Bilt is shaking up its rewards programme from January 2027, and anyone holding the Bilt Palladium or Bilt Obsidian card needs to make a decision sooner rather than later. The headline change: new cardholders will only get a 'housing-only' rewards option, earning up to 1.25 points per dollar on rent or mortgage payments — with no Bilt Cash at all.
Existing cardholders aren't being forced onto the new structure, but there's a catch. To keep earning 4% Bilt Cash on purchases, you have to actively select that option in the Bilt app before your cardmember anniversary date in 2027. Miss the deadline and you're permanently switched to housing-only — no second chances.
The opt-in process is already live. You log into the app, open your card's rewards section, tap through to the updated rewards screen, swipe to the 'Flexible Bilt Cash' option and save. A confirmation screen tells you it worked. It takes a couple of minutes.
Why bother? The article makes a compelling case centred on Bilt's point accelerator. Palladium and Obsidian cardholders can spend $200 in Bilt Cash to unlock an extra point per dollar on all purchases, up to $5,000 of spend — and this can be activated five times a year. Do the maths and a Palladium holder can hit 3 points per dollar on $25,000 of annual spending, worth around 75,000 points a year. That's hard to match on other travel cards.
The trick is keeping enough Bilt Cash flowing to trigger all five accelerators, which requires $1,000 a year. Earning 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spending makes that self-sustaining: you spend, you earn points and cash, and you recycle the cash into the next accelerator. Under the new structure, the maths falls short — you'd get roughly $600 at your anniversary plus small top-ups, enough for about three activations instead of five.
If you're happy with the simpler housing-only setup, do nothing. It's the default in the app and will be the only option for new applicants after January 2027. Anyone considering joining Bilt specifically for the Bilt Cash model needs to apply, be approved and accept a card by December 31, 2026, then select Bilt Cash as their preference. After that, the door closes.
For travellers, this matters because those accelerated Bilt points can be transferred to airline and hotel partners — meaning the difference between the two reward structures could be tens of thousands of points a year towards flights and stays. If you carry either premium Bilt card, it's worth five minutes in the app today. Just remember the choice is one-way once your anniversary passes.
