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A couple of years ago, Bilt launched a partnership with BLADE — an “urban air mobility platform” based in New York City. BLADE rose to fame by offering a different way to get to the airport: helicopters. Bilt's original partnership with BLADE let members earn Bilt Points and exclusive perks on BLADE rides.
Now, that partnership is expanding: You can now book a BLADE flight directly in the Bilt Travel Portal and use Bilt Cash or Bilt Points to pay for your ride.
Here's what Bilt
What Is BLADE?
For the unfamiliar, BLADE provides alternative means of transportation by helicopter, seaplane, and private jet. But of particular interest are the helicopters. With BLADE, you can fly out of a congested city center, such as Manhattan, and make your way to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in as little as five minutes.
BLADE operates in a handful of markets, so the perks and benefits afforded to Bilt Rewards members won't be useful to everyone. However, if you find yourself in a city or market served by BLADE, booking transportation will come with extra rewards.
Bilt Expands Partnership With BLADE
Starting today, you can book BLADE flights directly in the Bilt Travel Portal. You'll also be able to apply your Bilt points to your reservation.
Bilt points are worth 1.25¢ apiece when redeemed in the Bilt Travel Portal. You can use points to cover the entire BLADE booking, or do a combination of points and cash. A BLADE flight between Manhattan and JFK or Newark starts at $195, so you'll need at least 15,600 Bilt points to complete the booking.
If you want to save your points, you can redeem Bilt Cash toward BLADE bookings. You can redeem up to $350 per seat for up to two flights per calendar year, for a total value of up to $700 per year. When you go to checkout, your available Bilt Cash credit will appear as a payment option. You'll also be able to combine Bilt Cash with points or a linked card.
Keep in mind that each credit will apply to one seat booking, so if your seat costs less than $350, the remaining credit can't be carried over. In other words, if you want to redeem Bilt Cash, you should do it at a busy time when seats are more expensive.
Note: Bilt Cash expires at the end of each calendar year. Up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year.
All Bilt members earn 2X bonus Bilt points on BLADE bookings made through the Bilt Travel Portal. And yes, the 2X points are in addition to any other rewards your payment method offers. So, make sure to link and use your best card for travel purchases, or use one of the fantastic Bilt
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 1X points on everyday spend
$95Rates & Fees
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 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
$495Rates & Fees
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
Bilt elite status perks on BLADE
Bilt tacks on more benefits for members with Silver, Gold, and Platinum elite status. Here's what you'll enjoy as a Bilt Rewards elite status member:
- Silver: Save 10% on BLADE flights to airports booked through the Bilt app.
- Gold: Silver-tier benefits, plus access to BLADE lounges even when not flying (including up to two drinks per visit).
- Platinum: Silver- and Gold-tier benefits, plus one free BLADE flight from Manhattan to Newark (EWR) or New York (JFK). This perk refreshes each time you qualify for Platinum status.
Is it worth earning Bilt Rewards elite status just to enjoy BLADE perks? Maybe not. But there's still something to be said about the continuous addition of perks and benefits for putting in effort to earn elite status.
Even if something like lounge access (even when not flying!) proves to be unsustainable, Bilt is still adding perks left and right. That's not something we're finding with other rewards programs.
Final Thoughts
Bilt's newly expanded partnership with BLADE is interesting. If you plan on traveling through one of BLADE's markets, it could be worth checking prices and seeing if a helicopter flight — or a trip on another one of BLADE's means of transportation — fits your schedule. Now that you can use Bilt Cash or points to pay for your flight, a helicopter ride to the airport might be more accessible than it once was.
That said, BLADE flights can be pricey, so these new perks and benefits won't be useful to many Bilt Rewards members.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Bilt Blue Card (Rates & Fees), Bilt Obsidian Card (Rates & Fees), and Bilt Palladium Card (Rates & Fees)
Well, in addition to that Air France La Premiere redemption by way of Bilt Platinum, am also going to aim for that free helicopter flight, since I travel to New York at least once a year for my work..