United Cards + Bilt Rent Payments: A New Way to Earn Miles
This is the December 7, 2025 edition of the LazyPoints Weekly newsletter. It goes out by email every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. Pacific–unless I oversleep–and is archived here on the blog. Want it straight to your inbox each week? Sign up here.
Did you know you can pay your rent with Bilt without a Bilt card? It has been possible to use almost any credit card to pay rent via Bilt for a while, but the 3% processing fee generally makes it hard to come out ahead, even with bonus Bilt points on top of the credit card spending rewards. One exception has been the Atmos Ascent and Summit cards, which earn 3 Atmos points per dollar of rent, plus status points. Using these cards on rent can help to reach the spending milestones needed for a companion fare (Ascent) or the 100k-point global companion award (Summit). The newest option? United’s co-branded cards, which now earn 2 United miles per dollar when paying rent via Bilt, plus a Bilt point.
With this addition, your options for using Bilt for your rent payments look like this:
| Payment Method | Processing Fee | Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Bilt Card | 0% | 1 Bilt point per $1 |
| Atmos Card | 3% | 3 Atmos points per $1 |
| United Card | 3% | 2 United miles plus 1 Bilt point per $1 |
| Any other Visa, MasterCard, or Discover card | 3% | 1 Bilt point per $1, plus card rewards |
| Any American Express card | 3% | 1 Bilt point per $2, plus card rewards |
If you pay rent with a United card via Bilt, for every $1,000 spent on rent each month you would earn 24,000 United miles and 12,000 Bilt points by the end of the year, while paying $360 in fees.
Why this is important
United is working very hard to push customers to become credit card holders. They are limiting the best availability and prices to frequent flyers who also have a co-branded Chase card. While this is a frustrating approach (albeit one already taken by competitors like Delta), the United credit card lineup was already solid, and this option makes it a lot more appealing.
The Explorer card offers $5 in monthly rideshare credits plus two $50 credits toward hotel bookings with United each year; that can just about make up for the $150 annual fee (waived the first year) without even accounting for the card’s other benefits like two United Club passes per year. The Quest card offers $200 in United TravelBank cash, a 10,000-point rebate on an award flight each year after the first anniversary, and $100 in rideshare credits, again covering most or all of the $350 fee before accounting for the card’s other benefits.
But these cards (plus the fancier Club card) also have spending-based benefits. These vary by card, but can include points toward elite status, travel credit with United, award flight discounts, and even international flight seat upgrades. Paying rent via Bilt can contribute to reaching those spending thresholds.
Once you factor these in, depending on the card used and the monthly rent payment, it may be possible to come out well ahead by paying rent with a United card via Bilt.
What about the opportunity cost?
Unfortunately, I haven’t found United miles to be the most valuable currency out there. From my home, economy flights on United run about 70-80k miles round-trip to Europe and 110k to Asia, while Atmos/Bilt points can book a trip to Asia for 75k miles round-trip, and Bilt points can reliably get me to Europe for about 45k or less. So for me, it would be hard to justify passing on a fee-free Bilt point or three Atmos points to pick the United miles. But the picture might be different depending on your home airport.
Lazy take 🦥
Using a United card to pay rent via Bilt won’t be the best option for everyone, but it’s a great option to be aware of, and makes those cards much more appealing. Even if United isn’t for you, it may be worth considering whether paying rent via Bilt might be able to help you hit spending targets for a welcome offer or card-based benefits, and if the benefits justify the cost.
This week on the blog 📝
I redeemed a Hilton Aspire free night certificate at a $2,000-per-night hotel in Napa Valley (for science and content). I’m still not sold on luxury hotels, but it was cool to try one out on the cheap with a credit card.
Quick Points of the Week ⚡
Major news 🚨
Book flights directly… and get Bilt bonus points. You don’t need a Bilt card. Certain (clearly marked) flights booked via Bilt can now earn 1 Bilt point per dollar spent, plus the points from your payment card (e.g. 5x points with an Amex Platinum), plus the flight will register as a direct booking, meaning you can contact the airline directly to make changes, unlike most portal bookings. (View From the Wing)
Delta now has 11 different fare types. Good luck keeping track, lazy travelers. (TPG)
More value 📈
Mesa adds Omni Hotels as a transfer partner. This is a niche program, but there is some value to be had if you’re looking for a luxury stay in the US. Transferring points could even get you elite status with Omni. (View From the Wing)
Extra points 🪙
Up to 3,000 Marriott points for linking to Uber. 1,500 for linking accounts for the first time, 1,500 after taking a qualifying Uber ride. (OMAAT)
Devaluations 📉
Devaluations galore. Turkish Airlines raised rates on United Airlines Redemptions (one of their last sweet spots) and British Airways announced increased points and cash costs systemwide while Amex lowered its transfer ratio to Cathay Pacific and Capital One did the same with Emirates. These were all programs that were already too complicated for me, but devaluations always sting nonetheless.
Nerdy Points 🤓
Buy Accor points and status for travel across Asia. Planning travel in the Asia-Pacific region? Check out this Daily Drop breakdown of Accor Plus, a paid program offering points, elite status, and free nights that could more than make up for the cost.
Sign-up bonuses of the Week 🎯
No new bonuses caught my eye this week, but if you’re looking to close out 2025 with a Premium card, check out our recent breakdown of the top transferable-points premium card offers.
A quick note on the Hilton Aspire: the card offers $200 toward a Hilton Resorts stay every six months. That is based on the calendar year, so if you get the card now, you won’t have much time to use that credit unless you already have a qualifying stay planned. It’s also based on the timing of the charge, so if you stay in December and check out (and get charged) on January 1, you won’t get the 2025 credit. But there are some hacks to trigger the credit–read our review for more details.
Other great current bonuses
100k points on the Capital One Venture X (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)
100k points on the Citi Strata Elite (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)
125k points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)
175k points on the Hilton Aspire (our take: 🔥🔥)
75k points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred (our take: 🔥)
$250 gift card on the Amazon Prime Visa (our take: 🔥)
$300 (kind of) on Capital One no-fee cards (our take) ends Dec. 9
Up to 100/175k on the Amex Gold/Platinum (our take)
Enjoy the weekend! 🦥
I hope your holiday travels live up to your aspirations! (Thats a Hilton joke. I’m sorry.)