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Bilt Palladium Card
Bilt’s top tier card that I’ve put in my wallet. You earn 2x on everyday spend + up to 1.25x on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
I’m choosing to use my Bilt Cash ( *At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire ) to unlock points on housing and to activate the Points Accelerator on everyday spend to earn 1x bonus points per dollar, up to $5k ( you can activate this 5x annually ). Once I’ve maxed those, I’ll pick and choose..
Welcome Bonus ( subject to approval )
50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
Annual Fee
$495 (See rates and fees)
Points Earned
Earn 2x points on everyday spend + up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
Earning
- 2X points on everyday purchases
- Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee
Benefits
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit.
- Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings
- $200 Bilt Cash awarded annually (at the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire)
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See .Guide to Benefits
- No foreign transaction fees. See rates and fees
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Bilt Obsidian Card
The Bilt Obisidian is the mid tier Bilt card that comes with category bonuses for travel and (your choice of dining or grocery) spend alongside a $100 annual Bilt Travel Hotel Credit. ( Applied twice a year, as $50 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings. Guide to Benefits)
*At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
Welcome Offer
$200 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved
At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
Annual Fee
$95 (See rates and fees)
Points Earned
Earn 1x points on everyday spend and earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee
Earning
- 3X points on your choice of grocery (up to $25K/year) or dining. Your 3X category choice remains in effect for the entire calendar year.
- 2X points on travel
- 1X points on everyday spend
Benefits:
- $100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $50 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings. Guide to Benefits
- No foreign transaction fees. ( rates and fees )
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Bilt Blue Card
The no annual fee Bilt Blue Card earns 1x Bilt Points on everyday spend and the option to earn up to 1.25x points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
*At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
Welcome Offer
$100 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.
At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
Annual Fee
$0 (See rates and fees)
Points Earned
Earn 1x points on everyday spend and earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
Earning:
- You’ll earn uncapped 1x Bilt Points and the option to earn up to 1.25x on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee
Benefits
- No foreign transaction fees. See rates and fees
- Other benefits: Cellular Telephone Protection, Purchase Security, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (See Guide to Benefits)
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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