Bilt Rent Day: Get bonus points and enter to win free rent

Good news for Bilt Rewards members: Jan. 1 is another Bilt Rent Day. As on previous Rent Days, you can play trivia to earn Bilt points, earn double points on non-rent purchases and enter to win free rent by playing the Rent Free game. Plus, you can enjoy some of the “most loved” promotions from previous Rent Days on Jan. 1: a $5 Lyft credit for Bilt cardholders, a 50% redemption bonus on Amazon and status-based transfer bonuses to three Bilt Rewards transfer partners.

The Bilt Rewards program is free to join, and you don’t need to have the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees) to participate in most Rent Day offers. Here’s what you need to know about the Jan. 1 Rent Day.

Lyft credit for Bilt cardholders

During the July 2023 Rent Day, Bilt offered members with a Bilt Mastercard (see rates and fees) a $20 Lyft ride credit (members without the card could get a $10 Lyft ride credit). You could snag an additional $5 credit for July 2023 Rent Day if you activated the offer, had Bilt set as your active Lyft loyalty partner and took a Lyft ride on July 1. Now, Bilt is bringing back a modified version of this popular Rent Day promotion.

For the Jan. 1 Rent Day, Bilt members with a Bilt Mastercard (see rates and fees) can activate a $5 ride credit with Lyft in the Bilt app. To do so, make sure your Lyft and Bilt accounts are linked and select “Activate credits” on the Rent Day tab of your Bilt app on Jan. 1. Once you activate the credit, it should appear under “Lyft Pass” in the payment section of your Lyft app within 72 hours.

Related: How to easily earn points and miles on your Lyft rides

50% redemption bonus on Amazon

During the March 2023 Rent Day, Bilt cardholders could get a 50% bonus when redeeming points for Amazon purchases. Now, Bilt has brought back this promotion for the Jan. 1 Rent Day.

On Jan. 1, Bilt cardholders will get a 50% bonus when redeeming points for Amazon purchases. First, ensure your Bilt Mastercard (see rates and fees) is linked to your Amazon account. Then, add items to your card as normal on Amazon. When you check out on Amazon, select your Bilt Mastercard as your payment method and choose to redeem points. The required points you see at checkout on Jan. 1 will automatically include the 50% redemption bonus.

Even with the 50% redemption bonus, redeeming Bilt points for Amazon purchases may not provide the best value. Be sure to compare the value you’d get with this redemption against your other options before you redeem.

Related: How to redeem your points and miles for Amazon purchases

Status-based transfer bonuses

Bilt Rewards has offered transfer bonuses for several of its transfer partners on previous Rent Days, including a 100% transfer bonus to IHG One Rewards on Dec. 1, 2022, a 100% transfer bonus to Air France-KLM Flying Blue on May 1, 2023, and a 75% to 150% transfer bonus to Virgin Red on Aug. 1, 2023.

For the Jan. 1 Rent Day, transfer bonuses to all three partners are returning — with all of them based on your status. When you transfer Bilt points to IHG One Rewards, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Air-France-KLM Flying Blue on Jan. 1, you’ll get a transfer bonus of 75% to 150%, as follows:

• Blue: 75% bonus, so transferring 1,000 Bilt points would get you 1,750 of the partner’s currency
• Silver: 100% bonus, so transferring 1,000 Bilt points would get you 2,000 of the partner’s currency
• Gold: 125% bonus, so transferring 1,000 Bilt points would get you 2,250 of the partner’s currency
• Platinum: 150% bonus, so transferring 1,000 Bilt points would get you 2,500 of the partner’s currency

Your bonus will be based on your Jan. 1 status. Blue members must transfer at least 2,000 Bilt points, while other members can transfer as few as 1,000 Bilt points.

Related: Bilt Rewards announces major updates to its elite status program

We don’t recommend transferring points speculatively. But, if you’ve been considering a redemption with one of these programs, Jan. 1 could be a good time to transfer points and book your reward. For inspiration and ideas on how to use points for each of these programs, check out the following stories:

Remember that Bilt lets its members see live award flight availability with a Point.me integration and live hotel award availability with an Awayz integration.

Related: How long do Bilt Rewards points take to transfer?

Bilt Rent Day trivia

If you’re good at trivia, you can boost your Bilt Rewards balance for free on Rent Day.

Bilt gives its members five trivia questions through its app each Rent Day. The questions increase incrementally in difficulty and value. The first question is worth 10 points, the second question is worth 20 points, the third question is worth 30 points, the fourth question is worth 40 points and the fifth question is worth 50 points.

If you get all five questions correct, Bilt will unlock a sixth question worth an extra 100 points. You could earn 250 Bilt points through trivia each Rent Day if you correctly answer all six questions.

Related: Should you use the Bilt Mastercard? Why it’s a game changer for renters

Extra Bilt points on non-rent purchases

As on previous Bilt Rent Days, you’ll earn double points when you use your Bilt Mastercard (see rates and fees) to make non-rent purchases between midnight EST and 11:59 p.m. PST on Jan. 1. You’ll earn as follows for purchases each Rent Day:

• Dining: 6 points per dollar spent
• Travel: 4 points per dollar spent
• Other purchases (excluding rent): 2 points per dollar spent
• Rent: 1 point per dollar spent

You can earn up to 10,000 bonus points on purchases with your Bilt Mastercard each Rent Day. However, you must use your Bilt Mastercard at least five times each statement period to earn points. If you dine at a Bilt Dining restaurant this Rent Day and use your Bilt Mastercard to pay, you can earn up to 11 points per dollar.

Related: Why I love my Bilt Mastercard as a renter in the most expensive city in the US

Rent Free game

For the Aug. 1 Rent Day, Bilt launched a new way to win free rent for a month (up to $2,500): the “Family Feud”-style Rent Free game show. The new game show wasn’t a one-off promotion, so a new creator or personality will play the Rent Free game each month.

The success of the celebrity guest will determine how many Bilt members win free rent that month. The guest for January Rent Day is singer and actor Lance Bass.

For a chance to win a month of free rent paid by Bilt, head to the Bilt app starting on Dec. 27 at 9 a.m. EST and play the Rent Free game. If you correctly guess three of the most popular answers by the end of Rent Day, you’ll automatically be entered for a chance to win.

Related: Bilt Mastercard review: Zero-fee rent payments

History of Rent Day promotions

Bilt offers at least one special promotion each Rent Day in addition to its standard Rent Day offerings. For the Jan. 1 Rent Day, some of the program’s top Rent Day promotions have come back, including a Lyft credit for Bilt cardholders, a redemption bonus on Amazon and transfer bonuses to three loyalty programs.

Here’s a summary of the promotions we’ve seen on previous Rent Days:

• December 2023: Bilt offered a special tasting experience in New York City for cardholders on Dec. 1, more points at Bilt Dining restaurants from Nov. 24 through Dec. 1, and double points on purchases that would normally earn 1 point per dollar spent from Nov. 23 through Nov. 27.
• November 2023: Bilt offered special Bilt Experiences at select restaurants and a status-based transfer bonus to Emirates Skywards.
• October 2023: Bilt launched Bilt Experiences at three professional football games and offered 5 points per dollar spent on eligible sports tickets (up to 10,000 bonus points).
• September 2023: Bilt expanded its Rent Day Rides to every SoulCycle studio across the U.S., with 10 complimentary bikes per class. For the Sept. 1 Rent Day, Bilt also paid a month of rent (up to $2,500) for one rider in each Rent Day Ride class.
• August 2023: There was a 75% to 150% transfer bonus to Virgin Red based on your Bilt status tier Aug. 1.
• July 2023: You could activate a $10 Lyft ride credit if you were a Bilt member without a Bilt Mastercard or a $20 Lyft ride credit if you had a Bilt Mastercard by the end of July 1. Plus, you could get an additional $5 credit if you activated the offer, had Bilt set as your active Lyft loyalty partner and took a Lyft ride July 1.
• June 2023: Everyone won a gift of Bilt points, points to use toward the Bilt Collection, Lyft ride credit, free rent or round-trip award flights when they solved the June 1 Rent Day Challenge puzzle.
• May 2023: There was a 100% transfer bonus to Air France-KLM Flying Blue on May 1.
• April 2023: Bilt members could enroll between March 28 and April 1 to obtain World of Hyatt Explorist status for 90 days and then keep Explorist status through February 2025 by staying 10 qualifying nights between April 17 and July 16. Alternatively, members could unlock Globalist status through February 2025 by staying 20 qualifying nights between April 17 and July 16. Bilt also hosted members-only social events at three Hyatt properties on April 1.
• March 2023: You could get a 50% bonus when you redeemed points toward Amazon purchases March 1; 50% off all items in the Bilt Collection on March 1.
• February 2023: You could get a 100% transfer bonus to HawaiianMiles on Feb. 1; Bilt launched its exclusive five-piece capsule collection with SoulCycle.
• January 2023: Bilt introduced trivia to Rent Day: Bilt offered its members 10 trivia questions worth 50 points each and an additional question worth 100 points if you got all 10 questions correct Jan. 1.
• December 2022: You could get a 100% transfer bonus to IHG One Rewards on Dec. 1 and double points on non-rent spending from 12:01 a.m. PST on Nov. 25 to 11:59 p.m. PST on Dec. 1.
• November 2022: Bilt members could enroll in a complimentary United Airlines Premier status challenge between Oct. 27 and Nov. 1. Bilt Blue tier members could get Premier Silver, while Bilt Silver, Gold and Platinum tier members could get Premier Gold. Premier status was valid for 120 days, but you could extend your status through Jan. 31, 2024, by getting 1,000 Premier qualifying points and 4 Premier qualifying flights for Premier Silver and 2,000 PQPs and 6 PQFs for Premier Gold.
• October 2022: Bilt launched Rent Day with double points on non-rent spending and themed SoulCycle Rent Day rides Oct. 1.

Related: The best time to apply for these popular travel credit cards, based on offer history

Bottom line

If you’re a Bilt Rewards member, you know to open the Bilt app on the first day of each month. Whether you earn extra rewards through trivia, spending or both, Bilt Rewards’ Rent Day allows you to boost your points balance.

This Rent Day, Bilt cardholders can also snag a $5 Lyft credit and enjoy a 50% redemption bonus on Amazon. Plus, all Bilt Rewards members can benefit from status-based transfer bonuses to three loyalty programs on Jan. 1. We don’t recommend transferring points speculatively, but these transfer bonuses could be a good catalyst to find award space and book upcoming trips.

See Bilt Mastercard rates and fees here.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits here.