Bilt announced on October 27, 2026 that its cards stop offering 4% back in Bilt Cash to anyone approved from January 1, 2027. If you already hold a Bilt card and earn 4% today, you keep it only by opting in through the Bilt app before your first card anniversary in 2027. Hotel redemptions with Bilt Cash also drop from once a month to twice a year starting January 1.
Some of it helps. Bilt Cash expiration now runs 12 months instead of ending each December 31, and Palladium cardholders on the new setup get their $400 hotel credit as Bilt Cash. Bilt says the points you earn on everyday purchases don’t change. The changes hit Bilt Cash and the card benefits instead.
What changed
- Before: every Bilt card let you pick between two ways to earn on rent or mortgage. Flexible Bilt Cash paid 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend, and every $3 of it bought 100 points on your housing payment. Housing-only paid 0.5X to 1.25X points on rent, based on how much you put on the card.
- Now: Bilt’s 2027 program update retires Flexible Bilt Cash mode. Accounts opened on or after January 1, 2027 get the housing-only structure, per the Bilt Card Offer Terms dated October 27.
- Current cardholders: if you earn 4% Bilt Cash today, you can keep it by choosing Flexible Bilt Cash in the Bilt app (Manage card, then Bonus rewards) before your first card anniversary on or after January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your card moves to housing-only rewards on that anniversary.
- Expiration: effective now, Bilt Cash expires at the end of the month 12 months after you earn it. Until now it expired at the end of each calendar year, with a small rollover.
- Hotels: from January 1, 2027, you get two Bilt Cash hotel redemptions per calendar year instead of one a month.
- Who it affects: anyone on the Bilt Blue, Obsidian or Palladium card, which carry $0, $95 and $495 annual fees, and anyone who books Bilt Travel hotels with Bilt Cash.
Key terms
- Hotel limit: Bilt says “Starting 1/1/27, Bilt Cash hotel redemptions change from monthly to twice a year.”
- Per-redemption caps: each redemption tops out at $50 for Blue and Silver members, $100 for Gold and Platinum, and $200 for eligible Palladium cardholders, per the Bilt Cash terms.
- The old cap: through December 31, 2026, the same terms allow $50 a month for Blue and Silver and $100 a month for Gold and Platinum. A Gold member drops from $1,200 a year to $200.
- Keeping 4% is one way: once you keep Flexible Bilt Cash, you can’t switch to housing-only under the old rules. You can move to the new rewards later, but the card terms say “you cannot return to the Flexible Bilt Cash Option.”
- Housing tiers: the new structure pays 1.25X when your everyday spend matches your rent, 1X at 75%, 0.75X at 50% and 0.5X at 25%.
- Floor: you earn at least 250 points per billing cycle on housing.
- Expiration example: the Bilt Cash terms say cash earned on October 10, 2026 now expires on October 31, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.
- Milestones: you still earn $50 of Bilt Cash for every 25,000 Bilt Points.
Card credits on the new structure
Bilt also moves the cards’ annual credits to Bilt Cash, unless you choose to keep Flexible Bilt Cash.
| Card | Today | New structure from your 2027 anniversary |
|---|---|---|
| Bilt Palladium ($495) | $200 Bilt Cash plus a $400 Bilt Travel hotel credit | $600 Bilt Cash |
| Bilt Obsidian ($95) | $100 Bilt Travel hotel credit | $100 Bilt Cash |
| Bilt Blue ($0) | No annual credit | No annual credit |
The annual Bilt Cash now lands on your card anniversary instead of January 1. Obsidian and Palladium holders on the new structure keep access to Point Accelerator, which turns Bilt Cash into an extra 1X on up to $5,000 of spending, per the card page.
Other 2027 changes
- Daily Rewards: from January 15, 2027, on-time rent payments and one partner visit a day each earn a prize pick, per the Daily Rewards page. Grand prizes include $1 million toward a home.
- Hotel points at checkout: Gold and Platinum members get to pay with points for Home Away from Home hotel bookings in 2027. Bilt hasn’t published the rate.
- Rental cars: elite members get SIXT and Hertz status match offers.
- Upgrades: product upgrades are live in the app now, after a beta in September. Our post on Bilt’s written upgrade rules covers the one-change-a-year limit.
How to keep 4% Bilt Cash, step by step
Current cardholders keep Flexible Bilt Cash from the Bilt app. These screenshots come from the Bilt app on October 27, 2026, with the card number and anniversary date hidden. The numbered callouts mark where to tap.
Step 1: Open Manage card
Open the Bilt app, go to your wallet, and tap Manage card.
Step 2: Tap Bonus rewards
Scroll to the Rewards section and tap Bonus rewards.
Step 3: Check the Card rewards panel
The top panel shows the date your card switches, which is your 2027 card anniversary. If it doesn’t say “You’re keeping Flexible Bilt Cash” yet, tap the panel (1) to make the election. Below it, check that your next statement also shows Flexible Bilt Cash. If it shows housing-only, tap Change (2).
Step 4: Pick Flexible Bilt Cash and save
Select Flexible Bilt Cash (1) and tap Save (2). The app says the change takes effect at the start of your next statement period.
The panel also says you can switch to the updated rewards anytime. Bilt’s card terms say the move runs one way, so once you leave Flexible Bilt Cash, you can’t come back to it.
Our take
Existing cardholders should run the numbers before their anniversary, because doing nothing moves you to housing-only. Flexible Bilt Cash wins when you spend at least as much as your rent each month and you have a real use for the extra Bilt Cash. Housing-only wins when your card spend runs below your rent.
Here’s the math on $2,000 rent, side by side, with Bilt points at the 2.2 cents we use in our points valuations. Everyday purchase points are the same either way, so they’re left out.
$2,000 rent, $2,000 a month of card spending
| Housing-only | 4% Bilt Cash | |
|---|---|---|
| How rent earns | 1.25X on $2,000 | $60 of Bilt Cash unlocks 1X on $2,000 |
| Rent points a month | 2,500 | 2,000 |
| Rent points a year | 30,000 | 24,000 |
| Points value at 2.2 cents | $660 | $528 |
| Leftover Bilt Cash a year | $0 | $240 ($80 earned − $60 used, × 12) |
| Total a year | $660 | $768 |
| Winner | 4% Bilt Cash by $108 |
$2,000 rent, $1,000 a month of card spending
| Housing-only | 4% Bilt Cash | |
|---|---|---|
| How rent earns | 0.75X on $2,000 | $40 of Bilt Cash unlocks about 1,333 points |
| Rent points a month | 1,500 | about 1,333 |
| Rent points a year | 18,000 | 16,000 |
| Points value at 2.2 cents | $396 | $352 |
| Leftover Bilt Cash a year | $0 | $0 |
| Total a year | $396 | $352 |
| Winner | Housing-only by $44 |
The first table counts the $240 of leftover Bilt Cash at face value. Housing-only also skips the monthly redemption step.
The hotel cap is the part we like least, and Frequent Miler also counts the hotel limits among the bad news. A Gold member could put $100 a month toward Bilt Travel hotels. From 2027 that member gets two $100 redemptions, so the $240 surplus in our example needs another use, such as Point Accelerator. If you have no plan for where your surplus goes, value it below face and housing-only gets closer.
Palladium holders face a simpler choice. The new structure turns $600 of credits into Bilt Cash and raises the hotel cap to $200 twice a year. If you used the $400 hotel credit in full and like the 4% earning, keep Flexible Bilt Cash. If you left part of the hotel credit unused, the $600 of Bilt Cash is easier to spend. Couples running our Palladium and Obsidian two-player strategy should rerun its Bilt Cash math for each card before each anniversary.
New applicants who want the 4% option need approval by December 31, 2026. Bilt points still transfer to the same airline and hotel partners, including JetBlue at 1:1, and Hyatt at 4:3 from January 1. Our best travel credit cards guide compares Bilt against the other transferable currencies.
FAQ
Do I lose 4% Bilt Cash if I already have a Bilt card?
Yes, unless you tell Bilt you want to keep it. In the Bilt app, go to Manage card, then Bonus rewards, and choose to keep Flexible Bilt Cash. Make that choice before your card anniversary in 2027. If you do nothing, your card switches to housing-only rewards on that date.
When does Bilt Cash expire now?
At the end of the month, 12 months after you earn it. Bilt Cash earned on October 10, 2026 expires on October 31, 2027.
How often can I use Bilt Cash on hotels in 2027?
Twice per calendar year from January 1, 2027. Each redemption is capped at $50, $100 or $200, depending on your status and card.
Do Bilt’s everyday earning rates change?
No. Bilt says the points multipliers on everyday purchases stay the same on all three cards.
What happens to the Palladium’s $400 hotel credit?
On the new structure, it becomes part of a $600 Bilt Cash credit paid on your card anniversary. If you choose to keep Flexible Bilt Cash, you keep the $400 hotel credit and the $200 Bilt Cash.
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