Reading Time: 3 minBilt Rewards is a newcomer to the transferable points world, but it’s quickly become my favorite program for redeeming points. This is thanks to its vast array of transfer partners, including fan favorites like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, and World of Hyatt.
But you might be surprised that my favorite Bilt Rewards redemption is for domestic flights. These might be mundane compared to Emirates first class or an overwater bungalow in the Maldives. But if you need to get from city to city in the U.S., Bilt points can be a huge money-saver.
This is especially true considering you can book domestic flights for as few as 4,500 Bilt points in economy or 9,000 in domestic first class. Let’s look at this Bilt Rewards sweet spot and some of the best ways to use it on your next trip.
Bilt has a handful of unique transfer partners not found in other transferable points programs. One of these is Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, a program known for its stellar redemption rates on partner airlines.
Alaska is a member of the Oneworld alliance, but maintains non-alliance partnerships with several other airlines worldwide. It prices partner awards on a handful of regional distance-based award charts. The one I’ll refer to today is its Americas award chart, which covers flights within North, Central, and South America.
Flights that cover 700 or fewer miles cost just 4,500 miles in economy and 9,000 miles in business class. And since Bilt points transfer 1-to-1 to Alaska, you can book short-haul flights within the Americas for just 4,500 Bilt points.
Since American and Alaska are both Oneworld members, you can use this award chart to book ultra-cheap American Airlines award tickets. This price band covers many popular American routes around the country, including New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Boston (BOS), Atlanta (ATL) to Miami (MIA), and Los Angeles (LAX) to Las Vegas (LAS).
Interestingly, some routes slightly over 700 miles fall into this band too. One of these is a route I fly often — Newark (EWR) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) — which covers 719 miles.
You’re not limited to domestic flights, either. If you live in New York, Boston, or another northern city, you can fly to Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL), and other Canadian cities for the same 4,500 miles with American or Porter, so long as the flight is 700 miles or shorter.
The same goes for flights to Mexico. American routes like Dallas (DFW) to Monterrey (MTY) and Miami (MIA) to Cancun (CUN) fall into this price band.
You can find reasonable deals on longer flights, too. One good redemption is flying from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) in American’s Flagship business-class product, which offers a lie-flat seat and upgraded dining. This costs 35,000 Alaska miles one-way.
Bilt Rewards is different than the other major transferable points programs in that you don’t need its credit card to earn Bilt points. Anyone can sign up and link their existing credit cards to their Bilt Wallet and earn points by shopping at partner merchants through Bilt's Neighborhood Benefits program.
Likewise, if you live in a Bilt Alliance building, you can earn points when you pay your rent. And if you don’t, you can earn points on your monthly rent if you open the Bilt Mastercard, which carries no annual fee. Bilt will mail a check to your landlord or process a payment through Venmo or a rent portal.
The Bilt Mastercard is great for everyday spending, too. It earns 3 points per dollar on dining, 2 points per dollar on select travel purchases, and 1 point per dollar everywhere else.
