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When the revamped Bilt program launched in early 2026, one of the biggest additions was Bilt Cash.
Only $100 of Bilt Cash rolls forward per calendar year, with the rest expiring on Dec. 31. That means you don’t want to let it sit for too long.
With Bilt, you can earn both redeemable Bilt Points and Bilt Cash. And with the Bilt credit cards, you can earn both types of rewards at the very same time. Most of us are probably at least somewhat familiar with how to use traditional points, but Bilt Cash is a newer part of the program with a growing list of redemption options.
If you’ve been racking up 4% in Bilt Cash on every dollar charged to a Bilt credit card and planning to figure out how to use it “one day,” let me encourage you to make that day now.
The good news is that there are now lots of great ways to use it, so here are some of our favorite ways to use Bilt Cash here at TPG, starting with the options that can potentially stretch it the furthest.
How to earn Bilt Cash
First, a quick overview of how you earn Bilt Cash. You earn some Bilt Cash when you reach certain milestones within Bilt, such as for every 25,000 Bilt points you earn toward your status.
If you choose to earn Bilt Cash instead of housing-only rewards, you’ll earn 4% in Bilt Cash on eligible nonhousing purchases with the three Bilt credit cards.
New cardholders can also receive a chunk of Bilt Cash upon approval, depending on the card:
- Bilt Blue Card (see rates and fees): Receive $100 in Bilt Cash when you apply and are approved and can earn 4% in Bilt Cash on non-housing purchases on the card.
- Bilt Obsidian Card (see rates and fees): Receive $200 in Bilt Cash when you apply and are approved, plus you can earn 4% in Bilt Cash on non-housing purchases.
- Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees): Earn 50,000 bonus points and Bilt Gold status (through the rest of the calendar year in which it was earned and the following calendar year) after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. Additionally, cardholders receive $300 in Bilt Cash upon approval and can earn 4% in Bilt Cash on non-housing purchases on the card.
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Related: TPG Bilt calculator helps you choose how to earn the most rewards with Bilt
Best ways to use Bilt Cash
There isn’t one universally best redemption, but some options can earn more Bilt points or more value than others.
Earn Bilt points on your rent or mortgage payment
One of the ways to redeem Bilt Cash is to cash it in to earn transaction-fee-free points while paying your rent or mortgage via Bilt.
This costs $30 in Bilt Cash for every $1,000 in housing payments that you want to earn points on via Bilt. For example, if your monthly housing payment is $3,000, it would cost you $90 in Bilt Cash to earn 1 point per dollar on that full amount for a total of 3,000 points.
There is a setting in Bilt to automatically use your Bilt Cash this way each month.
From a pure points-earning perspective, this is one of the stronger standing uses of Bilt Cash.
And Bilt members appear to agree. Bilt told TPG that unlocking points on rent and mortgage payments accounts for a significant portion of Bilt Cash usage. Beyond housing, the company said members have also shown strong engagement with local restaurants and fitness studios.
If you want to earn points on your housing payment but don’t earn enough Bilt Cash to fully utilize both this option and the Points Accelerator, know that the housing option is mathematically a bit more generous. So, I’d recommend prioritizing earning points on your housing payment if you have to choose between the two.
Use Bilt Cash to unlock better transfer bonuses
Sometimes, on the first of the month, during what Bilt calls ‘Rent Day,’ there are transfer bonuses to one of Bilt’s hotel or airline partners, with those with higher Bilt elite status often receiving larger bonuses. In some cases, you can use Bilt Cash to “buy up” one status level and unlock a larger transfer bonus.
For example, on a recent Rent Day, Bilt Gold members received a 45% transfer bonus to Virgin Red. But those same Gold members could spend $200 in Bilt Cash to upgrade to the Bilt Platinum bonus tier, which offered a 75% transfer bonus.
If you were transferring 100,000 Bilt points to Virgin Red, spending that $200 in Bilt Cash would get you an additional 30,000 Virgin points compared with the standard Gold transfer bonus.
That’s a fantastic return on $200 in Bilt Cash — and, in that specific example, far better mathematically than using the same amount of Bilt Cash for the Points Accelerator or even earning points on your housing payment.
Earn more points with the Points Accelerator
Whether you pay your housing via Bilt or not, one valuable use of Bilt Cash is to earn an extra point per dollar on everyday purchases with the Bilt Obsidian Card or Bilt Palladium Card via what Bilt calls its Points Accelerator. This option isn’t available with the Bilt Blue Card.
For $200 in Bilt Cash, you can activate the Points Accelerator in your Bilt app to earn an extra point per dollar on the next $5,000 in non-housing purchases on your Obsidian or Palladium Card through the end of the year. You can do this up to five times per calendar year.
When this Points Accelerator option is activated, these cards earn:
- Obsidian: 4 points per dollar spent on grocery (up to $25,000 spent each year, then 1 point per dollar) or dining, 3 points per dollar spent on travel, 2 points per dollar on everyday spend
- Palladium: 3 points per dollar spent on non-housing everyday spending
You need to manually go into your Bilt account and activate the Points Accelerator option each time — there’s no setting that auto-renews it when the $5,000 is fully utilized, though there is a tracker to show your progress toward spending the full $5,000. Max out the full $5,000 in spending, and your $200 in Bilt Cash will have earned you an additional 5,000 Bilt points.
Put another way, the Points Accelerator costs $40 in Bilt Cash per 1,000 additional points, compared with $30 per 1,000 points when using Bilt Cash toward housing. That’s why I’d generally prioritize housing first if you have to choose between the two.
That said, being able to turn the Palladium Card into a 3-points-per-dollar-on-virtually-everything card with the click of a button and $200 in Bilt Cash is absolutely phenomenal, if you ask me.
Related: My Bilt Palladium mid-year update: What’s changed since January
Use Bilt Cash toward hotel stays
Another popular use of Bilt Cash is toward hotel stays booked through Bilt Travel. You can redeem up to $100 in Bilt Cash (depending on your elite status tier) toward hotel stays of two nights or longer booked through Bilt Travel, up to once per calendar month.
What’s really cool about this option is that you can stack it with the Bilt Palladium Card’s up to $400 in annual hotel credits, for hotel bookings made through the Bilt Travel portal (up to $200 biannual statement credits from January through June and July through December). You must book a minimum stay of two nights.
Stacked together, you can essentially save up to $300 on two two-night hotel stays per year using Bilt Cash and the Palladium Card’s credits. That’s exactly how I saved $300 on a stay at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel that I booked via Bilt earlier this year.
Other ways to use Bilt Cash
Not every Bilt Cash redemption needs to maximize your theoretical return. If you have a balance to use before Dec. 31, several lifestyle options can provide straightforward savings.
Use Bilt Cash on Blade helicopter rides
A newer way to use Bilt Cash is on up to two Blade helicopter seats per calendar year, at a rate of up to $350 in Bilt Cash per seat.
Blade operates between Manhattan and both John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), as well as to some farther-afield spots such as the Hamptons, making this a pretty fun way to spend down a bunch of Bilt Cash in a hurry.
Use Bilt Cash on Blacklane car service
Another newer way to use Bilt Cash is on Blacklane car service. If you aren’t familiar, Blacklane is a service with professional chauffeurs in high-end cars.
You can redeem up to $150 in Bilt Cash per year toward Blacklane in one transaction, with the exact amount tied to your Bilt elite status level.
- Up to $150 annually for Bilt Platinum members
- Up to $100 annually for Bilt Gold members
- Up to $50 annually for Bilt Blue and Silver members
Use Bilt Cash to pay for fitness classes
You can redeem up to $40 a month in Bilt Cash toward workout classes bookable via Bilt. Some big-name fitness options include Barry’s and SoulCycle, but there are more local options available, too.
One bonus perk of booking with a Bilt partner such as Barry’s is that you also get a smoothie from the Barry’s Fuel Bar after class when you book your workout through the Bilt app.
Use Bilt Cash on Lyft
If you regularly use Lyft to get around, an easy money-saving use of Bilt Cash is to redeem $10 per month for Lyft ride credits.
TPG Tip: You can also earn 2 Bilt points per dollar when using Lyft, even if you aren’t paying with a Bilt credit card, as long as you have linked your Lyft and Bilt accounts and have the card you use to pay for your Lyft rides in your Bilt wallet.
To link your Bilt and Lyft accounts, open your Bilt account and navigate to the Neighborhood Benefits section. Once there, select “Rideshare” and follow the prompts. After you link your Bilt and Lyft accounts, open the Lyft app and ensure Bilt is selected as your preferred travel partner.
Use Bilt Cash at Walgreens
A final popular use of Bilt Cash for some in the TPG offices is at Walgreens, where you can use $10 of Bilt Cash each month toward Walgreens purchases.
When you redeem $10 in Bilt Cash, you’ll get a $10 Walgreens gift card that’s stored in the gift card tab of your Bilt app. You can then use it in-store or online for Walgreens purchases.
Bottom line
As the year has gone by, Bilt Cash has only gotten better and better as more uses have been introduced.
Personally, I use my Bilt Cash first to earn points on my mortgage each and every month, and I’m now on my fourth Points Accelerator option for the year so that I earn 3 points per dollar on everyday spending on my Bilt Palladium Card. I’ve also used $100 in Bilt Cash twice this year towards hotel stays booked via Bilt Travel — both times in connection with using one of the biannual $200 hotel credits (total of $400 each year) that come with my Bilt Palladium Card.
I’ve made a few smaller Bilt Cash redemptions, too, such as using it for Lyft rides when I’m in New York City. Now I’m running a little low on Bilt Cash, so I probably won’t have much trouble using the rest before Dec. 31, when all but $100 of my balance will expire.
Luckily, the clock starts all over again on Jan. 1. As a Palladium cardholder, I’ll get another $200 in Bilt Cash beginning on January 1, and all those annual redemption limits will reset for another year.
To learn more, check out our reviews for the Bilt Palladium, Bilt Obsidian and Bilt Blue cards.
Apply here: Bilt Palladium Card
Apply here: Bilt Obsidian Card
Apply here: Bilt Blue Card
