The case for Bilt points as your most valuable rewards currency

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For most renters, housing is the single biggest monthly cost. I live in one of the most expensive metropolitan areas in the United States, New York City, and rent is my largest expense — it’s not even close.

I earn Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Bilt points simultaneously. But of the three programs, Bilt Rewards is my favorite. And now that I’m earning points by paying my rent, it's the most valuable. Here’s why.

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Bilt now has three credit cards, and for the first time, each one has a sign-up bonus.

I applied for the Bilt Obsidian Card with a $95 annual fee. As someone who holds several high-annual-fee cards, I didn’t want to take on another expensive card. This card works for me because it earns up to 1.25x points on rent and bonus points on everyday purchases like dining or groceries. The points I’ve earned from the card have come in handy, especially on travel, which I’ll talk more about later.

Having a Bilt card isn’t the only way I earn points. I also earn them on Lyft rides, by shopping through Rakuten, and at Walgreens.

Bilt is a 1:1 transfer partner with several major airlines, including United and Alaska.

It also partners with one of my personal favorite programs, Turkish Miles&Smiles. I recently transferred 65,000 Bilt points to Turkish Airlines and booked a one-way business-class flight that would have cost well over $5,000 had I paid in cash. I’ve also used Bilt rewards to transfer to United for a Polaris flight to London coming up this summer.

On the hotel side, the 1:1 transfer to World of Hyatt is the standout. Park Hyatt properties in major cities usually cost more than $1,000 a night, but they can be booked at pretty decent rates with points. I transferred Bilt points to Hyatt to book two nights at the Category 8 Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, where the nightly cash rate was more than $1,700. I paid just 35,000 points per night.

There’s nothing better than double-dipping on your rewards.

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My other two favorite flexible points programs are no slouches, either. Here’s how they stack up to Bilt.

Chase Ultimate Rewards has a strong transfer partner list, including Hyatt, Southwest, and British Airways. And many of Chase’s cards, including the much-loved Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred, earn bonus points on categories like dining and travel. If you spend a lot in these categories, you can rack up points quickly and be well on your way to booking your next award flight or hotel stay.

Similarly, American Express Membership Rewards has some heavy hitters among its transfer partners, including Delta, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, and ANA. Plus, the premium Amex Platinum card earns an impressive 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 spent per calendar year).

But unlike Bilt, neither of these programs specifically earns points on rent payments. And they don’t let you earn rewards on everyday spending with the same ease. With Bilt Neighborhood Benefits, you can earn points at participating local restaurants, Walgreens, and workout studios just by linking cards to your Bilt Wallet. This is a huge plus for me, since I always want more ways to earn points for everyday spending outside of travel.

I value Bilt Rewards points at about 1.8 cents per point when redeemed for flights and hotels.

That’s not to say you can’t get even more value from your Bilt points, depending on how you redeem them. As I mentioned above, one of Bilt’s most valuable transfer partners is Hyatt. For instance, a stay at the Andaz 5th Avenue in New York would cost $660 per night, but an award night is only 30,000 points on standard nights. You get a whopping 2.2 cents in value just by transferring Bilt points over to Hyatt.

In another example, say you wanted to fly United economy from Newark (EWR) to Zurich (ZRH). The cash price costs around $725, though you’ll need just 40,000 miles for an award ticket. By booking the award ticket, you’d get a value of 1.81 cents per point on the ticket.

The good thing about transferable programs is that you can pick and choose when you want to use them. I still earn Amex and Chase points, but as a renter, I love that Bilt earns me points on my biggest spend category. That’s something the other programs can’t do, and it’s what makes Bilt Rewards the most valuable points currency for me.

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