Bilt is just a week away from officially unveiling a new credit card lineup and structure for earning points on monthly mortgage payments. A fresh leak may have already tipped Bilt’s hand on a major brewing change.
Late Monday, a Reddit user posting in r/creditcards subReddit claimed to have uncovered detailed information about Bilt Card 2.0 hidden inside Bilt’s own code on its website. The alleged leak, which Bilt has neither confirmed nor denied, includes card names, annual fees, welcome bonuses, earning rates, and benefits for all three upcoming Bilt cards.
But buried in those details is a potential shift that may matter far more: fee-free points earning on rent (and newly added mortgage payments) may be getting the axe. In its place, the leaked details suggest Bilt will start charging transaction fees on all housing payments, allowing cardholders to offset those fees using “Bilt Cash” they earn from other spending.
If true, it would fundamentally change how – and even whether – making a Bilt card to pay for rent or mortgage the go-to for paying makes sense. Here's what you need to know.
A Quick Refresher: What’s Already Confirmed
As we reported in late December, Bilt has already confirmed several key pieces of the transition away from the Wells Fargo-issued Bilt Mastercard.
Here’s what’s official:
- Three Bilt cards are coming: a $0 annual fee card, a $95 mid-tier card, and a $495 premium card
- Mortgage payments will earn Bilt points for the first time, regardless of the mortgage servicer
- The full lineup will be revealed next Wednesday, Jan. 14, when cardholders can pre-order and select their new card
- Bilt Card 2.0 officially launches Feb. 7, at which point the Wells Fargo card will be deactivated
What Bilt has not confirmed yet are the details that matter most: earning rates, fees, bonuses, and whether rent and mortgage payments will still be free.
What Each Bilt Card May Include
The following details are based on information surfaced in the alleged Reddit leak and have not been officially confirmed (nor rebutted) by Bilt.
Bilt Blue Card (No Annual Fee)
- Annual fee: $0
- Welcome bonus: $100 in Bilt Cash
- 1x points on rent and mortgage payments
- 1x points on everyday spend
- 4% Bilt Cash earned on non-housing purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Bilt Neighborhood Benefits
- Ability to use Bilt Cash to offset rent and mortgage transaction fees
Bilt Obsidian Card ($95 Annual Fee)
- Annual fee: $95
- Welcome bonus: $200 in Bilt Cash
- 1x points on rent and mortgage payments
- 3x points on either dining or groceries (cardholder choice; grocery spending reportedly capped)
- 2x points on travel
- 4% Bilt Cash earned on non-housing purchases
- $100 Bilt Travel hotel credit ($50 every six months)
- Cell phone protection
- Ability to use Bilt Cash to offset rent and mortgage transaction fees
Bilt Palladium Card ($495 Annual Fee)
- Annual fee: $495
- Welcome bonus: 50,000 Bilt points after meeting a spending requirement, plus $300 in Bilt Cash
- Bilt Gold status
- 1x points on rent and mortgage payments
- 2x points on everyday spend
- 4% Bilt Cash earned on non-housing purchases
- $400 Bilt Travel hotel credit ($200 every six months)
- $200 in Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass airport lounge access
- Ability to use Bilt Cash to offset rent and mortgage transaction fees
What the New Reddit Leak Claims … & Why It Matters
Across all three cards, one phrase appears repeatedly: the ability to use Bilt Cash to “waive” rent and mortgage transaction fees.
That wording immediately raises a red flag. If transaction fees didn’t exist, there would be nothing to waive. And that points to the biggest potential change of all: rent and mortgage payments may no longer be free.
The current Bilt card allows users to earn points on rent without paying a transaction fee, so long as they use the card a modest amount: five non-rent transactions each month. That feature is what made Bilt genuinely disruptive, and why many cardholders used it almost exclusively for rent.
Based on this leak, Bilt Card 2.0 could flip that model entirely. Instead of free points on housing, cardholders may need to earn enough Bilt Cash from other spending to cover the cost of paying rent or a mortgage in the first place. That means they'll need to charge far more on dining, groceries, travel, and other expenses in order to keep getting those fee-free housing payments.
And that's the point.
Doing the Math on Fees
Using a credit card to pay rent, the norm is a 3% transaction fee. On a $2,000 monthly rent or mortgage payment, that means you'd incur a fee of about $60.
Today, that fee is waived altogether for Bilt cardholders – at least those who make enough qualifying transactions each month. But with Bilt Cash apparently replacing that free setup, you'd need $1,500 in monthly spending (at 4%) in order to earn enough to offset the fee.
For cardholders with large rent or mortgage payments, the breakeven point rises quickly – especially in the high-cost urban markets where Bilt is most popular. In practice, this shifts Bilt from a “use it for rent and forget it” card into one that forces you to use your card day in, day out to earn enough to cover your fees.
Importantly, the Reddit post itself acknowledges that multiple, conflicting card versions appear in Bilt’s own code, with different earning rates and spending thresholds. That suggests these are internal drafts or test configurations – not finalized versions.
Bilt has publicly dismissed previous “leaks,” but not this one. Earlier this month, Richard Kerr, Bilt’s VP of Travel, rejected claims made in a separate Reddit AMA, saying the poster “has no insider information on our business.”
While the specifics are up in the air, free points on rent and mortgages may no longer be a given. Instead, earning on your biggest monthly expense could require you to consistently route a large share of everyday spending through Bilt just to keep the math from turning negative.
In other words: Bilt may no longer be a rent-and-mortgage points cheat code.
Bottom Line
Bilt Card 2.0 is shaping up to be more than a routine refresh. It could be a fundamental overhaul of how (and whether) earning points on housing payments makes sense.
If the leaked details are even close to accurate, free points on rent and mortgages may be coming to an end. Instead, cardholders may need to offset transaction fees with Bilt Cash earned from everyday spending, meaning you'll need to use that Bilt Card far more often to rack up points on your housing payments without hefty fees.
The guessing ends next week, when Bilt officially reveals its full card lineup.
