Bilt Blue Card
The No-Fee Card That Earns Points on Rent and Mortgage
Practical Recommendation
Heads up: this is a different card than it was. The old Wells Fargo Bilt Mastercard stopped taking applications in November 2025 and went dark on February 7, 2026. Bilt's lineup is now three cards issued by Column N.A. and run by Cardless: Blue ($0), Obsidian ($95), and Palladium ($495). Blue is the no-fee one and the closest replacement for what you probably remember.
The good news for renters and now homeowners: you can pay rent or a mortgage with no transaction fee, there's no annual points cap anymore, and you can earn up to 1.25x on housing. The catch is that housing points are no longer free. You unlock them with Bilt Cash, which you earn at 4% on everyday spending, and it takes $30 of Bilt Cash to create 1,000 points on a housing payment. In plain terms: to earn a full 1x on a $2,000 rent payment you need roughly $1,500 of other spending that month. Spend less and you earn proportionally less (0.5x at 25%, 0.75x at 50%, 1x at 75%, 1.25x at 100%+).
Bottom line: the program flipped from rewarding low spenders to rewarding people who run most of their budget through the card. If you'll put real spend on it, a $0 fee plus 23 transfer partners, cell phone protection, and no foreign transaction fees still makes Blue worth a slot. If your rent is big and your card spending is small, the housing rewards will mostly sit unearned and a flat 2% card may just be simpler.
Perks
- Rent AND mortgage, no transaction fee – Pay housing through Bilt and skip the usual 2–3% processing fee. Mortgages now count, multiple properties are supported, and the old 100,000-point annual cap is gone. Limits & catches: the payment is pulled from your bank by ACH rather than charged to the card, so it does not count toward everyday spend.
- Up to 1.25x on housing, tied to your other spending – Your housing multiplier scales with how much you charge elsewhere that month: about 0.5x if you spend 25% of your housing payment, 0.75x at 50%, 1x at 75%, and the full 1.25x at 100% or more.
- Bilt Cash (how housing points actually get funded) – You earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend, and $30 of Bilt Cash converts into 1,000 points applied to a housing payment. Limits & catches: Bilt Cash expires December 31 each year, with only up to $100 rolling over.
- 1x points on everyday purchases – Flat and simple. The $95 Obsidian card is where you get 3x dining or groceries and 2x travel if you want category bonuses.
- Rent Day double points – On the 1st of each month, earn 2x on everyday purchases (1,000 bonus-point monthly cap), currently running at least through January 1, 2027. Why care: easy way to front-load a month's spend.
- Bilt Neighborhood & dining offers (stackable) – Extra points at 50,000+ participating merchants and restaurants when you pay with a card linked in the Bilt app—stacks with your card's own earnings. Limits & catches: offers vary by merchant, city, and status.
- Point transfers (1:1) to 23 partners – Move points to airlines and hotels for outsized value; includes United MileagePlus, Alaska Atmos Rewards, and World of Hyatt among others. Why care: travel redemptions can beat 1¢ cash values by a lot.
- Free rent reporting to credit bureaus – Bilt reports your housing payments, which can help thin credit files.
- No foreign transaction fees, no authorized user fees – Pay abroad without the usual ~3% penalty.
Protections
- Cellular wireless telephone protection – When you pay your monthly wireless bill with the card, get up to $800 per claim and $1,000 per 12 months (max 2 claims, $50 deductible) for a damaged or stolen phone. Why care: Can save you from buying separate phone insurance.
- MasterRental collision coverage (secondary) – Decline the agency's damage waiver and pay with the card for coverage on theft or collision. Why care: A backstop behind your own auto policy, though it is no longer primary like the old Wells Fargo version.
- Purchase assurance – Covers eligible new purchases for 90 days against theft or damage, up to $1,000 per loss and $50,000 per cardholder per year. Why care: Helpful on electronics and furniture.
- Mastercard ID Theft Protection – Monitoring and resolution help if your identity is misused. Enrollment required.
- What you lost in the switch – Blue no longer carries trip cancellation/interruption or trip delay coverage. Trip delay lives on the $95 Obsidian card; the broader travel protections are on Palladium.