Bilt Rewards Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Belt is a membership and credit card program that helps you build your credit score through rental reports and earn rewards for purchases, including rental payments. It also offers three rewards credit cards, which are issued and managed by Column, N.A., an FDIC member institution. The New York-based company was founded in 2019 by entrepreneur Ankur Jain.

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Since its launch in 2019, Bilt has expanded its product and service offerings. Here’s a closer look at the main features:

Free rental reports and bonuses

Belt Reporting the rent It is a subscription feature, which is also referred to as Credit Boost in the app. Once you sign up, Bilt takes the rent payments you make through the Bilt app or website, and reports them to the major credit bureaus for free. This way, it will show up on your credit report as a business line for rent.

According to Belt, it may take up to 60 days before payments start showing up on your credit report, depending on credit bureau processing times. Belt reports to Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

In addition to building credit, you can also Earn rental rewards By paying rent through Belt. The base earning rate is 250 fixed points per monthly rental payment. However, if you pay your rent through the Bilt app or website using a Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express credit card, you’ll earn 1 point for every $2 you spend on rent. You can only earn points for one residential rental payment per month.

From time to time, Belt may offer ways to earn additional points on your rental, but these offers may vary. Your Points do not expire as long as your Bilt Account remains active and in good standing, but you may lose your Points if your Account becomes inactive or is closed.

BELT DISTRICT BENEFITS

Belt Neighborhood Benefits is the name of Belt’s retail partner loyalty rewards program. Allows you to earn additional Bilt Points when you shop with Bilt partners across a range of retail categories, such as dining, travel, fitness, pharmacy, ride-sharing, and more.

The bonus points you earn are in addition to any basic points you earn when using your Bilt Mastercard. For example, Bilt Neighborhood Dining offers bonus points at select restaurants listed in the Bilt app. The selected bonus multiplier (2X, 3X, or higher) is displayed in the app (see image below). Profit rates will vary by partner.

Belt credit cards

Bilt now offers three different Mastercard rewards credit cards: Bilt Blue, Bilt Obsidian, and Bilt Palladium.

While all of the cards allow you to earn rewards on your rental payments, they’re obviously aimed at different types of renters. Below is a breakdown of each card:

One of Bilt’s main selling points is that most of its platforms are free to use. For example, there is no fee to pay rent as long as you use the Belt system to do so. You will incur fees when you exit Bilt’s preferred payment structure. Other than that, two of the credit cards (Obsidian and Palladium) have annual fees, but both are premium rewards cards, so this isn’t surprising.

How do Built Rewards compare?

Belt’s rent and rewards reporting platform is somewhat unique, so it has a few direct competitors. But if you’re looking at Bilt, there’s a good chance you’re considering one of their rewards credit cards, because they’re the best way to maximize your Bilt rewards.

Belt Far from the only one Credit card option For reward seekers. Here’s how the Bilt Blue Mastercard no annual fee compares with two popular ones Cashback credit cards.

the Chasing unlimited freedom The card offers 3% cash back on eligible dine-in, takeout and delivery services, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases, 5% cash back on travel purchases through Chase Travel, and 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no annual fee.

the Citi Double Cashback The card offers 2% cashback on all purchases. It is divided into 1% charged upon purchase and 1% upon payment. If you’re looking for a streamlined way to earn rewards without an annual fee, this card might be for you.

You can get started with Bilt by downloading the mobile app on your iOS or Android device. You’ll have to provide some basic personal information to complete the process, but there is no fee to open an account.

Once your account is set up, you can link your bank account to pay rent through the platform and sign up for free rent reports. If you want to maximize your Bilt Rewards earning, you can apply for a credit card through the app or website.

Yes, Belt should be considered safe to use. It uses encryption to protect your information, and its credit cards are issued and administered by Column, N.A., a member organization of the FDIC. This means that your Belt Credit Card will have all the legal protections you can expect from any regular credit card. It goes without saying that you should take precautions to protect your login and password information.

If you tap your profile icon in the top right corner of the Bilt app, you can chat with support using iMessage or WhatsApp. You can also click on the chat icon on the Bilt website to access 24/7 AI-powered chat support.

For credit card questions, you can contact the Bilt Card Services team by calling the number on the back of your Bilt Mastercard.

Belt customer service
Belt has a poor average TrustPilot Rated 1.6 out of 5 stars, which is very disturbing. In fact, 80% of its reviews are one-star reviews. I looked at recent Trustpilot reviews. The most common complaints I’ve noticed relate to unresponsive customer support (most of which are AI-powered).

If you’re a renter and living in a Bilt Alliance property, you may be able to maximize your rental payments. However, if you’re not interested in paying rent through Bilt or are just looking for a rewards credit card, there are better cards available. We’re also very concerned about Bilt’s customer service, given its Trustpilot ratings and lack of human support options. Homeowners or others who don’t have a rent payment to deal with won’t get much value from Belt.

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