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You might be surprised to find out that you don’t need a Bilt card to earn Bilt points. I have to admit I was surprised as well. All you have to do to get started is sign up online for a Bilt Rewards account—no credit card required. You’ll then be able to earn points via opportunities like Bilt Dining, Lyft rides and Bilt Neighborhood Fitness.
And you can then use your Bilt points for all sorts of things including transferring them to amazing airline & hotel partners.
TL;DR
You don't need a Bilt credit card at all to make a Bilt Rewards account
Take Lyft or eat out often? You'll pick up 2x Bilt Points on every qualifying ride and up to 3x at Neighborhood Restaurants, and those points land on top of whatever your credit card is already earning you. That's additional points for spending you're doing anyway.
Pay rent? Link a Mastercard, Visa, American Express, or Discover card (excluding Bilt Cards) and you'll earn 1 Bilt Point per $2 of on-time rent (with a 3% fee for any third party card payments).
Paying via ACH, debit card, or another card network? You'll still get a flat 250 Bilt Points per monthly rent payment made through Bilt.
How do you get a Bilt Rewards account?
In order to get a Bilt Rewards account, you’ll need to first go to the Bilt Rewards site. Follow the link below to get started:
And then you will see on the left where it says "Start earning today" or the top right that says "Sign up/Log in." Click on either CTA and follow the prompts to sign up (again, no Bilt credit card needed):
After completing the sign-up process, you will be directed to link your credit cards. Bilt typically is able to identify some of the credit cards you already have without your input.
In my case, they knew some of my existing cards but they didn't have all of them.
Linking your credit cards sets you up to earn extra Bilt points on different types of purchases. And I knew that there was an opportunity to link my new Bilt Rewards account to my Lyft account. I went to check my Lyft app to link the accounts but I saw that my Bilt & Lyft accounts were already linked! It seems as though they automatically link upon account creation—just double check your Lyft app to make sure.
How do you earn points with a Bilt Rewards account?
When your cards are linked to your Bilt Rewards account, there are a number of interesting ways for you to earn Bilt Points without even needing one of the Bilt credit cards:
1 Bilt Point per $2 of on‑time rent payments through Bilt when using a linked Mastercard (non Bilt), Visa, American Express, or Discover credit card (incurs 3% fee). For rent payments via ACH, debit card, or any other card network, you'll earn a flat 250 Bilt Points per monthly payment.
2x Bilt Points on Lyft rides (when Bilt and Lyft accounts are linked)
Up to 3x Bilt Points on Neighborhood Restaurants
Up to 3x Bilt Points at Neighborhood Fitness Studios
Walgreens spend
2x Bilt Points on Walgreens‑branded products
1x Bilt Points on other Walgreens purchases
100 points on up to 26 prescription refills per year
Earn +1X points on flight bookings and +2X points on hotel bookings through the Bilt Travel Portal
I find the 2x Bilt points on Lyft rides and up to 3x Bilt Points on Neighborhood Restaurants to be most intriguing. I live in the Greater Boston area and take Lyfts every so often. I previously was earning Atmos Rewards on my Lyft account but Bilt points are much more appealing. And earning extra points on restaurants is always great.
Btw just to be crystal clear: these points are additive ontop of what you would normally earn with your credit card. So it essentially stacks on top of each other. For instance, for a $10 Lyft rideshare, here's how my rewards stack up:
So I get 7x total points across two powerful ecosystems for every $1 I spend on Lyft, very nice.
Why would I rather earn 2x Bilt Points on Lyft rideshare than 2x Atmos points?
There's so much transferability that lies with Bilt.
I can transfer Bilt Points to Alaska Airlines/Atmos Rewards, but I can also transfer them to partners like Hyatt, United, etc. Why would I earn 2x Atmos points when I have the ability to earn a more flexible travel currency?
Category
Atmos/Lyft
Bilt/Lyft
Standard rides (standard, XL, priority pick-up)
2x Atmos Points
2x Bilt Points
Airport & premium rides (Extra Comfort, Black, Black SUV)
3x Atmos Points
2x Bilt Points
Transfer to multiple programs
No (Atmos only)
Yes (19+ airlines, 6 hotels)
Setup required
Select Atmos as your active loyalty partner in the Lyft app
Link Bilt and Lyft accounts, then select Bilt as your active loyalty partner
I never ride "high value mode rides", so I'd always rather earn 2x Bilt Points than 2x Atmos Points.
What transfer partners does Bilt have?
Bilt has arguably the most extensive and best group of transfer partners.
Airline partners
Spirit Airlines
British Airways
Aer Lingus
Iberia
Etihad Guest
Virgin Red
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Avianca Lifemiles
Qatar Airways
Japan Airlines
Southwest Airlines
TAP Air Portugal
Atmos Rewards
United Airlines
Turkish Airlines
Emirates
Cathay Pacific
Air France-KLM (Flying Blue)
Air Canada
Hotel partners
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Accor
Hyatt
Marriott (Bonvoy)
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Rewards
How can you use your Bilt points?
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of all the ways you can use your Bilt points:
Transfer to airline programs (Atmos, Cathay, etc)
Transfer to hotel programs (eg Hyatt)
Redeem on Bilt Travel (for 1.25 cents apiece)
Student loans
Fitness classes
Lyft rides
Gift cards
The best way to use your Bilt points are to transfer them to airline & hotel partners. My personal favorites are Japan Airlines and Hyatt hotels. I also really enjoy Avianca LifeMiles for their inexpensive redemptions to and from South America.
How can you get more Bilt points?
If you’re looking to earn more Bilt points, it might be worth looking into one of the three Bilt 2.0 cards. To start, the Bilt Palladium Card card has a solid welcome bonus (subject to approval) where you can receive 50,000 Bilt points after spending $4,000 in three months from the account opening on non-rent purchases + $300 of Bilt Cash upon account opening.
While the other two Bilt cards don't have Bilt Points as a part of their welcome bonus, you can get Bilt Cash upon account opening/approval that you can use to convert into points when redeeming them against your rent.
But all three cards have pretty solid earn rates on rent spending and non-rent spending. I won’t get all into the nitty gritty since we have written previous articles and have a calculator for the new cards.
Housing Only Rewards awards points based on how much nonrent spend relative to your rent you put on the card per month. So the earn rate varies.
Flexible Bilt Cash earns 4% Bilt Cash for every dollar you spend on nonrent spend. You can then redeem that Bilt Cash for Bilt Points when paying your monthly housing bill.
You could absolutely redeem that Bilt Cash for other things, but there are a lot of limits/restrictions to be aware of.
Final Remarks
Signing up for Bilt Rewards is an easy way to potentially earn more Bilt points. For most folks, I see the easiest way to make use of Bilt Rewards via Lyft rides or eating out at Bilt Neighborhood dining restaurants.
And if your pharmacy is a Walgreens, you’ll earn extra points every time you shop there or pick up a prescription.
The best part is that you don’t even need a Bilt card to earn Bilt points. You will earn Bilt points by simply linking any credit card and taking advantage of the multitude of point earning opportunities. Of course if you’re looking for even more earning potential you might want to check out one of the Bilt 2.0 cards….
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a Bilt credit card to earn Bilt points?
No, you don't need a Bilt card at all. You can sign up for a free Bilt Rewards account and start earning points on things like Lyft rides, Bilt Neighborhood Dining, Walgreens purchases, and rent payments made with a linked non-Bilt credit card.
How do you earn Bilt points on rent without a Bilt card?
When you pay rent through the Bilt using a linked Mastercard, Visa, American Express, or Discover credit card, you earn 1 Bilt Point per $2 spent (with a 3% fee). For Rent payments made via ACH, debit card, or other card networks, you'll earn a flat 250 points per monthly rent payment.
How do you link your Lyft account to Bilt?
In most cases, your Lyft and Bilt accounts link automatically when you create your Bilt Rewards account. They use your email to connect them. Just double-check your Lyft app to confirm Bilt is set as your active loyalty partner. Once linked, you'll earn 2x Bilt Points on every Lyft ride.
What are the best ways to redeem Bilt points?
Transferring Bilt points to airline and hotel partners tends to get you the most value. Japan Airlines and Hyatt are two of the strongest options. Avianca LifeMiles is a great pick if you travel to or from South America. You can also redeem points through the Bilt Travel Portal at 1.25 cents each, or put them toward fitness classes, Lyft rides, and gift cards.
What transfer partners does Bilt have?
Bilt has one of the largest transfer partner lineups of any rewards program. On the airline side, you can transfer to United, British Airways, Air France-KLM (Flying Blue), Japan Airlines, Southwest, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Avianca LifeMiles, Qatar Airways, and more. Hotel partners include Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton, IHG, and Accor.
What is Bilt Rewards? (How to Earn More Bilt Points 2026)
