Personal Finance News
Bilt Introduces Point-Earning Opportunity on House Purchases
The platform that enables renters to earn rewards is now rolling out a program where those buying a home can score points.
About the program:
Bilt Rewards has announced a new offering where members can earn Bilt Points while purchasing a home. This feature comes via a partnership with eXp Realty. In turn, members will need to work with an eXp agent to be eligible for the offer.
When members purchase an eligible home under this program, they’ll earn 1 Bilt Point for every $2 of their home’s purchase price. For example, a member purchasing a $400,000 home could earn 200,000 points. These points would then be worth $2,500 toward travel purchases made using the Bilt Travel portals (which values points at 1.25¢ each). Alternatively, Bilt Points can be transferred to a variety of travel transfer partners, redeemed for statement credits, and more.
Prior to this, Bilt already offered a homebuying portal where users could calculate their homebuying budget and view available properties. Additionally, the platform allows homebuyers to redeem their Bilt Points at a rate of 1.5¢ each toward a down payment or closing costs. Looking ahead, when Bilt recently raised a $200 million equity round, the company stated that it plans to venture into mortgage payment rewards.
What they’re saying:
Announcing this partnership and program, Bilt Rewards founder and CEO Ankur Jain said, “Americans receive rewards for everyday purchases, but have never been properly rewarded for the largest purchase they will make in their lifetime. Bilt pioneered Bilt Points on rent payments to give members something back on their biggest monthly expense. Now, we’re going to reward them when they buy a home—their largest lifetime purchase.” Jain added, “This is part of our broader mission to make the path to homeownership more accessible and rewarding for our members.”
Meanwhile, eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja said, “At eXp Realty, we’re committed to empowering homebuyers with innovative solutions that make the journey to homeownership more accessible and rewarding. Our strategic relationship with Bilt enhances this commitment by providing homebuyers the ability to earn significant rewards while making the most important purchase of their lives.”
My thoughts:
When I bought a house one year ago, I happened to redeem my Bilt Points toward my down payment. Had this program been in place at the time, you can bet I would have tried giving it a shot as well. Of course, even though I can’t personally take advantage, I still think this is a potentially awesome opportunity for those looking to buy homes. What’s more, it gives me hope that Bilt’s mortgage payment expansion will come sooner rather than later.
It’s also worth noting that Bilt’s expansion comes as the startup Mesa is launching a seemingly similar product. In their case, homebuyers can use a mortgage marketplace to find a loan and earn points when they take out a new mortgage or refinance one. That’s slightly different than working with a realtor, but there’s some overlap, nonetheless. Plus, Mesa is also debuting a premium rewards card for homeowners, which feels like a version of Bilt but for owners versus renters.
The bottom line is that Bilt continues to be a fascinating company that clearly has larger aspirations. Thus, as a cardholder, a homeowner, and a FinTech observer, I’ll be keeping a close eye on where they go next.
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