Editor’s note: TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.
In just a few years, Bilt Rewards has cemented itself as one of the most valuable travel rewards programs. Bilt Rewards points are one of our favorite rewards currencies to collect, and the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees) was named the Best No-Annual-Fee Credit Card at the 2023 TPG Awards. This is largely because of its interesting collection of transfer partners, including some that competing programs with transferable points (like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards) have been unable to capture.
The main draw of Bilt is that you can earn points when you pay your rent with no fees. By doing this, you can quite easily end up with 20,000-plus points annually that you wouldn’t otherwise have earned. Plus, the Bilt Mastercard provides a solid return rate on common non-rent expenses, such as dining and travel. Just note that you’ll have to make five monthly transactions to earn points.
But what should you do with your Bilt Rewards points? Let’s look at six ways to maximize Bilt Rewards for your upcoming travels.
Book domestic economy flights on American Airlines for as little as 5,000 Bilt points
American Airlines publishes flight awards on select routes that are priced unbelievably low. In fact, you can occasionally find awards for just 5,000 AAdvantage miles one-way in economy.
If you can be flexible with your travel dates, you’ve got a good shot at finding a cheap award flight from your home airport by using the American Airlines award map. Just enter your origin airport, choose a date and input the maximum award price you’re willing to pay. Below is an example search from Cincinnati for April 30. The colored pins indicate every destination that can be reached for 6,000 miles or less.
Related: Your ultimate guide to American Airlines AAdvantage
Fly to Ireland in Aer Lingus economy for 13,000 Bilt points
When you transfer Bilt points to Aer Lingus (the flag carrier of Ireland), you can fly to Dublin or Shannon for as little as 13,000 Avios each way on the following routes:
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Dublin Airport (DUB) and Shannon Airport (SNN)
- O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to DUB
- Bradley International Airport (BDL) to DUB
- Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to DUB
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to DUB and SNN
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to DUB
- Dulles International Airport (IAD) to DUB
That’s a great deal — especially considering many other airlines charge more than twice that amount to reach Europe. But note that Aer Lingus passes along just enough taxes and fees to irritate. Expect to pay $200-plus round-trip.
To get these low prices, you’ll have to fly on off-peak dates (you can click here to view Aer Lingus’ award calendar). Otherwise, you’ll pay around 20,000 Avios each way. To learn more about this trick, read our complete guide to using Avios to fly to Ireland.
Related: The ultimate guide to British Airways Avios
Book hotel stays starting at 3,500 Bilt points
One of the best uses for Bilt points is to transfer them to Hyatt for “free” nights at a hotel. Since World of Hyatt uses a fixed award chart, you can easily find out how many points you will be charged for a room at one of its properties.
Hyatt charges from as little as 3,500 points per night for modest roadside hotels (Category 1) on off-peak dates to up to 45,000 points per night for luxury hotels (Category 8) on peak travel dates.
The best value will often come when booking either low-end or luxury hotel stays. For example, the unmemorable Hyatt Place Indianapolis / Fishers (Category 2) is a convenient hotel for road-trippers. It costs as little as 6,500 points per night when booking a standard room on an off-peak date.
But that same room on the same night can cost you around $200 in cash. That means you’re getting a value of about 3.07 cents per point by booking this room.
Hyatt has a healthy selection of luxury properties that can net you a similar return when transferring your Bilt points to the World of Hyatt program. Read our guide to Hyatt award charts for more details.
Book Qatar Qsuite before anyone else with Bilt points
If you’re not acquainted with Qatar Airways’ Qsuite business-class seats, know that they’re some of the best in the world. Qsuite is most famous for giving travelers sitting right next to each other the ability to create a double bed during the flight.
The most popular way to book Qatar Qsuite seats is with American Airlines miles, as it tends to be the cheapest. However, if you transfer your Bilt points to British Airways instead of American Airlines, you can convert your rewards into Qatar Airways Avios. Depending on the route you’re flying, it can be a bit more expensive — but you’ll be able to book flights an entire month further out than American Airlines will allow. This means you should have an easy time finding award availability.
For example, you can book Qsuite on American Airlines up to 330 days in the future. But you can book these seats with Qatar Airways Avios up to 361 days in the future.
This should give you the first crack at award seats before those using other award currencies.
Note: British Airways allows you to book seats up to 355 days into the future — so you’ll have a little less than a week to book flights before those using British Airways Avios.
Read our post on converting British Airways Avios into Qatar Airways Avios. And check out our ultimate guide to Qatar Qsuite for more information about these award-winning business-class seats.
Related: Which airlines can I book with Avios?
Fly to Europe in Iberia business class for 34,000 Bilt points
An extremely cheap way to reach Europe with Bilt points is by transferring them to Iberia. You can fly to Spain in a lie-flat business-class seat for as little as 34,000 Iberia Avios each way on the following routes:
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) and Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN)
- O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to MAD
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to MAD and BCN
These prices apply only for off-peak dates. On peak dates, you’ll pay 50,000 Avios each way. You can click here to see Iberia’s award calendar.
Other airlines routinely charge 60,000-plus miles to fly to Europe in a business-class seat. Just note that Iberia will charge over $100 each way in taxes and fees.
You can read more about this trick in our guide on how to fly to Europe in business class on Iberia.
Related: The best ways to travel to Europe using points and miles
Fly to Hawaii in United Airlines economy for 7,500 Bilt points
Turkish Airlines offers one of the sweetest deals in air travel. Because of this, it can be difficult to find availability — everyone wants to book it.
Turkish Airlines is a partner of United Airlines. You can use Turkish Airlines miles to book domestic United Airlines flights (including to Hawaii) at the following rates:
- 7,500 miles one-way in economy
- 12,500 miles one-way in business class
While it’s difficult to find a business-class flight to Hawaii, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem finding economy flights as long as you stick to a United Airlines hub as your origin airport and are flexible on when you fly.
You can read more about how to book this flight in our guide for how to fly Turkish Airlines to Hawaii.
Related: The best ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles
Bottom line
Bilt Rewards points are extremely versatile, with perhaps the best mix of travel partners offered by any flexible points program. TPG estimates Bilt Rewards points are worth 2.05 cents each — but there are endless ways to get even more value from them if you put some strategy into it.
See Bilt Mastercard rates and fees here.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits here.
