Here's How To Keep Earning Bilt Cash In 2027 — And Whether You Should

Starting in 2027, Bilt is phasing out its Flexible Bilt Cash option. On your next account anniversary, you'll automatically transition to the Housing-only option, which earns up to 1.25X Bilt Points on rent and mortgage payments.

Current cardholders can opt out before their next card anniversary to continue to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash (Offer Terms) on everyday purchases with a Bilt card. However, it’s a one-way choice, and you can't change your mind once your anniversary passes.

Here’s how to keep Bilt Cash and how to decide if it’s worth keeping.

Note: Bilt Cash expires at the end of the month, 12 months after it's earned.

What’s Changing With Bilt Cash in 2027

Currently, Bilt cardholders have two choices for earning bonus rewards. The Flexible Bilt Cash option earns 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases, which can be redeemed to unlock up to 1X points on rent or mortgage payments. If you choose Housing-only rewards, you don't earn any Bilt Cash. Instead, you'll get up to 1.25X points on housing payments, based on how much you spend on the card during that billing cycle.

But the Bilt Cash option, as it stands, will be phased out. Here’s the timeline for the changes:

• Starting October 27, 2026, for everyone: Bilt Cash expires at the end of the month, 12 months after you earn it (instead of on December 31 of the year it was earned).
• January 1, 2027: New card accounts use the Housing-only option, and Flexible Bilt Cash is no longer offered. Bilt Cash can be used on Bilt Travel hotel bookings only twice a year, capped by status.
• Your first card anniversary in 2027: Cards switch to Housing-only rewards and new annual credits (unless you opt out).

Bilt used to allow only $100 of Bilt Cash to roll over per year, with the rest expiring December 31 in the year it was earned. But all Bilt Cash earned will now have a 12-month rolling expiration, which Bilt already tracks on its site. This is a significant improvement from the old system, especially with Bilt Cash earned later in the year.

Screenshot of Bilt

Starting with the next card anniversary, Bilt Palladium Card (Rates & Fees) and Bilt Obsidian Card (Rates & Fees) cardholders will earn annual Bilt Cash credits instead of Bilt Travel Hotel credits, unless they opt out and keep Flexible Bilt Cash:

• The Obsidian Card gets a $100 annual Bilt Cash credit on each card account anniversary, instead of a $100 Bilt Travel Hotel credit (which was applied twice a year, as $50 statement credits)
• The Palladium Card gets a $600 annual Bilt Cash credit on each card account anniversary, instead of the $200 annual Bilt Cash credit and the $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit (which was applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits)

How To Keep Earning Bilt Cash

If you want to keep the Flexible Bilt Cash option, it only takes a minute to opt out in the Bilt app. Go to the “Wallet” tab, select your Bilt card, then choose “Manage card.“ Find “Bonus rewards” toward the bottom, then open “Choose your rewards.”

Here's what you'll see:

Screenshot of Bilt

Choose “Flexible Bilt Cash” and then “Save.“ Check for the confirmation screen. You should see that you’re keeping Flexible Bilt Cash.

Screenshot of Bilt

Opt-out deadline

If you want to opt-out, you must do so before your card account anniversary, which is a different date for everyone. The same screen that shows the opt-out confirmation also shows when your card is scheduled to switch. If you picked up your Bilt card when the new card lineup launched in early 2026, your anniversary likely falls in February 2027.

But there's no need to wait, and you aren't permanently locked in until your card anniversary. If you keep Flexible Bilt Cash, you can still move to Housing-only rewards later, but you can’t come back after that.

If you’re using Housing-only rewards right now and want to switch, don't wait until the last minute. Changes to your bonus rewards mode take effect the following statement period, and some people reported that Flexible Bilt Cash needs to be the selected mode when you opt out.

Comparing Your Choices

Here's the comparison of what you'll have if you opt out and keep Flexible Bilt Cash vs. letting it switch to housing-only rewards:

Why You Might Want to Keep Bilt Cash

For many people, it's likely better to keep the Flexible Bilt Cash option. Even if you aren't sure, you can still move to Housing-only rewards if it stops working for you. But if you make the switch, that's it. Here's why I think it's worth keeping.

Point Accelerators pay for themselves

Obsidian Card and Palladium Card holders can activate up to five Point Accelerators per year for $200 in Bilt Cash each, which adds a bonus point on the next $5,000 of everyday spending. You'll want to time these accordingly, though, as they will expire at the end of the calendar year, even if you haven't finished spending.

Under the current format, you earn enough Bilt Cash to fund your next accelerator. When you spend $5,000, you'll earn exactly $200 in Bilt Cash. On the Palladium Card, that earns up to 25,000 bonus points.

But if you switch, that math no longer works. Palladium Card holders get $600 in Bilt Cash a year, enough for three accelerators. Obsidian Card holders only get $100, which doesn’t cover even one. And since you don't earn Bilt Cash on spending, using all five accelerators becomes much harder.

Palladium Card holders can still stack hotel credits

Opting out means you'll keep the $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit, issued as two $200 semi-annual statement credits on Bilt Travel Portal stays of two nights or more. You can still stack that with up to $100 in Bilt Cash per booking with Gold or Platinum elite status. But if you switch to the new option, you won't get the credits and will earn $600 in Bilt Cash instead.

Related: Bilt Cash Explained 

Why I'm Keeping Flexible Bilt Cash

I hold the Palladium Card, and I love the card. I pay my $880 monthly mortgage through Bilt, and spend $25,000 a year on the card to max out all five Point Accelerators. Here’s how the math would look for me:

Base earnings stay the same. Housing-only wins on the mortgage by 2,640 points, but Flexible Bilt Cash is better everywhere else: 7,360 more bonus points overall, which are worth roughly $157 based on recent AwardWallet user redemptions. Plus, $400 in hotel credits I already use.

When Housing-Only Rewards Makes More Sense

Housing-only rewards scale up with your everyday card spending in a billing cycle compared to your housing payment:

• Spend at least 25% of your housing payment: 0.5X points on the payment
• At least 50%: 0.75X
• At least 75%: 1X
• 100% or more: 1.25X

For example, on a $2,000 rent payment, any amount spent between $1,000 and $1,499 earns 0.75X. You'd start earning 1X at $1,500. And if you spend below 25%, you'll earn a flat 250 points.

This option could work in certain circumstances, such as:

• Your spending consistently matches your housing payment. Earning 1.25X every month can be more valuable the bigger your housing payment is.
• You don’t use Point Accelerators. This is the best use of Bilt Cash, but if you don't use them, or have a Bilt Blue Card (Rates & Fees), this doesn't matter for you.
• Bilt Cash is too confusing. The already-confusing Bilt Cash now has rolling expiration dates and redemption caps. You might prefer the simplicity of the Housing-only model.
• You transfer points for outsized value. If you regularly get 2 cents or more per point through Bilt's transfer partners, the extra housing points can be worth more than having Bilt Cash.

What Cardholders Should Do

Your Bilt credit card can help you decide whether to opt out. Here's my recommendation:

• Palladium Card (read our full review): Keeping Flexible Bilt Cash is the better move if you use more than three Point Accelerators a year or you can use both hotel credits. That easily covers the annual fee. Housing-only makes sense if you have a large housing payment with card spending that matches it, and don't use the Bilt Travel hotel credits.
• Obsidian Card (read our full review): Keeping Flexible Bilt Cash is the clear choice. With Housing-only rewards, the $100 hotel credit becomes $100 in Bilt Cash, which isn't enough for a single Point Accelerator. The Flexible Bilt Cash earns 3X on dining or grocery spending plus 4% back in Bilt Cash, which helps you earn enough to use accelerators while keeping the hotel credit.
• Blue Card (read our full review): If your spending meets or exceeds your housing payment every month, Housing-only’s 1.25X is the better choice. But if you regularly land below 75% of your payment, Bilt Cash is likely better.

Related: Bilt Credit Cards Comparison

If you're not a cardholder yet or thinking about switching cards

If you aren't a cardholder, but want to get in on Flexible Bilt Cash, you’ll need to be approved for a Bilt card by December 31, 2026. Accounts opened on or after January 1, 2027, will all get Housing-only rewards. Bilt's default option is now Housing-only, so make sure to choose Flexible Bilt Cash, then opt out before your first card anniversary.

If you want to change your card product, you may want to do it before the end of the year, in case you end up stuck with Housing-only rewards.

Bottom Line

If you want to keep your Flexible Bilt Cash option, make sure you opt out before your card anniversary. It's a quick process and typically makes sense for most cardholders. If it stops working for you, you can always switch later. Take some time to review your spending to make sure you're optimizing your Bilt credit card rewards.

Bilt Obsidian Card

Welcome Bonus $200 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved

Apply Now

Annual Fee

$95Rates & Fees

• Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
• 3X points on your choice of grocery (up to $25K/year) or dining. Your 3X category choice remains in effect for the entire calendar year.
• 2X points on travel
• 1X points on everyday spend

Bilt Palladium Card

Welcome Bonus 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.

Apply Now

Annual Fee

$495Rates & Fees

• Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
• 2X points on everyday spend

Bilt Blue Card

Welcome Bonus $100 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved.

Apply Now

Annual Fee

$0Rates & Fees

• Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
• 1X points on everyday spend.

For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Bilt Palladium Card (Rates & Fees), Bilt Obsidian Card (Rates & Fees), and Bilt Blue Card (Rates & Fees)