How to Earn Points By Paying Your Rent

Posted: 11/7/22 | November seventh, 2022

As an avid journey hacker, I’m at all times searching for new methods to earn extra factors and miles by means of my on a regular basis spending. In consequence, I earn over one million points every year, permitting me to get pleasure from every kind of free flights and lodge stays, upgrades, lounge entry, elite standing, and extra.

Travel hacking has saved me hundreds and hundreds of {dollars} through the years, and I wouldn’t have the ability to journey as a lot with out it.

Nevertheless, there’s historically been one enormous expense that has at all times been onerous to earn factors for: lease.

For years, journey hackers have taken benefit of momentary presents that waive bank card charges or gone by means of complicated procedures to pay their lease so they may get factors.

However these maneuvers have been all hit and miss and by no means lasted lengthy. Hundreds of potential factors continued to be left on the desk.

Till now.

Earlier this yr, a card referred to as Bilt got here out. And it has modified the sport.
 

What’s Bilt?

Bilt is a bank card that permits you to earn factors once you pay your lease (in addition to on on a regular basis purchases). You then use these factors such as you would every other rewards program: you need to use them to ebook journey immediately, you’ll be able to switch them to journey companions, or you need to use a number of the different redemption choices.

There are two methods to earn factors with the cardboard: by renting a Bilt Alliance property, or through the use of the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®.

Bilt Alliance properties type a community of two million models throughout the US. However I’m not going to give attention to that. I’m going to speak about its bank card.
 

How does the Bilt reward card work?

When you open a Bilt Mastercard® (which is issued by Wells Fargo and has no annual price), you go to the Bilt app or web site to arrange your recurring month-to-month rental funds.

Bilt then creates a singular checking account tied to your Bilt bank card in order that your lease is paid with an e-check fairly than by means of your bank card. This checking account is mainly a authorized “dummy” account created as a workaround for bank card processing charges. You don’t use it for anything, and you don’t withdraw or deposit cash from it.

Each time these distinctive routing and account numbers are used to pay lease, your Bilt Mastercard® is charged for a similar quantity. (You continue to have to attach your private checking account to repay the cardboard every month.)

And, in case your property is old-school and solely accepts checks, you’ll be able to nonetheless pay along with your Bilt card by means of the Bilt Rewards app, and Bilt will ship a examine in your behalf.

All of it takes about 5 minutes to arrange. Whenever you’re finished, you’ll be incomes factors in your lease. I exploit it, so I don’t go away any factors on the desk.

Bilt Reward Perks

As soon as your account is ready up, you’ll begin incomes one level per greenback spent utilizing the Bilt bank card on lease funds, as much as 50,000 factors every calendar yr. Whereas the mileage wanted totally free flights varies drastically relying on many elements, for those who play your playing cards proper, that many factors may get you a free round-trip flight from New York to London.

And, whereas incomes factors for lease funds is Bilt’s important draw, you’ll additionally earn two factors per greenback spent on journey (when booked immediately or by means of the Bilt Journey portal) and three factors per greenback spent on eating. You’ll get one level per greenback on all different purchases.

Simply observe that it’s important to make 5 purchases per 30 days (with no minimal spending requirement) to earn these rewards.

You may switch factors 1:1 to journey companions, together with American Airways, United, Emirates, Hawaiian, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Hyatt, and IHG.

The truth that they switch to American Airways and Hyatt actually units this card aside (in addition to the lease factor). Nobody transfers to American, so this can be a enormous promoting level for this card, as a result of it’s the one method to get AA factors with out having an AA card. And incomes Hyatt factors permits you to have a means out of the Chase system.

It’s also possible to redeem factors for health courses, like SoulCycle, Solidcore, Rumble, and Y7, and for gadgets within the Bilt Assortment, a curated number of artisan house décor gadgets. However redeeming for health courses comes out to round one level per cent — you get a greater redemption on journey purchases.

Moreover, purchases additionally make it easier to earn standing within the Bilt Rewards program, primarily based on the full factors earned yearly.

The tiers for these Bilt Rewards are as follows (subsequent tiers embody every part within the aforementioned ones):

• Blue: Earn factors on lease and the flexibility to switch them 1:1 to journey companions
• Silver (25,000 factors per yr): 10% bonus factors once you signal a brand new lease or renew your lease, and curiosity in your factors stability (on the FDIC revealed nationwide financial savings rate of interest)
• Gold (50,000 factors per yr): 25% bonus factors for brand new leases/renewals and entry to a house possession concierge (who will stroll you thru the home-buying course of)
• Platinum (100,000 factors per yr): 50% bonus factors for brand new leases/renewals and a free reward from the Bilt Assortment of house décor gadgets

Whereas the perks within the larger tiers aren’t terribly thrilling, they’re a pleasant method to earn much more factors in the event that they apply to you. However, even on the base stage, you’ll be able to nonetheless reap the benefits of Bilt’s important attraction: incomes factors on lease.

Along with incomes factors, the cardboard additionally offers you:

• Journey cancellation safety and interruption protection
• Journey delay reimbursement (for delays of six hours or extra)
• Automobile rental collision protection
• Mobile phone safety (as much as $800 USD)
• No international transaction charges
• A free three-month DashPass and $5 USD off your first DoorDash order every month
• $5 USD Lyft credit score every month after taking three rides that month

Who is that this card for?

This card is suited to anybody who needs to earn factors on their month-to-month lease. When you arrange the net funds (you can too arrange auto-pay) and use your card 5 occasions a month, it’s largely a “set it and neglect it” sort of card. With no annual price, you don’t have anything to lose and solely factors to achieve.

The cardboard is very geared towards vacationers and restaurant-goers, because it presents 2x factors spent on journey and 3x factors on eating out. It’s greatest paired with different travel credit cards which have higher perks, good welcome bonuses, and better incomes charges, although.

I’ll most likely begin utilizing the Bilt card as an alternative of my Chase Sapphire, as a result of I get a variety of Chase factors by means of enterprise spending, and I’m aiming to fly to Japan subsequent yr, so I need these AA factors (AA is a companion with Japan Airways).

Who is that this card not for?

As with all journey bank card, you shouldn’t get the Bilt card for those who’re already carrying a stability or plan to hold a stability. Rates of interest for journey bank cards are notoriously excessive, and the Bilt card isn’t any totally different, with hefty APRs of 19–27%. The factors simply aren’t price it for those who’re paying curiosity every month.

This card can also be not for anybody with poor credit score, as you want good or glorious credit score to qualify.

Moreover, the Bilt card gained’t be for anybody searching for one with a giant welcome bonus (as there’s none), and it does depend towards Chase’s 5/24 rule (you’ll be able to’t open greater than 5 Chase playing cards inside 24 months). When you’ve already opened 5 Chase playing cards or need to open extra, you would possibly need to skip this one for now.

In sum, if you’re a renter and need to earn factors on this main month-to-month expenditure, then it’s price contemplating the Bilt card. It’s fully free, and straightforward to arrange, so there’s actually nothing to lose. Even when your lease isn’t significantly excessive, factors are factors, and the Bilt card might be a pleasant extra useful resource for incomes these coveted factors and miles (particularly for those who fly American Airways, as that is one in every of their solely switch companions).

As the one rewards card that gives factors on lease fully totally free, Bilt is a welcome new participant within the journey house. In my view, it’s actually a no brainer for those who pay lease, so you can begin working towards some free flights and lodge stays!