Find out how to Earn Factors By Paying Your Lease

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 via my on a regular basis spending. Consequently, I earn over a million factors yearly, permitting me to get pleasure from every kind of free flights and lodge stays, upgrades, lounge entry, elite standing, and extra.

Journey hacking has saved me 1000’s and 1000’s of {dollars} over time, and I wouldn’t be capable of journey as a lot with out it.

Nonetheless, there’s historically been one large expense that has at all times been exhausting to earn factors for: hire.

For years, journey hackers have taken benefit of short-term presents that waive bank card charges or gone via complicated procedures to pay their hire so they may get factors.

However these maneuvers had 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 known 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 whenever you pay your hire (in addition to on on a regular basis purchases). You then use these factors such as you would some other rewards program: you should utilize them to e book journey immediately, you’ll be able to switch them to journey companions, or you should utilize 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 hire is paid with an e-check fairly than via your bank card. This checking account is principally a authorized “dummy” account created as a workaround for bank card processing charges. You don’t use it for the rest, and you don’t withdraw or deposit cash from it.

At any time when these distinctive routing and account numbers are used to pay hire, 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 together with your Bilt card via the Bilt Rewards app, and Bilt will ship a test in your behalf.

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

Bilt Reward Perks

As soon as your account is about up, you’ll begin incomes one level per greenback spent utilizing the Bilt bank card on hire funds, as much as 50,000 factors every calendar yr. Whereas the mileage wanted without spending a dime flights varies drastically relying on many elements, if you happen to 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 hire funds is Bilt’s fundamental draw, you’ll additionally earn two factors per greenback spent on journey (when booked immediately or via 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 a must to make 5 purchases per 30 days (with no minimal spending requirement) to earn these rewards.

You possibly can 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 hire factor). Nobody transfers to American, so this can be a large promoting level for this card, as a result of it’s the one strategy 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.

You can too redeem factors for health lessons, like SoulCycle, Solidcore, Rumble, and Y7, and for objects within the Bilt Assortment, a curated collection of artisan residence décor objects. However redeeming for health lessons 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, based mostly on the whole factors earned yearly.

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

• Blue: Earn factors on hire and the flexibility to switch them 1:1 to journey companions
• Silver (25,000 factors per yr): 10% bonus factors whenever 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 spanking 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 spanking new leases/renewals and a free present from the Bilt Assortment of residence décor objects

Whereas the perks within the increased tiers aren’t terribly thrilling, they’re a pleasant strategy to earn much more factors in the event that they apply to you. However, even on the base degree, you’ll be able to nonetheless make the most of Bilt’s fundamental attraction: incomes factors on hire.

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)
• Automotive rental collision protection
• Mobile phone safety (as much as $800 USD)
• No overseas 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 fitted to anybody who desires to earn factors on their month-to-month hire. When you arrange the net funds (you can even arrange auto-pay) and use your card 5 occasions a month, it’s largely a “set it and neglect it” form of card. With no annual price, you don’t have anything to lose and solely factors to realize.

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 journey bank cards which have higher perks, good welcome bonuses, and better incomes charges, although.

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

Who is that this card not for?

As with every journey bank card, you shouldn’t get the Bilt card if you happen to’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 completely different, with hefty APRs of 19–27%. The factors simply aren’t value it if you happen to’re paying curiosity every month.

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

Moreover, the Bilt card received’t be for anybody searching for one with an enormous welcome bonus (as there may be none), and it does rely 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 wish to open extra, you may wish to skip this one for now.

In sum, if you’re a renter and wish to earn factors on this main month-to-month expenditure, then it’s value contemplating the Bilt card. It’s utterly free, and straightforward to arrange, so there’s actually nothing to lose. Even when your hire isn’t significantly excessive, factors are factors, and the Bilt card may very well be a pleasant extra useful resource for incomes these coveted factors and miles (particularly if you happen to fly American Airways, as that is certainly one of their solely switch companions).

As the one rewards card that gives factors on hire utterly without spending a dime, Bilt is a welcome new participant within the journey area. In my view, it’s actually a no brainer if you happen to pay hire, so you can begin working towards some free flights and lodge stays!