Why am I thinking about getting the Bilt Obsidian card? | nextcard

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The Bilt Obsidian Card card is an intriguing card.

Some folks are drawn to the Bilt Blue Card for the $0 annual fee or the Bilt Palladium Card for the large welcome bonus and everyday spend on all categories but the Bilt Obsidian might take the crown for you if you spend a lot on dining or groceries.

What are some of the key features on the Bilt Obsidian card?

*For differentiation, ฿ is used as the symbol for Bilt Cash

The Bilt Obsidian card has a number of great benefits and earn rates:

$200 of Bilt Cash as a welcome bonus
3x Bilt points on dining or groceries (grocery up $25k/year)
2x Bilt points on travel
1x Bilt points on all other spend
$100 of Bilt Travel credit
Travel Insurance

The 3x Bilt points on dining or groceries is by far the best feature of the Bilt Obsidian card. If your spending is mostly on dining or groceries, you can actually earn more Bilt points than if you had the Bilt Palladium card.

How does my situation hold up on the Bilt 2.0 Calculator?

So to give you some context on my situation, I pay $1,250 for rent in an apartment with friends. I spend $500 on groceries, about $150 on dining and $100 on miscellaneous spending.

With Option 1 of Bilt point earning where rent earns Bilt Points calculated via tiered multiplier determined by non-rent spending, you can see that I’ll earn 2,688 Bilt points monthly.

With Option 2 of Bilt point earning where non-rent spend earns 4% Bilt Cash, converted to Bilt Points via rent (33 pts/฿1), you will earn 2,750 Bilt points and ฿30 of Bilt cash monthly.

Whether you choose Option 1 or Option 2, you will STILL get more Bilt points than if you had the Palladium card. Pretty solid when you are saving $400 on an annual fee (Palladium at $495 fee vs. Obsidian with $95 fee).

The Bilt Obsidian card is a great card for me and it could be the one for you. If you spend a lot on either dining or groceries and don’t have much spending elsewhere I’d recommend getting the Obsidian. If you have a lot of miscellaneous spend or spend a lot on both dining and groceries, I would look into getting the Bilt Palladium card.

What’s the $100 in Bilt travel hotel credit?

On the Bilt Obsidian card, you get $100 in Bilt travel credit for the year. The credit is split up semiannually—you get $50 of credit from January 1st through June 30th and then another $50 in credit from July 1st through December 31st. Each $50 credit will trigger when you make a hotel booking of 2 nights+ through the Bilt Travel portal or through the Bilt app.

Honestly, I don’t find much use for the $100 Bilt Travel credit. You are already paying more when you book a hotel through Bilt Travel AND you have to book a 2 nights+ stay to get the credit? No thanks.

If you’re thinking about getting the Bilt Palladium card, the Bilt travel credit on that card is much more interesting. You get $400 of Bilt Travel hotel credit, split biannually into two $200 credits. Same rules apply with it only applying on stays of 2 nights+.

While the two night minimum is a bit annoying, at least the credit is larger/has more wiggle room.

Do I get insurance benefits on the Bilt Obsidian?

With the Bilt Obsidian card, you’ll get some pretty decent insurance benefits:

Trip Delay Insurance
Lost/Damaged Luggage Insurance
Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance
Extended Warranty Insurance
Purchase Assurance

Insurance for your travels is always welcome so I very much appreciate the various travel insurance benefits on the Bilt Obsidian card.

What transfer partners does Bilt have?

Bilt has arguably the most extensive and best group of transfer partners.

Hotel partners

Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Accor
Hyatt
Marriott (Bonvoy)
IHG Hotels & Resorts

How do I use my Bilt points?

You can use your Bilt points in a variety of ways (non-exhaustive list):

Transfer 1:1 to airline programs
Transfer to hotel programs
Redeem on Bilt Travel
Student loans
Fitness classes
Lyft rides
Gift cards

My favorite way to use my Bilt points is to transfer them to the number of airline & hotel partners. Bilt has arguably the most extensive list of transfer partners as well as some of the best partners. I really enjoy the ability to transfer to Qatar Airways because it gives me the ability to book Qsuite redemptions. Qsuite is Qatar Airways’ business class and its one of the best business class offerings.

I also really like the thought of transferring Bilt points to Japan Airlines as I’ve never been to Japan before. I hear it’s an excellent experience both in business class & economy.

You can always redeem your Bilt points for a statement credit but you aren’t getting great value for your points that way. However, if you don’t travel by plane at all, it can be a decent option.

Final Remarks

The Bilt Obsidian card is a fantastic card for those who have a big grocery or dining spend every month. And it’s a pretty low annual fee for all the benefits you are getting at just $95. If you don’t have a Bilt card yet and you’re a little afraid of the $495 annual fee on the Bilt Palladium, the Bilt Obsidian might be worth applying for. I personally have a big grocery spend but don’t have a lot of spending to do in other categories so I’m pretty set on the Bilt Obsidian.

Are you intrigued by the Bilt Obsidian card or will you be going for one of the other two Bilt 2.0 cards?

FAQs

Can I earn 3x on dining and groceries with the Bilt Obsidian?

You can earn 3x on dining OR groceries—you can’t earn 3x on both. Furthermore, if you elect to earn 3x on grocery spend, its capped at $25k/year.

Is there a limit on the amount of Bilt points I can earn?

Nope. There is no limit on the amount of Bilt points you can earn with any of the Bilt 2.0 cards (outside of the $25k limit for 3x on grocery spend). This accounts for both rent/mortgage payments as well as everyday spend.

Can I earn Bilt points without a Bilt card?

Yes! You can sign up for a free Bilt Rewards account and link one of your credit cards (not a Bilt card). And then spend at one of the opportunities (Lyft rides, Bilt dining, fitness classes etc. etc.) via BIlt Rewards to earn Bilt points.

Is there a cap on earning points with dining or grocery with the Bilt Obsidian?

Yes. You can earn 3x points on up to $25,000 of grocery spend.

After spending $25,000 in grocery, you will revert back to 1x points earning.

There is no cap for dining spend.