Bilt is retiring the 4% Bilt Cash option on its cards, and existing cardholders have a deadline to act on. In its October 27, 2026 announcement of 2027 program updates, Bilt said Bilt Cash now expires 12 months after you earn it, accounts opened on or after January 1, 2027 lose the 4% option, and existing cardholders move to a simpler rent-earning model on their card account anniversary unless they opt out first.
Bilt also announced Daily Rewards, a new prize program that starts January 15, 2027. Below: what changes, which dates matter and how I'd decide whether to opt out. Our guide to Bilt Cash covers how the currency works, and our Bilt Rewards guide covers the program.
Bilt Cash Now Expires 12 Months After You Earn It
The expiration change took effect October 27, 2026, and Bilt says it applies to Bilt Cash you've already earned, according to its Bilt Card 2.0 Program Overview. Each award now has its own expiration date: the end of the month, 12 months after the day you earned it. Bilt's examples are Bilt Cash earned October 10, 2026, which expires October 31, 2027, and Bilt Cash earned February 7, 2026, which expires February 28, 2027.
Bilt says there's no longer a year-end deadline or a rollover limit. The old rule ended Bilt Cash on December 31, with up to $100 carried into the next year. When you redeem, Bilt uses the Bilt Cash that expires soonest first.
Hotel redemptions get tighter. Through December 31, 2026, Bilt's Bilt Cash help article lets Blue and Silver members redeem up to $50 a month toward Bilt Travel Portal hotels, and Gold and Platinum members up to $100 a month. Starting January 1, 2027, the limit is two redemptions a calendar year: up to $50 each for Blue and Silver, $100 each for Gold and Platinum, and $200 each for eligible Palladium cardholders on the refreshed benefits. Bilt's announcement puts those at $100 a year for Blue and Silver, $200 for Gold and Platinum and $400 for eligible Palladium cardholders.
The $50 of Bilt Cash for every 25,000 Bilt Points toward status stays. One more timing change: annual Bilt Cash credits that come with a card are now deposited on your card account anniversary instead of January 1.
The 4% Option Ends for New Accounts on January 1
Bilt is retiring Flexible Bilt Cash mode, the setting that pays 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spending. What happens depends on your account open date.
Opened on or after January 1, 2027. You get the refreshed benefits right away, and Flexible Bilt Cash isn't available.
Opened before January 1, 2027. You keep your current benefits and rewards setting until your first card account anniversary, then move to the refreshed benefits automatically unless you opt out. Bilt defines the anniversary as the first day of the billing cycle after your account open date. A card opened February 7, 2026 reaches it on the first day of the cycle that follows February 7, 2027. If you aren't sure of yours, Bilt says its concierge in the app can tell you.
That includes a card you open before the end of 2026. Bilt's Bilt Cash help article says that if your account was opened before January 1, 2027, you can keep Flexible Bilt Cash by opting out before your first card account anniversary.
To keep Flexible Bilt Cash, opt out of the refreshed benefits in your card settings in the Bilt app before your first anniversary. Bilt says that if you opt out, you keep:
- 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend.
- The Obsidian and Palladium hotel credits as they are today.
- The Palladium's $200 annual Bilt Cash credit, paid on your anniversary each year.
- Your current Bilt Cash redemption options.
You can't switch between Flexible Bilt Cash and Housing-only after your anniversary, and you don't get the new benefits, including the Palladium's $200 Bilt Cash hotel redemption twice a year.
Opting out isn't a one-way door. Bilt says you can move to the new benefits at any time in the app. After your anniversary, the switch starts on the first day of your next billing cycle, and Bilt converts your unredeemed hotel credit for the year into Bilt Cash, up to $400 on the Palladium and $100 on the Obsidian.
Two more rules. Authorized users follow the account's choice and can't opt out separately. And upgrading or downgrading your card moves you to the refreshed benefits even if you opted out on your current card; Bilt shows a screen explaining this before you confirm. Our guide to Bilt card upgrades and downgrades covers how product changes work.
What Rent and Mortgage Earn Afterward
Under the refreshed benefits there's one way to earn on housing: up to 1.25X points, using the same Housing-only brackets that exist today. Your multiplier depends on how much you spend on the card outside housing in the same billing cycle, compared with your housing payment:
- Everyday spend of at least 25% of your housing payment earns 0.5X.
- 50% earns 0.75X.
- 75% earns 1X.
- 100% or more earns 1.25X.
Miss the 25% mark and you still earn 250 points on the payment. Bilt's example is a $2,000 rent payment with $1,500 of everyday spend that cycle: that's 75%, so 1X, or 2,000 points, added after your statement closes. Everyday points multipliers on the cards aren't changing. Our rent setup guide walks through paying through Bilt.
Obsidian and Palladium Credits Become Bilt Cash
Under the refreshed benefits, the Palladium's $200 Bilt Cash credit and $400 hotel credit become one $600 Bilt Cash credit each year. The Obsidian's $100 hotel credit becomes $100 of Bilt Cash. Both arrive on your card account anniversary. The dollar totals match what you have today. What changes is the currency: Bilt says you can use the Bilt Cash toward eligible hotel stays or across its redemptions, it expires 12 months after it's credited, and Obsidian and Palladium cardholders on the refreshed benefits can still redeem Bilt Cash for a Point Accelerator.
The hotel credits don't vanish on January 1. Bilt says Palladium cardholders still receive the $200 hotel credit and Obsidian cardholders the $50 hotel credit that day. When you move to the refreshed benefits on your anniversary, any hotel credit you haven't redeemed expires and the new Bilt Cash credit arrives. Spend the January credit before then.
Daily Rewards Start January 15, 2027
Starting January 15, every on-time monthly rent or mortgage payment earns a Daily Reward, and so does one daily activity at a qualifying neighborhood partner: a meal, a class or a ride. Each reward reveals two options and you pick one. Options range from instant prizes such as Bilt Points and Bilt Cash to collectibles that build toward a chance at grand prizes, including $1,000,000 toward buying a home, 10,000,000 Bilt Points, a year of free rent or mortgage, a year of free Lyft rides or a dream getaway.
Bilt says all prizes are subject to terms it will provide before January 15, with more prizes and rules to come in the new year. If you hold a Bilt card, Bilt says Daily Rewards are added on top of the points your card earns on rent and mortgage.
Elite status also gets two additions in 2027. Gold and Platinum members will be able to redeem Bilt Points at checkout for Home Away from Home hotel bookings, including eligible luxury hotel benefits. Platinum members can unlock status matches to SIXT ONE Platinum and Hertz President's Circle, and Gold and Silver members to SIXT ONE Gold and Hertz Five Star.
How I'd Decide Whether to Opt Out
The choice comes down to how your everyday spending compares with your housing payment. These examples use Bilt's published rates: $30 of Bilt Cash unlocks 1,000 points on housing, up to 1X, and the refreshed benefits pay up to 1.25X. They leave out the points your card earns on everyday spending, which are the same either way.
Say rent is $2,000 and you spend $2,000 a month on the card. The refreshed benefits pay 1.25X, or 2,500 points. Flexible Bilt Cash earns $80, and $60 of it unlocks the 2,000-point cap, leaving $20. That's 500 fewer points for $20 of Bilt Cash.
Now say rent is $1,000 and you spend $4,000. The refreshed benefits pay 1,250 points and no Bilt Cash on that spending. Flexible earns $160, spends $30 of it to unlock 1,000 points, and leaves $130 for credits, all of it now subject to the 12-month expiration and the new hotel limits.
Opt out if your spending runs well past your rent and you'd actually use the Bilt Cash. Take the refreshed benefits if your spending is close to your rent and points on housing are the goal. If you can't tell, opt out first, since Bilt lets you move to the new benefits later.
What to Do Next
Find your card account anniversary in the Bilt app this week, because it sets your deadline. If you hold an Obsidian or Palladium and you're taking the refreshed benefits, spend your January hotel credit before that date, since unredeemed credit expires on it. Then make the opt-out call in card settings. Bilt says the Daily Rewards terms come before January 15, so there's nothing to decide on those yet.
