are okay earning partial points toward your rent or mortgage.
• You value Bilt’s transfer partners (especially Hyatt and Alaska)
• The category bonuses (3X dining/groceries on Obsidian or 2X Everything on Palladium) align with your spending patterns
• You were planning to get a card with these perks anyway

You should probably skip Bilt 2.0 if:

• You were just in it for the easy rent points with minimal effort
• You already have a rewards card set up that’s working for you
• The math doesn’t pencil out for your rent/mortgage amount
• You don’t want to track yet another complicated rewards structure

The Palladium card’s 50,000-point SUB is tempting for a churn-and-burn strategy, especially if you value Bilt Points highly (they transfer 1:1 to some excellent partners). But the $495 annual fee only really makes sense if you’re going to use those hotel credits and take advantage of the benefits.

What To Know About Bilt (For the Uninitiated)

New to the Bilt rewards universe? Here’s the quick version: Bilt revolutionized rent payments by letting you earn transferable points without paying processing fees. But there’s more to Bilt than just housing payments.

Bilt Points

The points transfer 1:1 to travel partners—basically all the good ones.

Airline transfers: Aer Lingus Aer Club, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Iberia Plus, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines Free Spirit, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go, Turkish Miles & Smiles, United Airlines MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotels transfers: Accor ALL – Accor Live Limitless, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, World Of Hyatt

You can also redeem them through the Bilt Travel portal for 1.25¢ (not my first choice but not bad). Additional uses include rent credits, fitness classes through the Bilt app, or even put them toward a down payment on a home (because Bilt loves being on-brand).

Rent Day

On the first of every month, Bilt runs “Rent Day” promotions where you can earn double points on everything (except rent), bonus points for shopping with partners, and sometimes get up to 100% boosted transfer ratios to select travel partners (the real MVP of Rent Day benefits).

New Bilt 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions

What are the annual fees for the new Bilt cards?

Based on leaked information: Blue ($0), Obsidian ($95), and Palladium ($495).

How much do I need to spend to earn rent/mortgage points?

You’ll need to spend 75% of your rent or mortgage amount on the card each month to either earn enough Bilt Cash or reach the spending tier. For example, a $3,000 mortgage would require roughly $2,250 in monthly spending.

What’s the difference between Bilt Points and Bilt Cash?

Bilt Points are transferable rewards that you can move 1:1 to airline and hotel partners. Bilt Cash is a separate currency earned at 4% on all purchases, primarily designed to unlock points on rent and mortgage payments.

Can I pay mortgage with Bilt?

Yes! This is new for Bilt 2.0. You’ll be able to earn points on mortgage payments regardless of your servicer, though you’ll need to factor in card spending requirements.

Does Bilt Cash expire?

Yes. Bilt Cash earned in 2026 expires at the end of the year, except up to $100 can roll over to the following year.

Which Bilt card should I get?

It depends on your situation. The Blue makes sense if you want no annual fee and can’t justify putting significant spend on the card. The Obsidian could work if you value 3X on dining or groceries and want the phone insurance. The Palladium is worth it if you’ll use the hotel credits and make it your primary card for everyday spending.