Bilt Rewards, the loyalty program that allows you to earn points by paying rent, has some of the best transfer partners in the game like World of Hyatt, United Airlines, and more. And while that list of transfer partners is growing, their latest addition isn’t something to get too excited about.
Bilt on Wednesday announced it is adding Marriott Bonvoy as a transfer partner. Bilt Reward members can now transfer their Bilt points at a 1:1 ratio to the hotel program, earning an additional 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for every 20,000 Bilt Points transferred per transaction. They'll also earn 100 bonus Bilt points by linking their Bilt and Marriott accounts in the Bilt Rewards app.
Unless you constantly use a *Bilt Mastercard* (including for big monthly rent payments), Bilt points are much harder to earn than the likes of Chase or Amex. And Marriott Bonvoy points won’t get you nearly as far as Hyatt or many of Bilt’s airline transfer partners, so sending your precious Bilt points to Marriott will rarely be a wise move.
Unless you’re desperate for the last few thousand points to complete a top-dollar Marriott redemption, this new option is probably worth skipping.
With the addition of Marriot Bonvoy, Bilt now has a total of 12 airline partners and three hotel programs where you can transfer your hard-to-earn Bilt points to book travel.
| Program | Type | Transfer Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | Airline | 1:1 |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | Airline | 1:1 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Airline | 1:1 |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | Airline | 1:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Airline | 1:1 |
| British Airways Avios | Airline | 1:1 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Airline | 1:1 |
| Emirates Skywards | Airline | 1:1 |
| Iberia Avios | Airline | 1:1 |
| Turkish Miles & Smiles | Airline | 1:1 |
| United MileagePlus | Airline | 1:1 |
| Virgin Red | Airline | 1:1 |
| World of Hyatt | Hotel | 1:1 |
| IHG Hotels | Hotel | 1:1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Hotel | 1:1 |
| Hilton Honors | Hotel | 1:1 |
How Does Bilt Rewards Work?
Bilt Rewards is a fairly new rewards program that allows qualified U.S. renters the ability to earn rewards by paying their rent through the Bilt Rewards app.
Earning points on these payments is quite simple. If you live in a property that's a part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance (more on that shortly), you'll earn a minimum of 250 Bilt Points per month by paying their rent through the Bilt Rewards app – no matter how much your monthly rent costs. Simply pay through the Bilt app and you’ll receive 250 points each and every month.
Renters can drastically increase how many points they rack up by paying their rent with a co-branded Bilt Rewards Mastercard. Bilt overhauled both their Mastercard and status levels a few years ago to make them even better.
This $0 annual fee card is the key to earning more valuable points. So long as you make at least five transactions per statement period, you'll earn:
- 1x point per dollar spent on rent on up to $100,000 in rent annually
- 2x points per dollar spent on travel when you book directly with the airline, hotel, rental car agency, etc.
- 3x points per dollar spent on dining
- 1x points per dollar on other purchases
Learn more about the *Bilt Mastercard*.
If your landlord is a member of the Bilt Rewards Alliance, you will be able to pay your rent electronically through the Bilt Rewards app by securely linking your bank account. According to Bilt, the current members of the Bilt Alliance make up more than 3 million rental units.
- The Blackstone Group
- The Related Companies
- Equity Residential
- GID
- AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
- Camden Property Trust
- Cushman & Wakefield
- Trammell Crow Residential
- Highmark Residential
- AMLI Residential
- Morgan Properties
- SL Green Realty Corp.
- Starwood Capital Group
- LivCor
- The Moinian Group
- Veritas Investments
- Artemis Real Estate Partners
Renting someplace that doesn’t make this list? By paying your rent with the Bilt Rewards Mastercard, the company can send your landlord a paper check via USPS First Class mail for your rental amount, similar to Plastiq. Bilt says it will take five to seven days to process.
No matter where you live, these rental payments via Bilt are completely fee-free.
Read our guide to earning points for paying rent with Bilt Rewards!
Bottom Line
Bilt has added another transfer partner to its growing portfolio: Marriott Bonvoy.
But with how hard to earn Bilt points can be, you'd be better off sending your points to World of Hyatt or one of Bilt's airline transfer partners if you want to get the most value for them.
