Link: Apply or upgrade your existing card to the Bilt Blue Card (no annual fee), Bilt Obsidian Card ($95 annual fee), or Bilt Palladium Card ($495 annual fee).

The long-rumored Bilt 2.0 is not a simple card refresh. Instead, it is a full reset of how Bilt wants people to think about earning points on housing, everyday spending, and loyalty status. Let’s unpack the details.

Bilt 2.0 Is A Major Overhaul Of The Bilt Card And Rewards Program

Bilt is launching an entirely new card lineup in early 2026, replacing the existing Wells Fargo–issued Bilt Mastercard with a new family of cards, a new issuing bank (Cardless), and a reworked rewards structure built around something called Bilt Cash.

This is a big change, especially for longtime cardholders who are used to earning points on rent without fees. The new system is more flexible, more complex, and in some ways more powerful, but it also requires a clearer understanding of how the pieces fit together. Some will find it a downgrade.

Three New Cards Replace The Original Bilt Mastercard

Bilt 2.0 introduces three distinct products:

• Bilt Blue, the no-annual-fee entry-level card
  • $0 annual fee
  • Welcome bonus of $100 in Bilt Cash
  • 1x points + 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Unlimited 1x points on rent and mortgage payments (when funded with Bilt Cash)
• Bilt Obsidian, a premium everyday spending card
  • $95 annual fee
  • Welcome bonus of $200 in Bilt Cash upon approval
  • 3x points on your choice of dining or grocery (but only up to $25K of spending per year), 1x points on all other purchases, and 4% back in Bilt Cash on all purchases
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $100 Bilt travel portal hotel credit every calendar year ($50 semi-annually, with a required two-night minimum stay)
  • Unlimited 1x points on rent and mortgage payments (when funded with Bilt Cash)
• Bilt Palladium, the top-tier card with added travel benefits
  • $495 annual fee
  • Welcome bonus of 50,000 Bilt points plus Bilt Gold status after spending $4,000 within the first three months (housing purchases exempted)
  • Welcome bonus of $300 Bilt Cash upon approval
  • Priority Pass membership (authorized users would be $95 each and get their own membership)
  • 2x points and 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases, with no foreign transaction fees
  • A $400 Bilt travel portal hotel credit every calendar year ($200 semi-annually, with a required two-night minimum stay)
  • $200 in Bilt Cash annually (essentially would fund points on $3,750 in rent or mortgage payments)
  • Unlimited 1x points on rent and mortgage payments (when funded with Bilt Cash)

You may only be the primary cardholder on one Bilt card, though you can be an authorized user on another. Existing cardholders will be able to transition from the Wells Fargo Bilt Mastercard beginning January 14, 2026, with all new cards going live February 7, 2026.

If you transition, your Wells Fargo account can be closed automatically or converted into a Wells Fargo Autograph card. Credit limits will not automatically transfer and will be determined by the new issuing bank.

Bilt Cash Is The Biggest Change

The single most important change in Bilt 2.0 is the introduction of Bilt Cash, a way to encourage users to put more spending on the card than just rent or mortgage, plus other token purchases. Bilt Cash is earned on top of your regular Bilt points.

All Bilt cardholders will earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on non-rent/mortgage spend. This Bilt Cash can then be used in several ways, including:

• Unlocking points on rent or mortgage payments
• Covering spend in the Bilt ecosystem, such as Lyft, hotels, dining, fitness, and more
• Unlocking special benefits, transfer bonuses, and experiences

The basic idea: you earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spending, and that Bilt Cash can be used to offset what is effectively a 3% fee to earn points on rent or a mortgage. In practice, that means you need to spend roughly 75% of your rent or mortgage amount on the card each billing cycle in order to fully cover the cost and come out ahead.

Bilt Cash replaces Milestone Rewards and comes with an expiration policy. Bilt Cash expires at the end of each calendar year, though up to $100 can roll over. Palladium cardholders can roll over $300 into the new year.

How Earning Points On Rent And Mortgages Now Works

See update HERE.

Bilt is expanding beyond rent and now supports all personal mortgages, with no annual caps and no preset housing spending limits.

Points on housing work in one of two ways.

First, you use Bilt Cash to unlock points. Every $30 in Bilt Cash unlocks 1,000 Bilt points on rent or mortgage payments. There are no minimums or required increments, and you can choose how much of your housing payment earns points.

If you do not have enough Bilt Cash and still want to earn the full 1X on your housing payment, you can optionally pay a 3% fee on the uncovered portion. You are never required to pay a fee. You can always choose to earn fewer or zero points and pay nothing.

Housing payments do not use your credit line, preserving spending capacity for everyday purchases.

Second, you can simply earn points on rent or mortgage and forgo Bilt Cash altogether, per the following formula:

• Pay your full rent or mortgage every month with no transaction fee
• Earn points on housing automatically in lieu of earning Bilt Cash
• While everyday spend will not earn Bilt Cash, you will still get your annual or welcome Bilt Cash credits with the card
• The more you use your card for everyday spend, the higher your points multiplier on housing, now up to 1.25x:

Which is better largely depends on the value of Bilt Cash, which we do not know yet.

Status, Spend Thresholds, And Elite Benefits Remain Familiar

Bilt elite status thresholds remain unchanged:

• Silver at $10,000 in spend
• Gold at $25,000 in spend
• Platinum at $50,000 in spend

The Palladium card can also trigger Gold status with $4,000 in spend in the first three months, valid for the rest of that year and the following year.

Importantly, elite benefits themselves are not changing. The way you earn toward them is.

Obsidian’s 3X Category Comes With A Catch

The Obsidian card earns 3X in either dining or grocery, but not both.

It defaults to dining, and cardholders have 30 days after approval to switch to grocery. After that, the category can only be changed once per year, every January. For existing cardholders migrating at launch, a one-time adjustment will be allowed at activation.

Authorized Users And Fees

Bilt 2.0 expands authorized user functionality, allowing up to five authorized users added directly in the app. Fees depend on the card:

• Blue: $0 per authorized user
• Obsidian: $50 per authorized user
• Palladium: $95 per authorized user, including Priority Pass

Authorized users receive their own card numbers and separate spend tracking.

My Take

Bilt 2.0 is more complicated, no question. The simplicity of “pay rent, earn points” is gone.

But in exchange, Bilt is offering something broader: points on mortgages, uncapped housing payments, flexible earning through everyday spend, and the ability to decide how aggressively you want to convert cash back into points. It will reward big spenders and hurt smaller spenders (fundamentally turning the value proposition of this card upside down compared to Bilt 1.0).

This is a program that rewards engagement, which clearly was the problem with the business model in the Wells Fargo era. If you are willing to learn how Bilt Cash works, there is meaningful upside. If you want something set-and-forget, this will feel like a step backward.

CONCLUSION

Bilt 2.0 represents a fundamental shift from a niche rent-points card to a full ecosystem built around housing, everyday spend, and loyalty status.

It is more flexible, more powerful, and more demanding of the user. Some will find that a win, others a loss.

What are your thoughts on these Bilt changes?

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