Bilt 3.0 Already??

Bilt is “simplifying” things again. 😮‍💨 If you’ve been following Bilt 2.0, you’ll understand why I’m a little nervous.

The latest changes retire Flexible Bilt Cash mode in favor of housing-only rewards, with an option for existing cardholders (including those who get a card before the end of the year) to keep the old setup. In the new setup, the Palladium’s $400 hotel credit and $200 Bilt Cash credit become $600 in Bilt Cash; the Obsidian’s $100 hotel credit becomes $100 in Bilt Cash. 

Bilt Cash now lasts for 12 months after it’s earned (no more year-end expiration), but using it for hotels drops from monthly to twice a year. More flexibility in one direction, less in another.

I find housing-only rewards annoying because your points return varies according to how much you spend. The math can still work nicely, though: with a $2,000 housing payment, $500 of everyday spending on Palladium earns 1,000 purchase points and unlocks another 1,000 housing points. That’s effectively as high as 4x on the $500 of spending—counting the housing points. But your exact return on spend is in constant flux, and low- or high-spending months can tank your overall value because housing-only rewards requires minimum spending for housing points and caps the maximum points return at 1.25x per $1 of housing spending—no matter how much additional spending you put on the card. That really bolsters the case for carrying another card that can deliver more value once the Bilt card starts reaching that threshold. 

There are also rental-car status matches and a new “Daily Rewards” feature involving prizes and collectibles. I’m sure I’ll be diving deeper into Bilt in the future. For now, my main takeaway is that the Palladium’s base 2x earning remains appealing even without housing rewards or Bilt Cash, the new setup makes the Obsidian much more lazy-friendly, but losing Bilt Cash from everyday spending makes it harder for me to recommend to someone without a housing payment. And the constant tinkering doesn’t exactly instill confidence—sure, the value proposition is still solid, but what will it be three months from now?

Lazy Take 🦥

For my own card, I’ll keep Flexible Bilt Cash. Eligible existing cardholders need to elect to keep it before their first card anniversary in 2027; they can move to the new structure later, but can’t come back. I’d rather preserve the flexibility and the value of a system that rewards me regardless of my housing situation, and I want to see what happens to the value of Bilt Cash when most cardholders can’t earn it through card spending. 

This week on the blog 📝

Most people don’t like to carry a dozen credit cards, but just two complementary cards can deliver outsize value. I wrote about my favorite pairings. (The Bilt Palladium recommendation remains… but I’d rather have the card with the old, “Flexible Bilt Cash” system than the new version.)  

Quick Points of the Week ⚡

Special offers ✨ 

Bilt Rent Day is today… and is kind of a dud. The highlight is a targeted discount when booking a hotel through Bilt, but you can’t pair it with your Bilt card hotel credit (though you can stack with Bilt cash). There’s also increased—but still mediocre—value when redeeming points for gift cards. It’s a good thing they extended the shelf life of Bilt Cash, since November’s Rent Day doesn’t even offer the opportunity to use it to upgrade a transfer bonus. (Doctor of Credit)

More value 📈

Citi AA Executive adds inKind credit. The $695-fee premium card now offers $100 toward purchases at inKind restaurants every six months. Combined with the recently added $500 in AA Vacations credits, there may now be enough value here to justify a lounge-access splurge for the right person. (OMAAT)

Citi adds Copa as a transfer partner. The Panamanian airline doesn’t have the best award availability, but if you can find a saver award, the pricing is solid and—crucially in this day and age—there are no fuel surcharges. (Frequent Miler)

Extra points 🪙

AT&T customer? Link to AA for free miles. This is a great deal for easy points if you’re an existing customer. (View From the Wing)

Product Refresh 🔄

Citi AA Platinum Select gets a makeover. The annual fee is rising to $150 and earning rates are improving, but unlike the competition, there’s no big frequent flyer benefit like an award redemption discount, and there’s not much in the way of non-AA benefits, unless you’re a frequent Turo user or a Walmart+ subscriber. Tough sell. (The Points Guy) 

Deals 🏷️

Fly with Alaska, ski for free. You can convert your boarding pass to a lift ticket (usually same-day) at 9 different ski resorts near Alaska Airlines destinations. (PointsYeah)

Recommended 👍

Have pets, will fly? Check out this thorough guide on flying with pets from flight deal alert site Going. 

Sign-up bonus of the week 🎯

Links marked with an * are affiliate or referral links, meaning we may earn if you apply via our link. 

If you’re a Southwest fan, the airline’s collection of co-branded credit cards have elevated offers now, ranging from 80,000 to 90,000 points after spending $1,000-3,000 in the first three months, depending on the card. 

I haven’t flown Southwest in ages, so I don’t have much of an opinion on the merits of these cards, but you can read some analysis here and here. Maybe Southwest points will be super valuable for international flights once the airline’s redemption partnerships with Icelandair, China Airlines, and Etihad go live in 2027.

This is the last time credit card welcome bonus points will count toward Companion Pass qualification, so there’s a final (but complicated) chance to potentially count one of these bonuses toward that extremely valuable perk. That said, it’s not that uncommon to see Companion Pass offered as a sign-up bonus. Past history is no guarantee of future offers… but it has been offered at least once every year since 2021. 

If you are already a Southwest regular and don’t want to push for or hold out for a Companion Pass, this could still be a good opportunity to pick up a co-branded card. The bonus offers are significantly better than the historical average, and 80,000+ points go pretty far, even if Southwest’s redemption options are a little limited compared to the competition (for now). 🔥

Other great sign-up bonuses this week

100k points + 25k companion discount on the Atmos Summit (our take: 🔥🔥🔥) 

Up to 80k points + $250 on the Delta Gold (our take: 🔥🔥🔥) ends 11/4

70k points + a free night certificate on the Hilton Honors (our take: 🔥🔥)

200k points on the Hilton Aspire (our take: 🔥🔥)

Up to 90k points + $300 on the Delta Platinum (our take: 🔥🔥) ends 11/4

Up to 50k points + two flight certificates on the Delta Reserve (our take: 🔥🔥) ends 11/4

75k points + $300 stays credit on the Capital One Venture (our take: 🔥🔥)

80k miles on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select (our take: 🔥🔥)

180k points on the IHG Premier (our take: 🔥)

70-90k miles on United credit cards (our take: 🔥)

80k points + $99 companion fare on the Atmos Ascent (our take: 🔥) 

200k points on the IHG Premier Select (our take: 🔥)

70k miles + elite status on the Air France KLM Visa (our take: 🔥)

75k (+ 40k after $20k spend) on the Chase Aeroplan Card (our take: 🔥)

Up to 100/175k on the Amex Gold/Platinum (our take)

50,000 points + $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold status on the Bilt Palladium (our take)

How we rate bonus offers. 

Lazy Pick ✅ (Affiliate)

Keep tabs on your luggage. The great thing about award flights (and status) is that you often get a free checked bag. But handing your luggage off to an airline can be a risky proposition. Bags can get lost, and if it happens to you it can be a major (and possibly costly) inconvenience. By placing AirTags in your bags, though, you can keep an eye on your luggage and increase your odds of recovering them if they get misplaced. 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Enjoy the weekend! 🦥

I hope your “fall back” had a soft landing. 🍂⏰

Sometimes we include referral or affiliate links (we’ll mark them clearly). If you use them, we may earn a commission—never at extra cost to you. We do our best to share great offers, but always double-check for the best deal available. Thanks for supporting LazyPoints 🦥