The Bilt Palladium Card costs $495 a year and earns 2X points on everyday purchases. It also earns up to 1.25X on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee. For that fee you get a $400 hotel credit, $200 of Bilt Cash and Priority Pass lounge access for you and two guests. Whether it pays off depends on two things: whether you pay rent or a mortgage through Bilt, and how much of your regular spending you'll put on the card. This review walks through the earning, the credits and who should skip it.
Quick Summary
Best For: Renters and homeowners who want to earn points on housing and put their everyday spending on one premium card. Standout Benefit: up to 1.25X on rent and mortgage with no transaction fee, set by how much you spend elsewhere on the card. Biggest Drawback: the $495 annual fee, which only makes sense if you'll use the credits. Current Offer: 50,000 points and Gold Status after you spend $4,000 on purchases in your first 90 days (rent and mortgage don't count), plus $300 of Bilt Cash.
What the Card Is
The Bilt Palladium Card is a World Legend Mastercard issued by Column N.A., Member FDIC. Bilt sells it alongside the $95 Bilt Obsidian and the no-fee Bilt Blue. Bilt says the card offers over $1,000 in annual value, though that figure depends on you using the credits and perks.
How the Earning Works
Bilt's Palladium page lists these rates:
- Up to 5X at Bilt partner restaurants, which Bilt puts at more than 20,000 U.S. restaurants.
- Up to 4X on hotels booked through the Bilt Travel Portal, and 3X on flights booked there.
- 4X on Lyft, after you link your Bilt and Lyft accounts.
- 2X on other everyday purchases.
- Up to 1.25X on rent and mortgage.
The 2X on other everyday purchases is the card's quiet strength. Bilt's own comparison shows the Obsidian paying 1X on other everyday purchases.
How Rent and Mortgage Rewards Work
Bilt makes rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee. If your rent is $2,000, you pay $2,000. 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, the multiplier you earn on housing depends on your everyday spending in the billing cycle. Bilt's page shows it this way for a $2,000 rent payment:
- Everyday spending equal to 25% of the housing payment earns 0.5X, or 1,000 points.
- 50% earns 0.75X, or 1,500 points.
- 75% earns 1X, or 2,000 points.
- 100% or more earns 1.25X, or 2,500 points.
If you don't reach 25%, you earn 250 points. Points post after your statement closes. Our guide to Bilt Rent Day covers the double points Bilt pays on everyday purchases on the 1st of each month.
Credits and Perks
The Palladium carries three headline benefits:
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Bilt applies it twice a year, as two $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings. Bilt's FAQ says the credit applies to stays of at least two nights at Bilt Travel Portal properties.
- $200 of Bilt Cash. Bilt awards it every year. Each deposit lasts 12 months and expires at the end of that month.
- Priority Pass membership. Bilt says it covers you and two guests at over 1,300 locations worldwide and values it at $469 a year.
The credits cut the fee only if you'd use them. The hotel credit covers qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings only, so it helps only if you'll book hotels there.
Protections
The Palladium includes cellular wireless telephone protection, purchase assurance, MasterRental coverage, trip cancellation and interruption protection, trip delay reimbursement, extended warranty, lost or damaged luggage insurance, baggage delay insurance and price drop protection. It has no foreign transaction fees. Bilt's comparison shows baggage delay insurance and price drop protection only on the Palladium, not on 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. Our guide to Bilt card upgrades and downgrades explains how to move between the cards without a new application.
How It Compares With the Obsidian and Blue
Bilt lists the three cards side by side:
- 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.
- Priority Pass: the Palladium only.
The Palladium wins on flat everyday earning and perks. The Obsidian earns more at Bilt partner restaurants and offers 3X on your choice of dining or groceries. Read our Bilt Obsidian review before you choose.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- 2X on everyday purchases, higher than the other Bilt cards.
- Rent and mortgage points with no transaction fee.
- $400 hotel credit, $200 of Bilt Cash and Priority Pass.
- A long list of travel and purchase protections, with no foreign transaction fees.
Cons
- A $495 annual fee.
- The hotel credit requires Bilt Travel Portal bookings.
- Housing rewards depend on your everyday spending.
- Lower earning at Bilt partner restaurants than the Obsidian, and no dining-or-grocery choice.
Who Should Get the Bilt Palladium
Great fit: someone who pays rent or a mortgage, will put most of their spending on one card and will use the hotel credit and Priority Pass. Not ideal: anyone who won't use Bilt Travel Portal hotels, anyone who doesn't pay housing costs through Bilt and anyone who wants a low fee.
Final Verdict
If you pay rent or a mortgage and plan to run your everyday spending through the card, the Bilt Palladium is worth a hard look. Add up the credits you'd really use before you accept the $495 fee. If you want a $95 fee, up to 6X at Bilt partner restaurants and 3X on your choice of dining or groceries, the Obsidian is the better pick. If you don't want a fee at all, start with the Bilt Blue. You can apply for the Bilt Palladium here.
