The Bilt Obsidian Card is one of the newest entrants to the "low annual fee transferable points" space and is rightfully compared against the likes of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
This debate hinges on whether or not you have monthly housing payments or if you are willing to juggle Bilt Cash. When you elect to earn Flexible Bilt Cash, Bilt can earn up to 1X on rent, which for someone paying $2,000 rent per month, can mean an additional 24,000 points per year that the Sapphire Preferred simply can't match.
Despite the fact that both cards have similar transfer partners, Chase fights back with a larger welcome bonus and a sturdier/more reliable banking infrastructure.
Why Get the Bilt Obsidian
The Obsidian is built for people who want to put housing payments, usually their biggest monthly expense, to work.
- Unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X (when choosing to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend)
- 3X points on your choice of grocery (up to $25K/year) or dining
- Earn 2X on travel, and 1X on all other payments
By redeeming Bilt Cash against your rent, you can essentially get an additional 1.33 points for every $1 spent on your card (limits apply). For instance, let's say you spend $500/mo on your card and your rent is $1,000.
- You'll earn $20 Bilt Cash, which you can turn into Bilt Points at a rate of $0.03 Bilt Cash = 1 Bilt Point
- This means, $20 Bilt Cash = 666 Bilt Points
- So, you earn 500 Bilt Points (from 1x spend $500/mo) + 666 Bilt Points = 1,166 Bilt Points for $500 spend (2.33x)
Why Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Sapphire Preferred is the stronger pick for frequent travelers who don't want to deal with Bilt Cash, especially those who already regularly use the Chase Travel portal.
- Earn 5X on Chase Travel purchases, which crushes the Bilt Portal's measly 2x earnings
- 2X on all other travel, including bookings made outside the Chase portal.
- Access to Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners at 1:1 value, including Hyatt, United, and Air France/KLM. This lineup covers most major airline and hotel loyalty programs.
- Up to $50 in annual hotel credits through Chase Travel, which partially offsets the $95 annual fee for regular portal users (no minimum night stays)
Final Thoughts on the Bilt Obsidian and Chase Sapphire Preferred Comparison
We think these cards shouldn't really be thought of as head to head competitors; rather, they do very well when combined together, especially if you have monthly housing payments.
You can track both in one place via nextcard wallet and see which one pulls ahead based on your actual spending patterns.
FAQs
Which card has better transfer partners?
Both programs hold up well here. Chase Ultimate Rewards has strong partners at 1:1 value, including Hyatt, United, and Air France/KLM, among others. Bilt Rewards overlaps with several of those same partners and brings in a few unique ones of its own like Atmos and Japan Airlines. Neither program is obviously superior across the board, but Bilt holds the slight edge since it has more partners than Chase.
Can you hold both cards at the same time?
Yes and for renters/homeowners it's a compelling combination.
Since you can only elect to earn 3x on either grocery (up to $25k/year) or dining with the Obsidian, it's a great combo as a high earning grocery card when combined with the Sapphire Preferred (earns 3x on dining). The Preferred also has superior travel insurance and stronger travel booking earn rates through the Chase travel portal.
One thing to keep in mind: Chase's 5/24 rule means that if you've opened five or more credit cards across any issuer in the last 24 months, Chase may decline your application outright. So if you're planning to hold both cards eventually, the order and timing of your applications matters more than you might expect. Getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred® first is generally the safer move before adding other cards to your wallet (plus it has a much larger new cardmember bonus).
