Did Bilt Just RUIN its Cards and Rewards Program?

Well, you may have heard the news that Bilt, the massively popular rewards program and set of credit cards that let you earn points on rent and mortgages that can be transferred to a load of airline and hotel partners, has just made some huge changes to their three credit cards and their rewards program in general. Now, one of these changes I actually think is good in the long run just because it simplifies stuff a lot. But I think people who were really maximizing the value out of the Bilt cards will see these changes as a negative. Hey, credit warriors, welcome to the show. My name is Ben Hedges, aka The Credit Shifu, and on this channel, we cover US credit cards, personal finance, and luxury travel. If you like the sound of that, please subscribe. And this video is brought to you by Monarch, but more on that later. So at the beginning of 2026, Bilt launched Bilt 2.0, which comprised three new credit cards and a revamped rewards program. The most complicated and just downright confusing part of Bilt 2.0 was the introduction of Bilt Cash as a means to unlock point earning on rent and mortgage payments. So $30 in Bilt Cash would unlock 1,000 points that you could earn on a rent or mortgage payment at a rate of one point per dollar. The Bilt credit cards currently earn Bilt Cash at a rate of 4% on all spending, meaning that you would need to spend $750 per month in non-rent or mortgage spend to unlock 1,000 points earned on your housing payment. This means the built cards effectively earn two points currencies at the same time. No one except for Bilt thought this was a good idea. Like I literally remember a few of us influencers who are affiliate partners of Bilt being on a video call with them and the CEO introduced the idea of Bilt Cash and we're all looking at each other like, who's going to tell them this isn't a good idea? But you know, for the record, I really admire the guys at Built and what they've created or the company that they have built, pun intended. but this was not one of their best ideas. For the average user it was too complex but it did offer some sweet spots for those who were willing to do the research and keep track of their Bilt cash and their Bilt points and the expiry dates of the Bilt Cash and all the things that it could be redeemed for and actually these kind of users were probably costing Bilt money since they were effectively getting four percent cash back on every dollar spent and points on those dollars at between one and three points per dollar or even up to six points per dollar if you include spending in the Bilt dining program and travel portal linked to the dining program down below by the way it's really worth signing up for but anyway the good thing is that after some pretty intense criticism after the launch earlier this year Bilt immediately made a change they introduced another option called the housing only option where you don't earn built cash on spending with the built cards that you redeem for the ability to earn points on rent and mortgage payments you simply get a different rewards rate on housing payments with different levels of non-housing spending on the built cards. You would need to spend 75% of your housing payment on other things with the card to earn one point per dollar on your housing payment. So if your housing payment's a thousand dollars you need to spend $750 to earn one point per dollar on that thousand dollars worth of housing payment. And you can earn more than one point per dollar because if you spend an amount equal to your housing payment, so let's say your housing payment is $1,000, you spend $1,000 on groceries or other things, you would then earn 1.25 points per dollar on your housing payment. You can pause the video and look at all the different levels. There are a few lower ones too. Now this is way easier for the average user, but probably offers less value for big spenders since in addition to opening up points earning on mortgages and rent payments, built cash can be redeemed for a load of other things, including hotel stays and even blade helicopter rides. But for people on average incomes who are not total credit card nerds, it's probably a better option not to earn the 4% Bilt cash and just use the alternative method of unlocking points earning on rent and mortgage payments. But that now brings us to today, and Bilt has gone and made some more changes. But first, being a finance YouTuber, I really take care to know every detail of my finances. And that's why I've partnered with Monarch. It is a financial planning app that syncs with over 13,000 financial institutions so you can create a 100% clear picture of your finances. It shows you your transactions, your budget, your investments, and your debts all in one place. Now, if you are in debt, and I know I always tell you to pay off your credit cards in full, but US credit card debt right now is at record levels. So I'm sure at least some people in the audience do owe some money. Well, Monarch can help you set realistic goals to pay down credit cards. 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So a big thank you to Monarch for partnering with me, you can scan the QR code or click the link down below to start your free trial. And my viewers will also get 50% off their first year after the trial ends with code BEN50. So let's look at the recent built changes now. The first and most important one is that the option to earn 4% built cash on everything with the built cards is going away on card members next anniversaries, and everyone will be moved to the housing only option. For those who apply for built cards on January 1st or later, the housing only option will be the only option. It's way simpler and personally, I think it is more sustainable in the long run. But if you really want to earn 4% built cash on everything and use that alternative way to unlock points on housing, current card holders can opt in to be grandfathered into the old system. And even people who apply for the cards before the end of the year can opt in to keep the 4% built cash system too. You will need to do that in the built app or online account. I believe by default you'll be set as the housing only option and you will only have until the end of the year to change it. So do do it by that date otherwise you're going to lose the option to do that. But built cash isn't going away. You just won't earn it at a rate of four percent on everything anymore but you will still have some ways of earning it. There are important changes coming to the built cash system that you should know about too. So let's talk about all that now. So here are the built cash updates. More time to use your built cash. Built cash now expires at the end of the month, 12 months after it's earned. No more year end expiration or rollover. For example, $100 earned in February 2026 will now expire on February 28th, 2027. And that's great because in the past, if you earned built cash in say November, it would expire in January, right? So you'd have it for like two months and you'd have to figure out what to do with it. And some people would waste it on stupid things just to spend it. Next change, book hotels with Bilt cash twice a year. Starting on January 1st, 2027, Bilt cash hotel redemptions changed from monthly to twice a year. Redeem up to $50 for those with blue or silver status each half of the year, so $100 per year, $100 every six months, for gold and platinum status, so $200 per year, or $200 for eligible Palladium card holders, four hundred dollars per year in Bilt cash towards eligible Bilt hotel bookings each time this one will be a downgrade for some it used to be that you could redeem up to a hundred dollars so fifty dollars for blue and silver and a hundred dollars for gold and platinum in Bilt cash once per month for hotel stays of two nights or more but that is now limited to twice per year however if you have the Palladium card you get to redeem two hundred dollars all at once twice per year And if you are a person who only stays at a hotel, say once every six months anyway, this could actually offer more value than the old way since you can do more cash in one go. But in general, I think most people are going to see this as a downgrade. Last one, keep earning built cash on milestones. You'll keep earning $50 of Bilt cash for every 25,000 Bilt points. And in addition to the built milestones, some of the built cards will now give out built cash instead of the current credits they offer. So the Obsidian card, cardholders will get $100 in built cash instead of the current built hotel credit. And on the Palladium card, we'll see their $200 Bilt cash credit and $400 hotel credit merge into one $600 Bilt cash credit. And that credit, by the way, can still be used for hotels with the new restrictions. So basically, you'll still be able to earn some built cash and redeem it. But I don't think that people are going to be swimming in built cash like some people once were. But you also don't need to exchange built cash for points earning on rental mortgages anymore. So you probably don't need as much of it. Then there are a few other things coming like car rental status match coming next year. Here are the details on that on screen now. You can pause the video to check it out. And there is also one more benefit coming. And that benefit would be daily rewards. Now, Bilt put this at the top of their press release. But to be honest, this is the least interesting to credit card enthusiasts because there's an element of chance to it. but it basically is a program of rewards that you can earn a reward every time you make an on-time rent or mortgage payment through Built. Here are some of the possible things you can earn. $1 million towards the purchase of a home. 10 million Built points. Free rent or mortgage for a year. Free Lyft rides for a year. Your dream getaway. But in reality, you know, maybe one person per year will get the million dollars or 10 million points. And most people will probably get like a free Built pen or something. Pay your own shipping. Just a joke. But anyway, guys, what do you think of these changes I still like Built as a whole there are many aspects of their rewards program that I like like you can link your existing cards to their dining program and get an extra three points per dollar on dining you don't even need to sign up for the Built credit cards I'll put a link to that down below if you're interested to sign up it is completely free just don't forget to link your existing card that you use for dining but looking at the new changes in my opinion the hotel changes are negative but the changes from Built Cash at four percent to the housing only model could probably be a neutral change for many and also way simpler. Also, the fact that built cash doesn't expire at the end of the calendar year is positive. But leave your comments below. I'd love to know what you think. Maybe you're a high spender who really stacked the built cash in the past and this is going to devalue the card. In that case, remember to opt out so that you're grandfathered in before the end of the year. And also, don't forget to check out Monarch in the links down below, or by going to this URL. You can get a free trial and a 50% discount with my code BEN50 after the trial ends. Please subscribe to the channel if you're new. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye.