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In a letter sent to members, Bilt Rewards CEO Ankur Jain announces a new whopping $10.75 Billion valuation after $250 million in new funding. $100 million of that comes from United Wholesale Mortgage with indications that we will learn a lot more about earning points on mortgages later this fall. I’ve been a Bilt advisor and investor since 2021 and Bilt is carving out an incredible payment services/loyalty path forward that I exceeds anything I could have ever imagine when I first was introduced to the program.
From Bilt:
“The numbers speak to our rapid growth:
- Expected to cross $1 billion in revenue by Q1 2026
- We’ll be rewarding members on over $10 billion in spend annually at neighborhood merchants.
- Our Bilt Points have been ranked as the highest value rewards currency in market (see here)
- Partnerships with 70% of the nation’s top 100 property managers
- Will be processing over $100 billion annually in housing spend by end of year”
Goodbye Wells, Hello Cardless ( come 2/26 )
The BIG news, from my perspective, is nested in the announcement that Bilt and Wells Fargo will be parting ways, and 2 new cards will debut on Cardless. Cardless has many products they currently offer and you may have heard of them via their very attractive Avianca LifeMiles cards and their upcoming Coinbase Bitcoin Rewards card. .
Wells and Bilt were the focus of a WSJ article last year, and clearly things are heading in a different direction with Bilt saying that accounts will be migrated to Cardless in 2026. There will continue to be a $0 fee card; however, it’s unclear how that card will change once it goes to Cardless.
- $0 fee card ( will remain but sounds like changes are coming )
- $95 Annual Fee Card
- $495 Annual Fee Card
“Bilt Card 2.0 launches in February 2026, and current cardholders will be seamlessly moved from Wells Fargo to our new card platform at that time. More details about the new issuing partner, enhanced rewards including points on both rent and mortgage, the broader card value prop, and the transition process will all be announced early fall. Everything stays the same for you today, and we’ll walk you through the exciting transition as we get closer to launch”
Mortgages – info in the fall
Mortgages have been a massive topic of discussion and probably the one most asked about ( at least to me in private and public ). We have some firmer news that can be shared that United Whole Mortgage invested $100M in this round signaling they will likely have a massive part of the next step in earning rewards on home payments. In the quote below, you can see that Bilt will actively play a role in the servicing of these mortgage payments as well as the mortgage origination. Bilt already has a partnership with eXp where you can earn 1 Bilt point for every $2 of a home purchase.
Mortgage Expansion: We’re announcing our expansion into mortgage through direct partnerships with mortgage servicers, revolutionizing the mortgage experience from origination through servicing on to loyalty. United Wholesale Mortgage has invested $100 million into this round as part of an exciting strategic partnership. More details on this partnership will be announced this fall.
“Bilt’s platform will drive tremendous value for our brokers by delivering a better servicing experience and everyday rewards that create loyalty, while also creating a new pipeline of origination for our broker network” said Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage. “We think this represents the future of how customers will engage with their mortgage throughout the entire homeownership journey.”
Overall
It’s completely free to join Bilt Rewards, add all your credit cards to the app, and start earning points on a litany of different things. You can pay your rent with the Bilt Card without any transaction fees. More premium cards are coming and the first phase of mortgage payments sounds like it’s shaping up for fall. I’m eager to see what is coming on the new cards – with all the hullabaloo on the $795 Chase Reserve and potentially $895 Amex Platinum, the door seems open for Bilt to slide right in there and caption a premium audience that is looking for a new home.
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
Welcome Offer
Earn 75,000 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
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 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)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Points Boost
- each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous 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
- $95 Annual Fee
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® is exceptional 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: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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