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- Is Bilt’s TAP Transfer Bonus Worthwhile?
Is Bilt’s TAP Transfer Bonus Worthwhile?
Also: RIP Custom Cash
Rent Day returns on June 1st with double points on card spending (up to 1,000 bonus points) and special events and offers. But the headline, of course, is a big transfer bonus to TAP Air Portugal. The bonus depends on your Bilt status level:
Blue (base): 25% bonus
Silver: 50% bonus
Gold: 75% bonus
Platinum: 100% bonus
You can also spend $150 in “Bilt Cash” to move up one tier for this promotion (Platinum members can upgrade to a 125% bonus). You can transfer a maximum of 100,000 Bilt points.
Is this bonus worthwhile? At the Silver level and above, I think it could be.
One-way pricing starts at 29,000 miles, and I was able to find a round-trip from San Francisco to Lisbon for 58,000 miles and $154.53 in taxes and fees within two minutes of logging onto the website (TAP’s UX and calendar search features are pretty good, though the log-on isn’t always smooth). TAP has some change and cancellation fees, but the fare includes seat selection and a checked bag.
Those prices and policies keep TAP from being a star transfer partner most of the time, but on Rent Day, the Bilt point redemption rates start to look more compelling:
25%: 47,000
50%: 39,000
75%: 34,000
100%: 29,000
125%: 26,000
At the Silver level and above, that’s pretty solid—about on par with the best options out there to get to Europe on points with modest fees (under $200 round-trip).
Personally, I still have a stash Amex points, so for Europe trips, I usually wait for Delta flash sales because I can often book tickets for 40k SkyMiles or less. That lets me save my Bilt points for Asia trips through Atmos or JAL. But if I wanted to turn some of my Bilt points into a trip to Europe, I think this is a pretty solid way to do it.
Lazy Take 🦥
If you’re looking to use your Bilt points to get to Europe in economy, this month’s Rent Day is a solid option. But it’s not a can’t-miss opportunity either given Bilt’s other options. Bilt’s portal redemption bonus and transfer partnership with Atmos already offer solid value, while future Rent Day bonuses could feature more compelling partnerships, especially for premium cabin travel. I wouldn’t jump at this without a specific redemption in mind, but if you’re craving pastel de nata, you might want to consider a points transfer to TAP.
This week on the blog 📝
Do you regularly travel with someone else? There could be many ways to earn and redeem more efficiently by working together. The points nerds call it “two-player mode.”
Quick Points of the Week ⚡
Major News 🚨
Citi discontinues the Custom Cash. I didn’t have one, but I mourn the loss of the Custom Cash, which offered 5% back on your highest spending category each month, making it a superstar optimization card. If you have another Citi card, though, product changes may be possible for now. (Doctor of Credit)
Extra points 🪙
Earn $80 for signing up to Capital One Shopping. There doesn’t seem to be a spending requirement that I can see. If you already have an account, you may be able to earn $80 by referring a friend. (AwardWallet)
Giveaways 🎟️
Capital One cardholders could win 1 million miles. There’s some Instagram tagging and following required. (The Points Guy)
Good news and bad news 📈📉
Bank of America changing Preferred Rewards tiers. I've never found Bank of America's card lineup especially compelling, but if you have one, it may be easier to earn bonus rewards—or your rewards could be about to take a hit. (Points Path)
Devaluations 📉
American Airlines blocking last-minute partner redemptions. A lot of people like to use partner programs like Avios or Atmos to book AA flights, but AA seems to be cutting off redemptions in the last few days before flights (temporarily?). (One Mile at a Time)
Facepalm 🤦♂️
Bilt. They apparently don’t know their own terms for Blade redemptions with Bilt cash. Whoopsie. (Frequent Miler) Meanwhile, their Bilt 2.0 rollout has attracted some negative attention from Capitol Hill. (Thrifty Traveler)
Recommended 👍
A guide to Rove. If you’ve been wanting to know more about this new shopping portal and hotel booking option, Daily Drop has you covered.
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.
Wells Fargo has boosted the welcome offer on the no-fee Choice Privileges Mastercard from the usual 40,000 points to 60,000 Choice points after spending just $1,000 in the first three months. I think Choice points are underrated: they have some great uses, especially in Japan. This card also comes with pretty impressive benefits from Gold status with Choice. Useful card, no annual fee, and an elevated offer that could be worth as many as seven free nights. 🔥
Southwest, meanwhile, is currently offering 80-90k points on its co-branded Chase credit cards. These offers are significantly higher than the standard offers (typically 40-60k), but less than the peak offers on these cards, which are closer to 100k or a companion pass. I am not a huge fan of these cards and don’t get too excited about Southwest points, but if you luv SWA, this could be a decent time to apply. 🔥
Other great sign-up bonuses this week
50,000 points+ $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold status on the Bilt Palladium (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)
100k points + 25k companion discount on the Atmos Summit (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)
150k points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve* (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)
185k points on the IHG Premier (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)
175k points on the Hilton Aspire (our take: 🔥🔥)
125k points on the IHG Traveler (our take: 🔥)
100k points on the JetBlue Premier (our take: 🔥)
100k points and $100 on the Hilton Honors (our take: 🔥🔥)
90k miles on the Citi AA Globe (our take: 🔥)
150k points on the Morgan Stanley and Schwab Platinums (our take)
100k miles on the Citi AA Executive (our take)
Enjoy the weekend! 🦥
See you in Portugal? 🇵🇹
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