Bilt Palladium Now Gets Most Of My Spending—3 Points Per Dollar Plus Nearly $2,000 In Real Benefits

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Be aware that websites may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Capital One, and others. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all offers that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.As we’re approaching the end of the year, the value I’ve gotten out of my Bilt Palladium Card (See rates and fees) is actually pretty astounding. I’ve been earning at least 3 Bilt Points per dollar (and in many cases more) on a tremendous amount of spending, and I’ve gotten nearly $2,000 in real value out of the card benefits. The card has a $495 annual fee. It earns up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee. And it earns 2X points on everyday spend. The initial bonus offer is 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash. Benefits include a $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings. You also receive $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire. Priority Pass ($469/year value). (See Guide to Benefits.) I redeem Bilt Cash every month along with my mortgage payment to earn points. And I redeemed (5) points accelerators with Bilt Cash to earn 3x (an extra 1 point per dollar spent) on $25,000 in spend. On top of all the extra points, I redeemed Bilt Cash for: $10 each month for Lyft, Grubhub, and Walgreens. I’ve missed a few Walgreens months, but I can load the $10 into the Walgreens app and then stack (2) $10 discounts for $20 off a single order, and I can place a no fee delivery order through their app as well. I use Lyft anyway. And I have GrubHub’s premium subscription free through Amazon Prime. (I also have DoorDash’s subscription free through Chase and UberEats free via Amex Platinum.) But that’s roughly $360 in real discounts. I redeemed both of my $200 hotel credits that came with the Palladium card. These are valid on minimum 2-night hotel stays. One was a Westin, the other a Hyatt Place, and in both cases the hotel added my frequent guest number on-site for elite benefits even though these were not direct bookings. I combined each of the two redemptions with $100 in Bilt Cash. So together that was $600 off hotel stays I really needed to pay for. I redeemed a $150 Blacklane credit. And this wasn’t just an overpriced ride, it was one I would have paid for. At the Austin airport there’s a real schlepp out to the Uber lot, outside, through a parking garage, up and down an elevator. That’s a pain after a long haul trip with kids and luggage, so having someone meet you at baggage claim with a vehicle waiting right outside the terminal is great and that covered most of the trip. I redeemed (2) $350 BLADE credits. I redeemed my Bilt Platinum free BLADE flight earlier in the year. Then they added Bilt Cash redemptions. The base flight was about $220 in each case after the Bilt discount but when I added the top package which includes extra luggage (which covers my carry-on bag) it made the trips about $355 and $410 and I knocked $350 off of each, so that really was $700 in value though I probably wouldn’t have splurged for BLADE otherwise (but it did save me the ~ $100 car rides each way, more or less, I still had to Uber from the BLADE lounge to and from my hotel in Manhattan). Together – on top of the points – those items alone were worth $1,810. And I earned 3 points or more per dollar of the most valuable points currency. My wife is an authorized user on my Palladium card. That costs another $95 per year. But once I maxed out my points accelerator and loaded up on Bilt Cash, we switched so that spend on her card earns points and Bilt Cash into her account. I set points-earning to accumulate in her account because I (1) wanted her to earn Platinum status, and (2) to have points to transfer during a Rent Day bonus, since those often are capped at 100,000 Bilt points transferred. I sent Bilt Cash-earning to accumulate in her account so that she could trigger her own points accelerators, plus have Bilt Cash to redeem for a Rent Day bonus boost and a Blacklane credit as well. I redeem Grubhub credits with her account and use the discount code when ordering through mine. Bilt’s authorized user play turned out to be really powerful and the Bilt Palladium Card is just a beast. It’s the fastest-earning card overall. You can spend their points at 1.25 cents apiece in their travel portal, and they have the most and best transfer partners. Bilt’s current transfer partners include: Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Miles&Smiles, United MileagePlus, Avianca LifeMiles, TAP Miles&Go oneworld: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, Iberia, British Airways, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Qatar Airways Privilege Club SkyTeam: Air France KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (also available through Virgin Red) Non-alliance: Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Aer Lingus AerClub Hotels: World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Accor Live Limitless, Wyndham Rewards, Preferred Hotels I Prefer Rail: Amtrak Guest Rewards If you’re in a position to put meaningful spend on a credit card, there’s just nothing more rewarding in my view. I have other cards, largely for the benefits, but this is the card that gets the vast majority of my actual spending. Bilt Palladium Card Topics on this page Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.