You can move between the three Bilt cards without a new application. Bilt's Card Offer Terms (last updated September 18, 2026) define a product change as a switch from one Bilt card to another "without opening a new Card Account or a new tradeline," and Bilt's support pages say there's no new hard credit inquiry. Downgrades are open to Obsidian and Palladium cardholders by phone. Upgrades are the catch: as of September 18, 2026, Bilt says they're "in Beta to select cardholders and are rolling out in phases."

Timing matters more than anything else here. Downgrade within 30 days of your annual fee posting and you get the fee back, but Bilt also reverses bonuses and used credits. Wait longer and you keep what you earned, but the fee stays paid. Upgrades follow their own 30-day refund rule. Here's how each direction works, based only on what Bilt and its card servicer publish.

The three Bilt cards right now

As of September 23, 2026, Bilt sells three cards, all issued by Column N.A. and serviced by Cardless:

  • Bilt Blue Card: $0 annual fee, no fee for authorized users. Bilt lists a $100 Bilt Cash sign-up bonus.
  • Bilt Obsidian Card: $95 annual fee, $50 per authorized user per year. Sign-up bonus of $200 in Bilt Cash, plus a $100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit paid as two $50 statement credits a year.
  • Bilt Palladium Card: $495 annual fee, $95 per authorized user per year. Sign-up bonus of 50,000 points and Gold Status after $4,000 in purchases (excluding rent or mortgage) in the first 90 days, plus $300 in Bilt Cash. Ongoing benefits include a $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit (two $200 statement credits), $200 in Bilt Cash each year and Priority Pass.

All three earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, according to bilt.com/card. That matters for this guide: the rent and mortgage rate tops out at the same 1.25X on every tier. What differs between tiers is everyday earning, the annual credits and the fee.

One more rule shapes everything below. Bilt's card FAQ says each member "can only have one Bilt Card at a time." So if you want a different Bilt card, a product change is the route Bilt gives you.

Why a product change instead of a new application

Two reasons, both from Bilt's own pages. First, you can only hold one Bilt card. Second, the welcome bonuses go only to people who don't currently hold a Bilt Card 2.0 (Bilt's name for the current Blue, Obsidian and Palladium lineup), haven't held one before and haven't received a Bilt Card 2.0 welcome bonus in the past.

Instead, Bilt may offer a separate Upgrade Bonus when you move up a tier. The terms describe it as "separate from a Welcome Bonus," with the amount shown in the Bilt app or website at the time you upgrade.

How do you upgrade a Bilt card?

You start the upgrade yourself in the app. Bilt's support page says to open your Bilt Card settings and look under the Account section for an upgrade option. From there, you'll see which cards you can move to, review the benefits, fee and terms, and confirm. Bilt says most upgrades process the same day.

The available paths are Blue to Obsidian or Palladium, and Obsidian to Palladium. The biggest limit is the rollout itself: as of September 18, 2026, Bilt says upgrades are available to select cardholders and rolling out in phases, so not every cardholder will see the option yet. Upgrades also aren't permitted before your first statement closes.

Eligibility is set card by card, so an offer may show for one card and not the other. If no offer appears for a card, Bilt says you're not eligible for it right now and that eligibility is reviewed regularly. The terms also require your account to be open, in good standing and not past due, both when you change and when any bonus or credit pays out.

You may be asked to verify your information, but there's no new application. Bilt says your Bilt account, "all the points you've previously earned," and your credit history carry over. Your credit limit stays the same for now, though Bilt notes it can still be reviewed separately.

Your annual fee when you upgrade

You'll see two line items on your statement: the full annual fee for the new card and a refund of the old card's fee. Bilt says both post about 45 days after the upgrade completes.

The size of the refund depends on timing. Upgrade within 30 days of your current card's annual fee posting and you get a full refund of that fee. After 30 days, the refund is prorated for the unused part of your card year. Your card anniversary also moves: Bilt resets it to the end of the statement cycle that follows the new card's fee posting, and the fee renews from that date each year.

Upgrade bonuses and annual credits

You're eligible for the Upgrade Bonus shown in the app when you upgrade, and the terms limit it in two ways. You can receive the Upgrade Bonus for a given card only once. And you can't receive one if you've already received the Upgrade Bonus or Welcome Bonus for that card or for a card with a higher annual fee.

When an Upgrade Bonus includes 50,000 Bilt Points and Gold Elite Status, the terms say you earn those only after $4,000 in everyday spending within 90 days of the product change date. Any Bilt Cash in the bonus follows the Bilt Cash rules, including expiration.

Annual credits don't double up. Bilt pays the difference between your old card's credit and the new card's credit for the current period, minus anything you already used. Bilt's own example: if you already received the $50 Obsidian hotel credit for the current period and upgrade to Palladium, where that period's credit is $200, you receive the $150 difference. After that, you get the full Palladium credit each period.

Reversing a Bilt upgrade

You can reverse an upgrade once. Bilt calls it a "refund-and-revert," and you request it by calling Cardless Support at (888) 533-5576. The window runs until the later of 12 months after your original account open date or 45 days after the change-in-terms notice for the upgrade reaches you.

If you revert, Bilt reverses the Upgrade Bonus difference and the new card's annual credits, then reissues your prior card's welcome bonus and credits. The terms warn that this can push your Bilt Points or Bilt Cash balance negative. You can't cancel an upgrade while it's still processing.

How do you downgrade a Bilt card?

Downgrades go through Cardless by phone. Call (888) 533-5576, and Bilt says you'll get an email with a secure link to finish the downgrade in the Bilt app, where you review the new card's benefits, fee and terms before confirming. Obsidian cardholders can move to Blue. Palladium cardholders can move to Obsidian or Blue. Most downgrades process the same day.

Two points to settle before you call. Bilt says downgrades "can't be reversed once complete." And your card anniversary date doesn't change when you downgrade.

The 30-day rule on Bilt downgrades

Everything about a downgrade turns on whether you're within 30 days of your current card's annual fee posting.

Within 30 days, you get the fee back, and Bilt takes back what came with it:

  • Your annual fee is refunded in full. Moving from Palladium to Obsidian, Bilt says the $495 fee is refunded and a prorated Obsidian fee is charged for the rest of your card year.
  • Your old card's welcome bonus is reversed and the new card's welcome bonus is issued in its place. Bilt's example: going from Palladium to Obsidian, the $300 Bilt Cash bonus is reversed and $200 in Obsidian Bilt Cash is issued. If you already spent the $300, your Bilt Cash balance can go negative.
  • If you earned the 50,000 points and Gold Elite Status from the Palladium spend requirement, those are reversed too, and your points balance can go negative. Elite status you earned on your own stays.
  • Any hotel credit you already redeemed is charged back to your card, unused hotel credit is removed, and used annual Bilt Cash is deducted from your balance. If you land on Obsidian, a new hotel credit is issued.

After 30 days, the fee isn't refunded, but you keep your welcome bonus and no new bonus is issued. Palladium cardholders keep the $200 annual Bilt Cash and the hotel credit until their next card anniversary, then step down to the new card's amounts. Obsidian cardholders keep their hotel credit until the next anniversary as well. Moving from Palladium to Obsidian, the $95 fee is charged at your next anniversary rather than right away. Blue has no annual fee.

Your points, rent payments and authorized users

Your points stay put. Bilt says your Bilt account and all previously earned points carry over on both upgrades and downgrades. They stay usable across the whole program, including newer partners like the one in our look at Bilt's Amtrak transfer partnership.

Rent and mortgage payments keep running. Bilt says autopay settings carry over on an upgrade, and housing payments you've set up through Bilt continue with no action needed, though it recommends checking autopay in the app afterward. Your choice between Housing-only rewards and Flexible Bilt Cash is set at the Card Account level under the terms, and a product change keeps the same Card Account.

Your card number stays the same too. You'll get a new physical card with a new expiration date and CVV, and your current card works until you activate the new one. Your virtual card number doesn't change, and Bilt says cards saved in Apple Pay or Google Pay keep working. For payments saved directly with a merchant, Bilt suggests checking that your card details are current.

Authorized users move with you. Only the primary cardholder can request a change, and authorized users get new cards on the new tier, with their fees adjusted to match. If you don't want someone moved, remove them in the Wallet tab under Manage authorized users before you change.

How often you can change Bilt cards

Bilt's terms allow one voluntary upgrade or downgrade in any rolling 12-month period, measured from the date of your last product change, plus one refund-and-revert. Bilt says it may waive these limits case by case. The terms also list "repeatedly opening, closing, Upgrading, or Downgrading Card Accounts, or cycling between Bilt Card products" as abuse, while stating that a single product change or a refund-and-revert done through Bilt's official process isn't abuse by itself.

What to do before you change your Bilt card

If you hold Blue or Obsidian and want Palladium, check your Bilt Card settings for the upgrade option. If it isn't there, Bilt's phased rollout may not have reached your account, and Bilt says eligibility is reviewed regularly. Where it does show, look at the Upgrade Bonus the app offers before you confirm. If you hold Palladium or Obsidian and want to cut the fee, find the date your annual fee posted. Calling Cardless within 30 days gets the fee back but reverses the welcome bonus and used credits. Waiting past 30 days means paying this year's fee but keeping this year's benefits until your anniversary. For the general tradeoffs of keeping versus canceling a card, see our guide to downgrading your credit card.

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Sources

  1. Bilt Rewards Card Offer Terms, last updated September 18, 2026 (read 2026-09-23)
  2. Bilt Card 2.0 Program Overview, Bilt Rewards Support, updated September 18, 2026 (read 2026-09-23; re-read 2026-09-25): "Can I have multiple Bilt cards? No. Each member can only have one Bilt Card at a time."
  3. The Bilt Credit Cards, bilt.com/card (read 2026-09-23)
  4. Bilt Cards Rates and Fees, Cardless (read 2026-09-23)

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