Bilt Point Accelerator: How It Works and Is It Worth Using

Tl;dr: The Point Accelerator is a relatively easy way to use Bilt Cash to earn more points—but it’s not the most efficient use of Bilt Cash, and has some significant drawbacks. 

One of the most interesting features of Bilt 2.0 is the “Point Accelerator,” a feature that lets you redeem Bilt Cash to earn 1 extra Bilt point per dollar on all your card spending. I love this feature, because it’s relatively easy to use, and it makes my mental accounting easier: when the accelerator is active, my Palladium earns 3x on all purchases, so I know I can use it for almost anything and be happy with my return on spend.

But in true Bilt 2.0 fashion, there are enough caveats and limitations that I can't simply say "it's great." So in this post we’ll go over the benefits of using this option, how to set it up, what drawbacks and limitations to be aware of, and how to use it most efficiently. 

How does it work?

The Point Accelerator allows you to spend $200 Bilt Cash in exchange for earning an extra 1 Bilt point per dollar on your next $5,000 in purchases. 

When activated, Palladium cardholders can earn 3x on all purchases, while Obsidian cardholders can earn 4x on either dining or groceries, 3x on travel, and 2x on all other purchases. The Point Accelerator isn’t available to Bilt Blue cardholders. 

If you elect Bilt Cash as your rewards system, each dollar spent will also earn 4% Bilt Cash, meaning a full $5,000 cycle generates enough Bilt Cash to fund another activation.

How do I activate it?

Whether on the web or in the app:

Wallet → Credits/Bilt Cash → Bonus Points → Point Accelerator

Is it a good use of $200 in Bilt Cash?

It can be. 

If you fully maximize it, you are essentially exchanging $200 in Bilt Cash for 5,000 extra Bilt points. Valued conservatively at 1.25¢ each (their value when booking travel via Bilt), that’s at least $62.50 in value for that $200 Bilt Cash. That might seem underwhelming, but you can get more value from those points via Bilt’s transfer partnerships and Rent Day transfer bonuses.

I’ve written about the various ways to redeem Bilt Cash, and, in my opinion, there are other alternatives that can deliver more bang for your Bilt Cash buck. For example, you can get dollar-for-dollar value when using Bilt Cash to book hotels (although this is capped). Plus, using Bilt Cash for housing rewards or choosing housing-only rewards is a more set-and-forget option because those alternatives do not require regular monitoring or activation. 

But, personally, I find that turning my Palladium into a 3x card for daily use is a perfectly satisfactory redemption. This is easier on the Palladium, which offers $200 in annual Bilt Cash. That means I can activate the Point Accelerator on January 1st and use the Bilt Cash from spending to keep it re-activated throughout the year. 

What are the drawbacks?

While the earning rates on purchases are excellent with the Point Accelerator active, there are some limitations.

First, each activation is limited to $5,000. That means you might encounter a gap if you need to make a large purchase. For example, if you have used $4,000 of the accelerator and made a $3,000 purchase with a Palladium, you wouldn’t be able to get 3x on that whole purchase. 

Second, there are no expiration notifications or auto-renewals. You have to monitor your usage and reactivate the Point Accelerator once you’ve spent all $5,000. Bilt won't let you know that you've maxed out the benefit or activate a new one for you automatically

Third, the benefit ends at the end of the year, even if you haven’t spent all $5,000—and you don’t get any prorated Bilt Cash back. This can make it a very inefficient option if you’re unable to fully maximize it. And if you choose not to activate it so that you don’t “waste” Bilt Cash, you’ll be left with the lower, base earning rates.

Fourth, you can’t share it with an authorized user. If you have an authorized user on your account, you can only apply the Point Accelerator to one card. 

Finally, usage is capped: you can reactivate it up to four times, for a bonus point on up to $25,000 in spending. But you won’t be able to use this method beyond that point.

For full details, check out Bilt’s terms and conditions here.

Can I use the Point Accelerator if I’m getting rewards on housing?

Yes. If you’ve spent so much on your Bilt Card that you have maxed out your points on housing and have excess Bilt Cash (or chose housing-only rewards but have Bilt Cash from a welcome bonus, milestone rewards, or the Palladium’s annual benefit), you can activate the Point Accelerator. This can be especially useful if your spending is high relative to your housing payments.

Lazy Take 🦥

If you have housing payments, I generally think Bilt’s housing-based rewards are a better use of Bilt Cash than the Point Accelerator in the long run, both in terms of simplicity and value. But if you don’t make housing payments, don’t want to make them through Bilt, or have lots of Bilt Cash leftover after getting housing rewards, the Point Accelerator is a solid option. I check my Bilt app often enough that I will be able to quickly reactivate the Point Accelerator when it expires, but if you’re more hands-off, you might want to set an intermittent calendar reminder to prompt you to check it on occasion.