By Vamsi, RewardsGuru.club. Published October 27, 2026.
Read October 27, 2026 on Bilt's own pages: its 2027 program announcement, the Bilt Rewards Card Offer Terms and the Bilt Cash Program Terms (both updated October 27, 2026), and the Daily Rewards page. Facts are as of October 27, 2026.
Bilt announced its 2027 changes today. Most of the headlines are about a $1,000,000 prize toward a home.
The change most cardholders will feel is quieter. The 4% Bilt Cash that the Flexible Bilt Cash option pays on everyday spending ends at your card anniversary, and keeping it takes one setting in the Bilt app before that date.
TL;DR
- The 4% Bilt Cash on everyday spend is being retired. From your first card anniversary on or after January 1, 2027, the card moves to Bilt's new structure: up to 1.25X points on rent or mortgage, set by your spending ratio, and no Bilt Cash on everyday spend.
- You can keep it with a "Legacy Election" in the Bilt app, made before that anniversary, if your active option is Flexible Bilt Cash. After that you can't switch to Housing-only under the old structure, and if you later move to the new one, you can't come back.
- Bilt Cash lasts longer, starting now. It expires at the end of the month, 12 months after it's earned. There's no more December 31 deadline.
- Hotel redemptions with Bilt Cash drop to twice a year from January 1, 2027, up to $50, $100 or $200 each time, depending on status and card.
- Palladium's $200 Bilt Cash and $400 hotel credit combine into $600 of Bilt Cash a year, and Obsidian cardholders get $100 of Bilt Cash a year in place of their hotel credit. Both happen at your card anniversary, unless you make the Legacy Election.
- Without a Bilt Card, rent and mortgage payments stop earning guaranteed points on January 15, 2027. They earn a Daily Reward instead.
The one decision: keep the 4% Bilt Cash or not
Bilt's announcement: "We're simplifying the program and retiring Flexible Bilt Cash mode, which earns 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. If you'd like to keep earning in Flexible Bilt Cash mode, you may opt out of the new benefits in your card settings before your card anniversary date."
The Bilt Rewards Card Offer Terms call that opt-out a Legacy Election: "your election in the Bilt App, made before your first Card Anniversary Date that occurs on or after January 1, 2027, to keep the Flexible Bilt Cash Option."
Three details from the terms matter:
- It's tied to your card anniversary, not December 31. Bilt defines the Card Anniversary Date as "the one year anniversary of the first day of the first Billing Cycle that begins after your Account Open Date," and the same day each year after that.
- It's only offered on the Flexible option. "If your active Rewards Option is Flexible Bilt Cash Option, you may make a Legacy Election."
- It locks you in, with one exit. With the election, "you will retain the Flexible Bilt Cash Option and may not switch to the Housing-only Option under the legacy rewards structure." You can move to the new structure at any time, but "Once you transition, you cannot return to the Flexible Bilt Cash Option."
Without the election, the terms say that from that anniversary "You will no longer earn 4% Bilt Cash on Everyday Spend." Cards opened on or after January 1, 2027 start on the new structure.
What the math said in August
We worked both options on a mortgage in our August article on Bilt's two rewards options. The 1.25X under Housing-only is the top of a sliding scale set by your everyday spending divided by your housing payment.
At Bilt's own example, a $2,000 housing payment against $2,000 of everyday spending on the Palladium, Housing-only came out ahead each month: 6,500 points against 6,000 points plus $20 of Bilt Cash on the Flexible option.
The picture flipped at a $5,000 payment against the same $2,000 of spending. That's a 40% ratio, which Housing-only pays at 0.5X, or 2,500 points on the payment. On the Flexible option, the same spending earned $80 of Bilt Cash, enough to unlock about 2,666 points.
So the ratio decides which option earns more on the housing payment. Palladium cardholders have a second number to weigh, because the election also decides which annual credits they keep. That's below.
Bilt Cash: longer life, fewer hotel redemptions
The new expiry, from the Bilt Cash terms: "Any Bilt Cash that you have earned will expire on the last day of the month that is twelve (12) months after it is earned, at 11:59 p.m. PT." Bilt's announcement gives an example: "$100 earned in February 2026 will now expire on February 28, 2027."
Hotel bookings in the Bilt Travel Portal change on January 1, 2027. They still need a two-night minimum stay:
| Bilt Cash toward hotels | Through December 31, 2026 | From January 1, 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Blue and Silver | up to $50 a month | 2 redemptions a year, up to $50 each |
| Gold and Platinum | up to $100 a month | 2 redemptions a year, up to $100 each |
| Palladium on the new structure | by status tier | 2 redemptions a year, up to $200 each |
Palladium cardholders who make the Legacy Election redeem at their status tier's amount. The $50 of Bilt Cash for every 25,000 Bilt Points stays.
Palladium and Obsidian credits
The terms for Palladium cards opened before 2027: beginning on your first card anniversary on or after January 1, 2027, "the $400 Bilt Travel Hotel Credit and the $200 Bilt Cash Benefit described below no longer apply to your Card Account, any unused portion of the Bilt Travel Hotel Credit for the then-current benefit period expires, and you will receive $600 in Bilt Cash Benefit." That doesn't apply "if you have made a Legacy Election, in which case you keep the benefits described below."
Two more details:
- Annual Bilt Cash credits now post on your card anniversary, not January 1.
- If you make the election and switch later, Bilt converts the unused hotel credit into Bilt Cash: $400 minus what you've redeemed since your last card anniversary.
Without a Bilt Card: Daily Rewards replace guaranteed points
Bilt's Daily Rewards page: "You will earn a daily reward in lieu of your guaranteed Bilt Points. The only way to earn points on every rent and mortgage payment is with one of our Bilt Cards." Payments made before January 15, 2027 earn under the current terms.
How Daily Rewards work, from Bilt's pages:
- What earns one: an on-time monthly rent or mortgage payment (once every 25 days), and one daily activity with a neighborhood partner, "a meal, a class, or a ride."
- What you get: each Daily Reward reveals two rewards, and you pick one. Instant prizes include Bilt Points, Bilt Cash and neighborhood credits; Bilt's page shows examples of 1,000 points and $10.
- The grand prizes: "collectibles" build toward a chance at them, and Bilt's page says to "Complete a set of four collectibles for a chance to win a grand prize." They include $1,000,000 toward the purchase of a home, 10,000,000 Bilt Points, a year of rent or mortgage, and a year of free Lyft rides. The rules come later: "All prizes subject to terms, to be provided before 1/15/27."
Bilt cardholders get Daily Rewards on top: "If you are a Bilt cardholder, your point earnings don't change."
Also in the announcement
- Points for Home Away From Home hotels: Gold and Platinum members will be able to redeem Bilt Points at checkout for these bookings in 2027.
- Rental car status matches in 2027: Platinum members can unlock SIXT ONE Platinum and Hertz President's Circle. Gold and Silver members can unlock SIXT ONE Gold and Hertz Five Star.
- Card upgrades are live in the Bilt app now.
- Everyday earning doesn't change: "The points multipliers you earn on everyday purchases with your Bilt Card aren't changing."
The Hyatt transfer change is separate, and our article on Bilt's 4:3 Hyatt ratio from January 1 covers it.
How to check your own
- Open card settings in the Bilt app and check which option is active, Housing-only or Flexible Bilt Cash, and whether the Legacy Election is offered.
- Find your card anniversary date. The election has to be made before your first one on or after January 1, 2027.
- Work out your ratio: monthly everyday spending on the card divided by your housing payment. Our August article has the tiers.
- On a Palladium, check your unused Bilt Travel Hotel Credit, which expires at that anniversary without the election.
- Check your Bilt Cash expiry dates in the app under the new 12-month rule.
Cover photo: Alexander Mayak via Pexels.
This is educational content, not financial advice. Program terms change often, so check the current terms on each program's site before you rely on them.
Related articles
- Bilt's November Rent Day Has No Transfer Bonus, So It Isn't the One to Hold Points For: The One Offer Still Worth Opening the App Is Up to $150 Off a Hotel Booking
- Bilt Has Two Ways to Earn on a Mortgage. I Picked the One With the Smaller Headline.
- If You Think Rakuten's Holiday Big Deal Reveal Is Just a Sale Calendar, You May Be Wrong: Three of the Ten Brands Are Already Boosted Today, and the 30% Days Pay 3,000 Amex Points on a $100 Order
- If You Think 20,000 Amex Points Takes a New Credit Card, You May Be Wrong: Rakuten Is Paying $150 to Open a Free Alliant Checking Account, Plus $50 for Joining, and Pays Both as Points
Do this with your own numbers
- Purchase optimizer — run your own spending through the same numbers this article used
- Bonus tracker — today's welcome bonuses, verified on the issuer's page