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Update: A Bilt Rewards representative confirmed to AwardWallet that a glitch caused this fee to be charged and that all affected Bilt members have been refunded.
One of my favorite benefits of the Bilt Rewards program is paying rent by credit card and avoiding costly convenience fees. Since applying for The Bilt Mastercard®, it's been my go-to for earning rewards (and saving a bundle) on my biggest monthly expense.
On November 1, I switched my Rent Rewards Checking Account payment method from the Bilt Mastercard to the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card to take advantage of a convenience-fee-rent payment thanks to a Rent Day benefit. However, Bilt didn't charge the card until days after, putting me (and likely other Bilt Rewards members) in a peculiar spot.
If you're like me and paid your November rent with the Alaska Visa Card and have a convenience fee charge on your card statement, here's how to prompt Bilt to reverse it.
Check Your Alaska Visa Card Statement for Surprise Bilt Convenience Fees
Bilt has a neat little tie-up with the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. This partnership is why I jumped on the opportunity to pay my November rent with the Alaska Visa Card convenience fee-free.
On November 1, Bilt offered eligible cardholders 3X Alaska miles per $1 spent on the first $2,500 in rent charged to a linked card chosen as the Rent Rewards Account payment method — with no transaction fees. Ordinarily, paying rent with the Alaska Visa Card incurs fees of 3% — negating much, if not all, of the benefit.
This morning, I received a text from Bilt Rewards that it had just charged my account for November's rent. What stood out about this text was that Bilt charged an additional $67.44 to my account. That's the “transaction fee” that should have been waived.
So, I contacted Bilt. Agents seemed to think I paid yesterday — the day my account was charged. Consequently, I was informed the Alaska benefit didn't apply because I paid too late for it to count and that this would be the end of the conversation. In other words, this was an unresolvable “me” issue.
How to get Bilt to refund your surprise Alaska Visa Card convenience fee
If you're in the same boat as I am, you'll need to prompt Bilt to manually review the charge. To force this, you'll need to email in your rent receipt. Ideally, it'll prove when and how you paid your rent. Otherwise, you may be out of luck.
Most rental portals let you download this information. If you can't see it in your portal, it's worth asking your landlord to email you a copy. It's worth the effort to avoid a charge that you shouldn't have to pay. Of course, that's provided you were eligible to take advantage of this Rent Day benefit in the first place.
In my case, providing this receipt was all that was needed to get Bilt to refund the transaction fees. This morning, I received an e-check refunding the transaction fees. While it was a pain to have to request a refund of a fee I never should have been charged, at least Bilt resolved the issue quickly. And hopefully this information can help you if you've been charged incorrectly as well.
Final Thoughts
If you paid November's rent with your Alaska Visa Card, double-check to ensure your account was charged correctly.
Bilt takes up to three business days to charge Rent Rewards Accounts. If you — like me — didn't have your account charged on the first of the month, you might have a convenience fee tacked on to your card statement. If so, you'll need to get Bilt to manually review the charge to get it refunded.
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