Two months ago Bilt Rewards shared that they would introduce points-earning on mortgages, that there would be a new credit card value proposition, and new benefits coming.
Now they’re out to members with a note describing an upcoming survey about changes they’re considering to the Bilt credit card – that will be going out in the next 48 hours.
They flag several areas under consideration. I’ll go through each with my reaction:
- “Earning points on housing, whether you rent OR own.” They’re adding points-earning for mortgages. That’s great for a whole new segment of cardmember. I’m not sure how much it’ll appeal to the current Bilt cardmember base, most of whom are renters and picked the card to earn points for rent. It does let them keep those cardmembers as they graduate into homeownership if long-term interest rates ever come down, as well as expand into a huge new market.
With the Mesa Card becoming broadly available, I’d like to see them fast-track this. Bilt will have a lot more marketing distribution than Mesa, and they have a lot more resources. I’m waiting for Bilt because I’d much rather earn their points than Mesa’s (which do not yet transfer to airline miles). But they need to move on this.
- “Ensuring long-term value for everyone.” There are going to be some new restrictions on earning points for rent payments. We don’t know what. Here’s how they explain it,
Waiving the standard 3% card fee on rent payments represents a significant cost to the program—and unique value that we provide to Bilt cardholders. Ensuring this benefit goes to members who genuinely engage with our broader program—rather than those taking advantage of loopholes—will allow us to continue delivering long-term value for our entire cardholder community.
If they’re talking about loopholes like sending paying things other than rent while earning points, that’s genuinely a loophole and fair to close! If they’re saying that in order to earn points on rent you’ll need to “genuinely engage in our broader program” for instance earning a certain number of points in ways besides rent as a new hurdle, that’ll make a lot of members unhappy. Those aren’t necessarily the members that Bilt will mind losing!
Today it takes 5 transactions a month on the Bilt card to earn points for the month. But 5 transactions doesn’t mean a lot of spending; making it your regular card. They likely want to move cardmembers more in this direction. We’ll see what that looks like – I suspect it’s an area where you’ll want to fill out the survey they send you.
- “Bringing even more value to your neighborhood.” They say they’re “working on expanding to new neighborhood spend categories” (new categories where you earn more than one point per dollar, perhaps) and on “more innovative solutions like what you saw with our automatic FSA/HSA savings benefit” though I’m genuinely not sure what that looks like in the card context.
- “More options, tailored to you.” They’re looking at an annual fee card in addition to the current no annual fee product. There are great premium cards, and not so great ones, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they’re surveying and what they come up with. Hopefully the premium card is great, and today’s no annual fee isn’t diluted. I’d love to even see two cards that pair really well together, but I suspect they’re too smart to create a two-card ecosystem like Citi, Amex, and Chase that lets you earn at accelerated rates and never just one point per dollar.
- “A more seamless card experience.” The Wells co-brand integration into the Bilt app lags the original Evolve card – you can’t set up autopay in the app, you need a separate Wells Fargo login to do that. It sounds like they’re going to solve some of these limitations.
We’re working to make it easier to manage your card with improved self-service capabilities, from adding authorized users to setting up auto-pay, all designed to work effortlessly within the Bilt app.
Points for mortgages is going to make the Bilt card even better for me. I value a single Bilt point more than I do any other currency, given their transfer partners and their regular transfer bonuses that are bigger than anybody’s else’s. I pick them as my Lyft earning partner and the restaurants that joined as part of their original dining program (rather than the Rewards Network expansion of the program) are really fantastic.
So I’m a prime candidate for a premium card. I have enough confidence in Bilt’s fundamental desire to not be lame that I’m sure it won’t be $395 for Priority Pass and Global Entry reimbursement. I also don’t want to see an Amex-style coupon book either. Maybe I’m not the target market for an upgrade after all – I’m a tougher customer. I’m not going to be a first time upgrader into the premium card segment. They need to offer me something better than what’s out there today, or at least significantly differentiated, to earn a slot in my wallet.
In some ways the $100 annual fee price point could be easier to manage a win – leveraging benefits and earning with their partners, they don’t necessarily load up on costs, and offer more 2x points-earning in ways that generates incremental and regular spend on the card. That bolsters card economics and use without having to come up with the bundle of benefits that they need to buy which will be enough of a hit with enough premium customers to be worth $350 – $650.
Regardless, I’ll certainly be opening the survey that I get.
As a card member, I’m pleased with my earnings through BILT so far, but I’m not confident on their long-term sustainability as a business. I think Wells Fargo is taking a huge hit with them. I transfer to Hyatt as soon as I earn (which is one of their most expensive transfer partners for them, not me). I suspect they’re about to de-value something significant and give us basically ‘nothing’ in return. Oh well. Nice while it lasted. Hope I am wrong.
“If they’re talking about loopholes like sending paying things other than rent while earning points…”
Gary, you’ve got some “splainin” to do.
@Mike P — Aww, how nice–good humor–see, you are capable of some decency. (‘Lucy!!’)
@Mike P – people without rent to pay try to enter all sorts of payments as their once a month rent, sometimes those get caught with a warning and clawback – sometimes not (sometimes people ignore the warning to their detriment)
Bilt is my “first out of the wallet” card. I put my monthly condo maintenance fee on it as a “rent” payment. If I could do two condo maintenance fees, I would (hint). Most of my restaurant charges are on it, due to the 3x for “neighborhood” dining. And I like the Rent Day status matches — my upcoming Paris/Amsterdam trip dovetails neatly into hotel with Accor and air with AF/KL.
Much of the other targeted market isn’t me. Haven’t paid real rent since 1975. Soulcycle? At 75 years, (with a partner who is 79) I’m LMAO.
So, don’t mess me up, Bilt. I spend $75-80K/year with you.
I’ve never heard that one before, it’s not surprising. Thanks, Gary
This does have the something for nothing vibe. I’m into it tho. I deserve more rebates. I also think most c/c’s are only worth it if you pay a fee because I will only participate if I get outsized rewards. It has to be worth my time.
Gary, last summer you thought that the length of the Bilt/WF credit card contract made it “a more secure, longer-term play that naysayers have imagined.” Does this survey (or, more accurately, I guess Bilt’s advertisement of a forthcoming survey) — implying they may move to restrict point earning soon — change your thinking at all?
@Joseph — It does feel ‘too good to be true’ and like ‘nothing gold can stay’ at times but it has been worthwhile so far, to me (and others it seems) at least.
Don’t let the lack of an annual fee diminish the card’s benefits. If anything, it’s nice to not have to pay yet another a fee for a card. You just have to make five transactions per statement cycle, rent is one, and the other four can be $1+, in order to earn the points. Easy.
If you have less than $100K/year of maintenance fees or rent (which you would typically ACH or mail a check for anyway), using this card, first, you get extra week(s) to actually pay that off, and second you earn 1% back on that (which can be worth 2-3x value depending on how you transfer and redeem the points), all on transaction types that you would otherwise would pay 1-3% ‘convenience’ fee if using any other card on most payment platforms (FirstService, Clickpay, Plaid, etc.).
When there was the up to 10K bonus for ‘Rent Day’ spend on the 1st of each month, that was even more special, but now that it’s just up to 1K bonus, which is a little less exciting, but still nice.
Why don’t you take the next credit card referral payment you get off this blog and buy a subscription to Grammarly
@Tom — What’s your problem, man? Other than ‘maybe’ one run-sentence, I see no major grammatical errors in Gary’s post above. As I’ve said before to folks like you, this isn’t the Associated Press. AP Style is not required for something like VFTW. Instead, maybe appreciate the substance of Gary’s analysis above, as he knows a thing or two about this, especially if you’re a current or prospective card member. Otherwise, I think you’re either a shill for the paid service that you promoted, or simply just not a serious person (more likely).
@observing – let’s see what they’re surveying exactly! I see them adding a premium card with annual fee. Unclear what changes will happen wtih the no annual fee card. Perhaps it’ll involve more favorable economics for Wells, for the reason you reference
Bilt Rewards (the business entity) itself does not incur the cost of “no 3% fee.” It is Wells Fargo that does. But, I suspect WF that is putting pressure on Bilt Rewards to get non-rent spending up. If we recall, WF seriously misjudged the economics of the co-brand relationship and is disposed to not renew it. Which is why Bilt Rewards is talking about Bilt 2.0 as well as being a rewards program beyond just the card.
Consider the WF Autograph and the Citi Strata Premier. Each has a no-annual-fee 2X sister card to form a nice duo. Examples of Gary’s two-card solutions. Based on higher end consumer feedback who expressed a desire for a single-card solution, the (still-born) Citi Strata Elite was to fold in 2X on otherwise non-bonused spending. Given no annual fee on the Cit Double Cash, why not? Why force your customer to carry two cards? What purpose does it serve?
Something for Bilt to consider.
@Jack — Bingo. The consensus over at DoC was that Wells is pissed. It would be nice if BILT used a ‘carrot,’ not a ‘stick,’ method (though I suspect the latter moving forward) to offer more incentives for non-rent spend on their card. Their attempts at creating a ‘status’ are kind of lame at the moment–I had reached ‘Gold’ but other than a few transfer bonuses I didn’t use it that much. The loss of American as a transfer partner was a real shame–hoping Citi brings them back soon. At least they added Alaska and still have Hyatt and United (like Chase), for now).
@Jack — On the Citi Strata Elite, ‘still-born,’ ouch! Yeah, I wish Prestige was still open to new apps–it’s 4th night free is better than hotel programs with 5th night free using points, it’s 5x on dining surpassed Amex’s Gold card (4x dining), and it also matched Amex’s Platinum 5x on airfare, for similar annual fee–they had to have been losing money on it (like Wells with BILT!). If, and big ‘if,’ apparently, Citi brings Strata Elite with benefits like Prestige that would be a keeper card in my book. A juicy sign-up bonus would be swell, too. I wonder if Citi will get in on the lounge ‘arms-race’ (Amex, Chase, CapOne all way ahead on that front). Anyway, you, sir, seem to know a thing or two here.
Question is do you just go for the Mesa card now assuming the points transfer to airlines/hotels will be live soon enough, once you’re ready to use the points?
My take on the next couple years:
1. Introduce AF Premium Card with enhanced status for BILT Day transfer bonuses + 1-2 other premium features that make it worth it, 5-7 meh features we get from every other card
2. Eventually devalue no AF card in two ways: harder/no status earning, and 5x month spending requirement becomes min spend requirement in a couple categories.
3. Once the current financial situation cannot continue (someone absorbing the 3% rent payment fee), the no AF card will go away and the premium card’s AF will increase but maintain fee-free rent for users. You will essentially need to do the math on whether your rent will earn you enough points to overcome the AF cost.
@Super — That is definitely the ‘stick’ method (not the ‘carrot’). If they go that route, they’d have to be careful on the annual fee amount, for instance, if 100K is the cap on ‘rent’ points earned, then that’s about $1-2K value, depending on the transfer partner, so I wonder what the ‘pain point’ would be for most people, like $99, $199, $499? How many more $500 annual fee cards do we need out there…
I look forward to seeing the questions. I’m happy with the Bilt card as is. I use it for co-op maintenance fees (a large expense in NYC) and it is my primary dining card (no Amex Gold or Citi Prestige in my wallet). It also gets my phone bill on the 1st (decent cell insurance) and some random air travel fees. I spent just enough to make Silver again (clearing both benchmarks) which seems to be my sweet spot.
There are lots of ways that they could make program improvements that I like, but I find it harder to imagine ones that are win-win for both the consumer and Bilt. I know they want more people to spend on the card, but outside of dining, it just isn’t a compelling proposition for anyone using multiple credit cards to maximize rewards. I’m with you Gary: I don’t want coupons I have to redeem to get my AF back, unless they are easy to use (annual or semi-annual, rather than monthly or quarterly). I would be happy to receive spending incentives from preferred partners (like the current Lyft bonuses and Walgreens integration).
As a holder of both the Citi Double Cash and the Venture X, I would strongly consider a flat 2x card from Bilt, as the partners are more compelling. They probably would not do that, as the economics are pretty thin when you are splitting fees with a bank. And Chase can’t seem to make that jump with the Sapphire multipliers for portal redemptions. The problem for me is that I struggle to justify 1x or 1.5x spending, even when I like the points. 2x is just a pretty hard benchmark to get my attention.
Is there *any* chance the premium card won’t be WF? [Fingers crossed]
I’d almost certainly sign-up if it’s another issuer, but after the REPEATED scandals at WF over the past several years, I wouldn’t sign up for one of their cards if they offered 6% back on all charges.
Lol, I just did the survey. Basically which is better between 2 hypothetical $0 annual fee cards, 2 $95 AF cards, and 2 ~$500 AF cards. And all 6 of the hypothetical card offerings are so weak that there is no way I would actually get any of them, and there’s nowhere for me to say that in the survey. This info is gonna be useless to Bilt.
@sean —Woah there, for 6% back on everything, isn’t it time to forgive? Like, haven’t we slapped enough wrists yet.
@Sco —Well, that sounds awful.
I currently get the 1x rent and use the card for 3x dining. Cannot beat the $0 AF card with such great transfer partners. It’s essentially a free Chase Sapphire Preferred card (minus SW Airlines which I don’t fly). Hope they don’t change the card.