Today Only: Get Up to a 100% Transfer Bonus From Bilt to Virgin!

Bilt is back with another Rent Day promotion, and this time they're leaning on a tried-and-true favorite for a little help … with a bit of mystery.

Today, Sept. 1 – and only on Sept. 1 – Bilt Rewards is offering members a targeted transfer bonus of up to 100% when moving points to Virgin Red. Unlike previous Rent Days, this bonus isn't dependent upon your Bilt status. So you'll want to check your account to find out what bonus you're targeted for.

If you're unfamiliar with Virgin Red, it's the overarching loyalty program for all things Virgin – that includes Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Voyages. That means this bonus will be especially useful for anyone with their sights set on Europe, short Delta flights, or even a Caribbean cruise later this winter.

In addition to the targeted transfer bonus, Bilt is also offering up a complimentary status match opportunity with Virgin Voyages for some members:

• If you've got Bilt's Silver or Gold Status, you can match to Virgin Voyages Blue Extras
• Bilt Platinum Status members can match to Virgin Voyages Deep Blue Extras

Virgin Voyages Blue Extras status comes with some nice perks like a specialty coffee drink each day, an exclusive cocktail event, and complimentary laundry services. Deep Blue Extras includes all that and a $100 bar tab credit, unlimited premium Wi-Fi, and priority boarding and embarkation. 

Read on for more details about this transfer bonus and to see what else Bilt has in store for this month's Rent Day.

How to Use Virgin Points

Virgin Atlantic is a quirky airline with a quirky frequent flyer program. The airline flies from several U.S. gateways to London Heathrow (LHR), as well as several international hubs like Dubai (DXB), Cape Town (CPT), and the Maldives (MLE).

Plus, you can book flights on more than a dozen other airlines using Virgin points … and save a ton of miles while paying reasonable fees, too. Add in an up to 100% transfer bonus from Bilt, and it’s a no-brainer. 

So what can you book? In two words: A lot.

Big Delta Deals

We don’t need to tell you that trying to understand the value of Delta SkyMiles can be frustrating. There’s no award chart, so the airline’s pricing when booking a flight with miles can be all over the map. Often, a Delta award flight can be obscenely expensive – especially if you want to fly business class.

Enter Virgin Atlantic. You can often use Virgin Atlantic to book the exact same Delta flight and save a boatload of SkyMiles. The London-based airline offers a far more stable – and frequently cheaper – alternative to booking Delta flights than using SkyMiles outright. 

There used to be far more Delta sweet spots you could book using Virgin points, but Virgin obliterated many of them over the last few years with another nasty devaluation. But booking short Delta flights – 1,000 miles in distance or less – through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can still be a great deal!

For example, this short flight from Fargo (FAR) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) might otherwise cost you 20,000 SkyMiles. With Virgin Atlantic, you can still book for just 7,500 points each way – just 4,000 Bilt points if you luck out with a 100% bonus.
 

Heck, even if you're only targeted for a smaller 40% bonus (like me), you could still book these flights for 6,000 Bilt points each way. 

 
Thrifty Tip: Use this new workaround to pull up a calendar-view of Delta's partner award availability, making it easier to book these deals! 

Lie-Flat to London for Less

Virgin's transition to dynamic award pricing has resulted in some outstanding deals, flying Virgin Atlantic itself … for a fraction of the miles. Unfortunately, this deal recently took a big hit: Virgin now tacks on close to $600 in taxes and fees on a one-way business class ticket to London-Heathrow (LHR).  

Still, flying business class to London from East Coast cities like Boston (BOS), New York City (JFK), Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD), or Atlanta (ATL) for as low as 29,000 points could be worth stomaching the higher fees.

Factor in this transfer bonus, and you could book a lie-flat ride to London for as few as 15,000 Bilt points each way. 

There are deals to be had in the lower cabins now, too. 

• A roundtrip from the East Coast to London for as low as 12,000 miles – as few as 6,000 Bilt points with this bonus.
• A roundtrip in premium economy isn't bad either, at just 21,000 miles – as few as 11,000 Bilt points with this bonus.

Or you could even book flights to a far-flung destination like the Maldives for just 13,500 miles one way in economy. You'd need as little as 7,000 Bilt points with a big 100% bonus! 

Thrifty Tip: It’s much easier to search for Virgin Atlantic flights one-way rather than roundtrip – and unlike with many other airlines, it’ll often save you money on taxes and fees booking one-ways separately, too.

Fly in Style with ANA

You can also use this transfer bonus to score an amazing deal on a trip to Japan on one of the world’s best airlines. 

ANA is one of Japan’s flag carriers, and it lives up to its five-star reputation. Its first class cabin is spacious, private, and offers some of the best catering in the aviation world. And even ANA business class is outstanding, and rivals Qatar Qsuites for #1 in the world, too. 

Go figure Virgin Atlantic also has a sweet spot for booking ANA flights, and this transfer bonus makes it even sweeter. While Virgin raised award rates to fly ANA first class, it's still easily the best way to book these flights.

A one-way flight in ANA first class flight from Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo now costs 72,500 Virgin points – as few as 37,000 Bilt points with this bonus.

These days, finding award availability on ANA can be a chore. First Class availability is practically nonexistent lately, so focus on a business class booking. These days, booking within three weeks of departure seems to be your best bet.

You can't book these flights online through Virgin Atlantic, which means it requires a bit of extra legwork. You'll want to search for award availability through a site like United.com and then ring up Virgin Atlantic at 1-800-365-9500 when you're ready to book. On the plus side, you can now book these awards as one-ways.

Read our guide to booking ANA flights with Virgin Atlantic miles!

Of course, ANA’s business class is nothing to scoff at either – especially if you can snag the brand new business class seats it calls “The Room.”

Read our full review of flying ANA's The Room business class from Chicago to Tokyo!

Virgin Atlantic recently raised award rates for these flights, too. But just as with booking first class, Virgin remains the cheapest way to book ANA business class: 

• Flights from West Coast cities like Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), or Seattle (SEA) to Japan now cost 52,500 points each way.
• Longer flights from cities like Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) and New York City (JFK) now cost 60,000 points each way.

Fortunately, Virgin Atlantic has a reasonable $100 fee to cancel award tickets and get your miles back if plans change.

Other Rent Day Promotions

The new transfer bonus is the biggest highlight for this month's Rent Day, but it's not the only thing Bilt has in store.

For the second year in a row, Bilt Members get exclusive access to Dave Portnoy's One Bite Pizza Festival with a special experience just for members.

Other Rent Day staples like Bilt's “Rent Free” game show are making a comeback as well. Each month, Bilt brings on a well-known individual to play its Family Feud-esque game show and determine how much free rent will be paid. This month's guest is comedian, actor, and illustrator Matteo Lane.

Bilt is also providing exclusive access to an intimate concert with Grammy Award-winning artist Leon Bridges in Fort Worth, Texas, and hosting local comedy shows and dining experiences in cities all across the country. 

Finally, Bilt's Neighborhood Fitness program is returning for another month. Bilt members can reserve a complimentary fitness class at SoulCycle and Barry's locations around the country. Bilt members will also receive exclusive add-ons with each fitness partner.

Earn Double Points on Rent Day

Another thing to keep in mind on Rent Day: You'll earn double the points (up to 1,000 bonus points) for every non-rent dollar spent on your Bilt Mastercard® on the first of the month.

So long as you make at least five purchases each statement cycle, you'll earn points at the following rates on Rent Day:

• 6x Bilt points on dining (usually 3x)
• 4x Bilt points on travel (usually 2x)
• 2x Bilt points on other spend (usually 1x)

This is all in addition to the 1x Bilt points you earn on rent payments with the Bilt Mastercard.

Read more: Paying Rent? You Need to Have This Card in Your Wallet

All information about the Bilt Mastercard® has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer. 

Learn more about the Bilt Mastercard® (for full disclosure, this is a personal referral link).

How to Use Bilt Rewards Points

Just because the points can be fairly difficult to earn doesn't mean they aren't useful – just the opposite. There are many ways to use Bilt points. And once you've got them, they're some of the most valuable points in the world of travel.

The easiest way to use them is to book through the Bilt Rewards travel portal, where each point will be worth 1.25 cents apiece. That means 10,000 Bilt points are worth $125 toward travel.

But you'll get the best value for your Bilt points by transferring points to one of its travel partners, including World of Hyatt, Alaska Airlines, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, United Mileage Plus, and British Airways Avios, among many others.

Just keep in mind that unless you've earned Bilt status, you'll need to transfer a minimum of 2,000 points to get started.

Here's the full list:
 

If you prefer to use your points for something other than travel, Bilt recently introduced the ability to “cash out” Bilt Rewards points  (at a rate of .55 cents per point) by applying them as a statement credit to the outstanding balance on your Bilt Rewards Card. At approximately a half-cent per point, redeeming them this way represents poor value and should really only be done as a last resort.

Prior Rent Day Promotions

Over the years, Bilt has done a good job leveraging its partners to come up with some really creative (and often incredibly lucrative) promotions. While not every month's promo is a home run for travelers, the majority of Bilt's Rent Day promos do a good job of engaging members on a day that's otherwise un-celebrated.

Here's a look back at some of the other Rent Day promotions from the past year:

Most of Bilt's Rent Day promotions are centered on travel, and even the ones that aren't are still valuable for most Bilt Rewards members. Looking at prior Rent Day promos, you have to wonder how Bilt can continue to raise the bar month after month.

Bottom Line

Bilt Rewards' Rent Day promo for September is a good one for travelers.

Today, Sept. 1 – and only Sept. 1 – you can get up to a 100% bonus when transferring Bilt points to Virgin Red. This transfer bonus is targeted, so there's no telling exactly what bonus you'll be eligible for – you'll have to check for yourself!

If you've got a Bilt Mastercard® in your wallet, you'll earn even more when you spend on the first of the month.