Bilt 2.0 replaced the original points-on-rent system with a more complex structure that rewards higher total card usage. Understanding how Housing-Only Tiers and the Bilt Cash path interact with each card's bonus categories is the key to maximizing your housing rewards.
How the Housing-Only Tier System Works
Bilt's Housing-Only Tier system ties your housing earning rate directly to how actively you use the card for everyday spending. The premise is simple: the more of your non-housing spending you route through the Bilt card relative to your housing payment, the higher the multiplier you earn on that housing payment. At 25% of housing, you unlock 0.50x; at 50% you earn 0.75x; at 75% you reach 1.00x; and at 100% (spending as much on everyday purchases as your monthly housing payment) you earn the maximum 1.25x. Below 25%, you receive a flat 250 bonus points per housing payment regardless of the amount. This tier structure is most powerful for renters with moderate housing costs ($1,500–$2,500/month) who can realistically reach the higher tiers through normal card use. If your rent is $4,000/month, reaching the 1.25x tier requires spending $4,000 on other purchases — which may mean routing essentially all your discretionary spending through the card. Understanding your own ratio is the first step; this calculator shows your current tier and how much additional monthly spend would unlock the next level.
Bilt Cash Path vs. Housing-Only Tiers
The Bilt Cash path is the alternative earning structure where all everyday purchases (excluding housing) earn a flat 4% cash back, which you can choose to convert to housing reward points at a rate of $30 for 1,000 points (approximately 3.33 cents per dollar in point equivalent). This path can outperform Housing-Only Tiers if your non-housing spending is large relative to your housing payment — specifically when your everyday spend-to-housing ratio exceeds roughly 75–80%. For example, if you spend $3,000/month on non-housing purchases but only have $1,500 in rent, the Bilt Cash path generates 100,000 points per year from $3,000 × 12 × 4% / $30 × 1,000. The Housing-Only path at the maximum 1.25x tier would yield 22,500 points on housing plus category points on everyday spend. The optimal path depends entirely on your personal spending profile, which is why this calculator computes both and recommends the higher-value option for your specific inputs. You choose one path per card account, not per transaction.
Choosing Between Blue, Obsidian, and Palladium
The Bilt Obsidian ($95/year) earns 3x on either dining or groceries (your choice) and 2x on travel, making it significantly more valuable than Bilt Blue for anyone who spends at least $400–$500 per month in the bonus category. At $400/month in dining, the extra 2x multiplier generates roughly 9,600 additional points per year, worth $144 at 1.5 cents — more than offsetting the $95 fee before counting travel and housing tier benefits. The Obsidian includes a $100 annual hotel credit that further reduces the effective fee. The Bilt Palladium ($495/year) is the premium card designed for high spenders: it earns 2x on all spending (not just bonus categories), includes $400 in annual hotel credits, $200 in Bilt Cash, and Priority Pass lounge access. The $600 in annual credits reduce the effective net fee to negative $105 for cardholders who use them, making Palladium compelling if you travel frequently and can maximize the hotel and cash credits. Use this calculator with your actual spending figures to see the net annual value of each card before applying.
Maximizing Point Redemption Value
Bilt points are worth different amounts depending on how you redeem them. The baseline redemption is 1.0 cent per point toward rent payments, which is useful but not the best available value. Redeeming toward a mortgage payment values points at 0.55 cents — below the rent redemption rate. The most valuable redemptions come through Bilt's transfer partners: the program partners with major airline loyalty programs (United, American, Alaska, Air France/KLM, and others) and hotel programs (Hyatt, IHG, Marriott), where Bilt points typically transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Transferring to Hyatt and booking premium properties can yield 2.0–2.5 cents per point or more in aspirational redemptions. The second-best option for most users is booking travel through the Bilt Travel Portal, where points are worth 1.5 cents each — triple the base rent redemption value. When entering your point valuation in this calculator, use 1.5 cents for a conservative but realistic estimate, or 2.0 cents if you actively plan to transfer to airline partners for premium cabin redemptions.