The Bilt Obsidian Card costs $95 a year and earns 3X points on your choice of dining or groceries. It also earns up to 6X at Bilt partner restaurants and up to 1.25X on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee. Other travel earns 2X and other everyday purchases earn 1X. Dining is the default 3X category, and Bilt lets you change it to grocery within 30 days of opening the account, then once a year in January. Bilt says the card is built for cardholders who spend heavily in one food category. This review covers how it earns, what the fee buys and when the Palladium is the better pick.
Quick Summary
Best For: People who pay rent or a mortgage through Bilt and spend heavily on dining or groceries. Standout Benefit: your choice of 3X on dining or groceries, plus up to 6X at Bilt partner restaurants. Biggest Drawback: only 1X on everyday purchases outside the bonus categories. Current Offer: $200 of Bilt Cash on approval, with no minimum spend. In Bilt's comparison table, the welcome bonus after spending is "Not included" on the Obsidian.
What the Card Is
The Bilt Obsidian Card sits between the no-fee Bilt Blue and the $495 Bilt Palladium. Bilt's own comparison puts its annual fee at $95. It's built for housing payments, dining and groceries, with a hotel credit and a set of travel protections on top.
How the Earning Works
Bilt's Obsidian page lists these rates:
- Up to 6X at Bilt partner restaurants, which Bilt puts at more than 20,000 U.S. restaurants.
- 3X on other dining or groceries, your choice. Grocery earning is capped at $25,000 a year.
- Up to 4X on hotels booked through the Bilt Travel Portal, and 3X on flights booked there.
- 3X on Lyft, after you link your Bilt and Lyft accounts.
- 2X on other travel.
- 1X on other everyday purchases.
- Up to 1.25X on rent and mortgage.
The dining-or-grocery choice is the feature that sets the Obsidian apart. Bilt's comparison shows it on the Obsidian only, not on the Blue or the Palladium. Pick the category you spend more in.
How Rent and Mortgage Rewards Work
Bilt makes rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee. The charge is processed on your Bilt Card and paid off by your linked bank account within 24 hours, so it doesn't use your credit line. With Bilt's Housing-only rewards option, the multiplier you earn on housing depends on your everyday spending in the billing cycle. For a $2,000 rent payment, Bilt's page shows 0.5X (1,000 points) when your everyday spending equals 25% of the housing payment, 0.75X (1,500 points) at 50%, 1X (2,000 points) at 75% and 1.25X (2,500 points) at 100% or more. Below 25%, you earn 250 points.
Our Bilt Cash guide explains Bilt's other housing option, and our guide to maximizing Bilt Rent Day covers what the Obsidian earns on the 1st of each month.
Credits and Protections
The Obsidian carries a $100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Bilt applies it twice a year, as two $50 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings. Each $50 covers one half of the calendar year, doesn't roll over and needs a portal stay of at least two nights. It has no foreign transaction fees.
Bilt lists these protections: cellular wireless telephone protection, trip cancellation and interruption protection, purchase assurance, MasterRental coverage, extended warranty and trip delay reimbursement. Bilt's comparison also lists lost or damaged luggage insurance on the Obsidian. Baggage delay insurance, price drop protection and Priority Pass come with the Palladium, not the Obsidian.
Redeeming Points
Bilt Points can go to Bilt Travel Portal bookings with any airline or hotel brand, to Bilt's transfer partners, to a statement credit, to Lyft rides, to a rent credit or to gift cards. If you later want a different Bilt card, our guide to Bilt card upgrades and downgrades explains how product changes work.
How It Compares With the Palladium and Blue
- Annual fee: $0 on the Blue, $95 on the Obsidian, $495 on the Palladium.
- Everyday purchases: 1X on the Blue and Obsidian, 2X on the Palladium.
- Bilt partner restaurants: up to 4X on the Blue, up to 6X on the Obsidian, up to 5X on the Palladium.
- Dining or grocery choice: 3X on the Obsidian only.
- Hotel credit: none on the Blue, $100 on the Obsidian, $400 on the Palladium.
- Welcome offer: $100 of Bilt Cash on the Blue, $200 on the Obsidian, and $300 on the Palladium, plus 50,000 points and Gold Status after $4,000 in purchases (excluding rent or mortgage) in the first 90 days.
The Palladium earns more on everyday spending and adds Priority Pass, but it costs $495. See our Bilt Palladium review if you spend heavily and want the extras.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- A low $95 annual fee.
- 3X on dining or groceries, your choice, plus up to 6X at Bilt partner restaurants.
- Rent and mortgage points with no transaction fee.
- A $100 hotel credit and no foreign transaction fees.
Cons
- Only 1X on most everyday purchases.
- Housing rewards depend on your everyday spending.
- No Priority Pass, baggage delay insurance or price drop protection.
- The hotel credit requires Bilt Travel Portal stays of at least two nights.
Who Should Get the Bilt Obsidian
Great fit: someone who pays rent or a mortgage, spends heavily at restaurants or groceries and wants a low annual fee. Not ideal: anyone who wants a high flat rate on everything, anyone who wants lounge access and anyone who won't book hotels through Bilt.
Final Verdict
If dining or groceries are a big share of your budget and you pay housing costs through Bilt, the Bilt Obsidian gives you strong earning for a modest fee. If your spending is spread across many categories and you'd put most of it on one card, compare the Palladium's 2X. If your everyday card spending won't reach 75% of your rent or mortgage, Housing-only rewards pay less than 1X on housing on the Obsidian or the Palladium, so choose between them on dining, grocery and everyday spending. If you want no fee, the Bilt Blue is the place to start. You can apply for the Bilt Obsidian here.
