Travel March 27, 2026 0 Comments

Is Using Bilt to Pay Your Rent or Mortgage a Game-Changer or Just a Costly Gamble? We Reveal the Truth.

Ever paused to think how your rent or mortgage could actually pay you back? No, it’s not some wild fantasy — it’s real, and it’s called Bilt Rewards. We all know housing costs can gobble up a monstrous chunk of our monthly budget, and while some landlords and mortgage providers will gladly accept a credit card swipe, the pesky fees often make you think twice. That’s where Bilt steps in, offering a slick, fee-free way to pay off your rent or mortgage while stacking up valuable Bilt Points. Intriguing, right? Whether you’re a seasoned points collector or just dipping your toes into rewards territory, understanding how to make your biggest monthly expense work for you—not against you—could be a game-changer. Ready to unravel the smartest ways to earn on those necessities? Let’s dive deep into the world of Bilt Rewards and see if turning your housing payments into points gold mine is the move you’ve been waiting for. LEARN MORE

One of the biggest monthly expenses for many consumers is their rent or mortgage payment. Some landlords and mortgage providers may accept credit card payments. But, since Bilt Rewards offers a fee-free way to pay most rent and mortgage payments and earn Bilt Points on your payments, it’s worth considering.

Not a member? Join Bilt Rewards now to start earning and redeeming Bilt points.

Bilt points are a valuable currency based on TPG’s February 2026 valuations. So here’s what you need to know about earning Bilt points on rent and mortgage payments, including whether it’s a good idea to do so.

How to earn Bilt points on housing payments without using a Bilt card

You can earn Bilt points on rent and mortgage payments even if you don’t have a Bilt card.

Specifically, if you pay rent through Bilt with a non-Bilt Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover credit card, you’ll usually earn 1 point per $2 spent (excluding rent payment fees).

However, if you pay your rent through Bilt using an eligible Atmos Rewards card, you’ll earn 3 Atmos Rewards points per dollar spent on each rent payment (on up to $50,000 per year). And if you pay your rent through Bilt using an eligible United MileagePlus card, you’ll earn 2 United Airlines miles per dollar spent on each rent payment (on up to $50,000 per year).

If you pay rent through Bilt with a debit card or any other type of credit card, you’ll earn 250 points per monthly rent payment.

Young Son Helping Parents to Unload a Cargo Van with Furniture and Accessories for Their New Home in SUccessful Residential Area. Kid Bringing a Plant to His Mother. Family Moving to Their New Home. — JOHNNYGREIG/GETTY IMAGES

Meanwhile, if you pay your mortgage through Bilt without using a Bilt card, you’ll earn 100 points per contractual mortgage payment made via automated clearing house transfer, 250 points per payment made with a debit card and 1 point per $2 spent per payment with a non-Bilt Mastercard (excluding mortgage payment fees).

Non-Bilt cards incur a 3% processing fee, though, while debit card payments incur a flat $9.95 fee.

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Using a Bilt card to earn points on housing payments

Luckily, you can earn more points on housing payments and avoid fees by using a Bilt card.

If you have the Bilt Blue Card (see rates and fees), Bilt Obsidian Card (see rates and fees) or Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees), you’ll earn Bilt points on nonhousing purchases with your card.

But cardholders also earn bonus rewards, and these rewards can let you earn Bilt points on housing payments without any transaction fees. The bonus rewards are Bilt Cash or housing-only rewards, and you must choose one of these when you activate your card. However, you can switch your bonus rewards choice each month.

Here’s a look at each option, including how each lets you earn Bilt points on housing payments. Regardless of your choice, keep in mind that your rent or mortgage payment will not be applied to your Bilt card’s credit line. Instead, Bilt will automatically debit the rent or mortgage charges from your bank account via an automated clearing house transfer.

The Bilt Cash pathway to earning Bilt points on housing payments

If you opt for the Bilt Cash pathway to earning Bilt points on housing payments, you’ll earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on all nonhousing purchases with your Bilt card. You can then redeem Bilt cash for various rewards, including unlocking Bilt points on housing payments. You can redeem Bilt Cash at a rate of 3 cents per point to unlock up to 1 point per dollar spent on Bilt housing payments each month.

So, if your monthly housing payment is $1,000, you could redeem up to $30 of Bilt Cash per month to unlock up to 1,000 Bilt points per month. You’d need to spend $750 on nonhousing purchases with your Bilt Card to earn $30 of Bilt Cash.

The housing-only rewards pathway to earning Bilt points on housing payments

If you opt for the housing-only rewards pathway to earning Bilt points on housing payments, you won’t earn Bilt Cash on nonhousing purchases with your Bilt card. However, you will automatically earn Bilt points on Bilt housing payments with no transaction fee.

The rate at which you earn points on Bilt housing payments is based on your everyday spending as a percentage of your monthly rent or mortgage, as follows:

Less than 25%: 250 Bilt points per billing cycle
At least 25%, but less than 50%: 0.5 points per dollar spent on Bilt housing payments
At least 50%, but less than 75%: 0.75 points per dollar spent on Bilt housing payments
At least 75%, but less than 100%: 1 point per dollar spent on Bilt housing payments
At least 100%: 1.25 points per dollar spent on Bilt housing payments

So, if your monthly housing payment is $1,000, you’d need to spend at least $1,000 per month in nonhousing expenses on your Bilt card to earn 1.25 points per dollar spent on your Bilt housing payment (which would be 1,250 points). Meanwhile, if you spent at least $750 but less than $1,000 per month, you’d earn 1 point per dollar spent on your Bilt housing payment (1,000 points). Of course, the amount you’d need to spend on nonhousing expenses changes depending on your monthly housing payment.

Should you choose Bilt Cash or housing-only rewards?

The calculation of whether to choose Bilt Cash or housing-only rewards is based on your monthly housing payment, how you’ll redeem Bilt Cash and how much you spend on nonhousing purchases with your Bilt card.

I highly recommend using our Bilt Calculator to see what’s best for you. But, if you prefer, you can also check out the following scenarios to see how the math plays out. In each scenario, we focus on monthly nonhousing spending amounts around the thresholds for housing-only rewards, as this is where you can see the biggest differences.

Monthly housing payment of $500

Assuming you have a monthly housing payment of $500, here’s how the math would work out for both Bilt Cash and housing-only rewards.

Bilt Cash earned on nonhousing spending	Value of points unlocked on housing payments based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations plus remaining Bilt Cash	Points earned on $500 monthly housing payment as housing-only rewards	Value of points earned as housing-only rewards based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations
$0	$0	250 points	$5.50
$5, which could be redeemed to unlock 166 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$3.65	250 points	$5.50
$10, which could be redeemed to unlock 333 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$7.33	375 points	$8.25
$15, which could be redeemed to unlock 500 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$11	500 points	$11
$20, $15 of which could be redeemed to unlock 500 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$16	625 points	$13.75
$40, $15 of which could be redeemed to unlock 500 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$36	625 points	$13.75

Monthly housing payment of $1,000

Assuming you have a monthly housing payment of $1,000, here’s how the math would work out for both Bilt Cash and housing-only rewards.

Bilt Cash earned on nonhousing spending	Value of points unlocked on housing payments based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations plus remaining Bilt Cash	Points earned on $1,000 monthly housing payment as housing-only rewards	Value of points earned as housing-only rewards based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations
$0	$0	250 points	$5.50
$10, which could be redeemed to unlock 333 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$7.33	500 points	$11
$20, which could be redeemed to unlock 666 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$14.65	750 points	$16.50
$30, which could be redeemed to unlock 1,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$22	1,000 points	$22
$40, $30 of which could be redeemed to unlock 1,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$32	1,250 points	$27.50
$60, $30 of which could be redeemed to unlock 1,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$52	1,250 points	$27.50

Monthly housing payment of $2,000

Assuming you have a monthly housing payment of $2,000, here’s how the math would work out for both Bilt Cash and housing-only rewards.

Bilt Cash earned on nonhousing spending	Value of points unlocked on housing payments based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations plus remaining Bilt Cash	Points earned on $2,000 monthly housing payment as housing-only rewards	Value of points earned as housing-only rewards based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations
$0	$0	250 points	$5.50
$20, which could be redeemed to unlock 666 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$14.65	1,000 points	$22
$40, which could be redeemed to unlock 1,333 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$29.33	1,500 points	$33
$60, which could be redeemed to unlock 2,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$44	2,000 points	$44
$80, $60 of which could be redeemed to unlock 2,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$64	2,500 points	$55
$120, $60 of which could be redeemed to unlock 2,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$104	2,500 points	$55

Monthly housing payment of $4,000

Assuming you have a monthly housing payment of $4,000, here’s how the math would work out for both Bilt Cash and housing-only rewards.

Bilt Cash earned on nonhousing spending	Value of points unlocked on housing payments based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations plus remaining Bilt Cash	Points earned on $4,000 monthly housing payment as housing-only rewards	Value of points earned as housing-only rewards based on TPG’s Feb. 2026 valuations
$0	$0	250 points	$5.50
$40, which could be redeemed to unlock 1,333 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$29.33	2,000 points	$44
$80, which could be redeemed to unlock 2,666 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$58.65	3,000 points	$66
$120, which could be redeemed to unlock 4,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$88	4,000 points	$88
$160, $120 of which could be redeemed to unlock 4,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$128	5,000 points	$110
$240, $120 of which could be redeemed to unlock 4,000 Bilt points on housing payments per month	$208	5,000 points	$110

Takeaways

Choose housing-only rewards for the 250 Bilt points per billing cycle if you plan to spend less than $137.50 ($187.50 if you’d redeem points to unlock Bilt points on housing payments) on nonhousing purchases with your Bilt card each month.
It’s often better to select housing-only rewards if you’ll aim your monthly nonhousing spending on your Bilt card to barely surpass the 25% or 50% thresholds for the ratio of nonhousing spending to housing spending.
Once you surpass the 50% threshold for the ratio of nonhousing spending to housing spending, you’ll usually be better off earning Bilt Cash.

Keep in mind that the calculation also depends on whether you’ll redeem Bilt Cash to unlock points on housing payments. After all, while TPG’s February 2026 valuations peg the value of Bilt points at 2.2 cents each, you can only unlock Bilt points on housing payments by redeeming Bilt Cash at a rate of 3 cents per point.

Should you pay your rent or mortgage with Bilt?

If you have monthly rent or mortgage payments, it may make sense to get a Bilt card and use it to pay your rent or mortgage. After all, you don’t have to pay transaction fees on housing payments when you have one of the three Bilt cards and you let Bilt debit the rent or mortgage charges from your bank account via an automated clearing house transfer. Plus, you can earn Bilt points on your housing payments.

Alternatively, if you have an eligible Atmos Rewards card, you may want to use it when paying rent through Bilt as you’ll earn 3 Atmos Rewards points per dollar spent on each rent payment (on up to $50,000 per year). You’ll have to pay a 3% transaction fee, but this fee may be worth paying if you get good value when redeeming Atmos Rewards points.

In short, consider your other options for paying your rent or mortgage and assess how much value you’ll get from each pathway in the Bilt Rewards program. Especially considering that the no-annual-fee Bilt Blue Card (see rates and fees) unlocks the ability to pay rent or mortgages through Bilt with no transaction fees, it may be your best path toward earning rewards on housing payments.

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