Credit Card Reviews
Bilt vs. Mesa: How the Two Housing Credit Cards Compare
Whether they rent or own, housing payments are easily one of the largest monthly expenses that many Americans face. Yet, even as rewards credit cards have grown in popularity, this spending category has been completely excluded — at least until recently. A few years ago, the Bilt Mastercard was introduced, allowing renters to earn rewards points on their rent payments. Then, earlier this year, the Mesa Homeowners card debuted, offering a similar proposal for homeowners.
However, while these two cards may sound similar on the surface, there are actually some major differences that go well beyond the rent/own divide. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at both rewards credit cards, what they offer, and where they differ.
Comparing the Mesa Homeowners Visa and the Bilt Mastercard: Similar Ideas with Very Different Details
Rewards on housing payments
The main appeal of the Bilt Mastercard and Mesa Homeowners card is the ability to earn rewards on housing payments. Yet, I was surprised to learn that the way those two options go about rewarding these payments is remarkably different.
Starting with Bilt, the card uses a clever system that allows cardholders to pay rent using their card but avoid any fees. For those who pay their rent online, Bilt will provide them with routing and account numbers so that it presents as a checking account. Speaking of checking, those who need to pay their landlord with a check can have Bilt do so on their behalf. Note that rent payments are excluded from the monthly Rent Day double points bonuses and total rental earnings are capped at 100,000 points per year.
Although you might expect Mesa to come up with a similar system, in reality, it couldn’t be more different. First of all, with Mesa, customers aren’t actually paying their mortgages with their card. Instead, cardholders can link the bank account they use to pay their mortgage. Then, Mesa will see these payments and reward customers with 1x points. Currently, Mesa also caps point earnings from mortgage payments at 100,000 annually.
“The catch”
Since earning rewards on rent/mortgage payments is quite a lucrative feature, both Bilt and Mesa put an asterisk on this offer by requiring further action to claim those points.
For Bilt, cardholders need to make at least five purchases per billing cycle in order to earn any points. There’s not a minimum amount for these transactions — just as long as there are five of them. Luckily, the Bilt app can help you keep track of how many purchases you’ve made so that you don’t accidentally forfeit your points.
Meanwhile, to earn points for mortgage payments, Mesa cardholders need to spend at least $1,000 in purchases on the card within the billing cycle. In contrast to Bilt, this spending minimum only impacts points earned from mortgage payments, meaning all other purchases will earn points regardless.
Other rewards
Beyond the ability to earn points for housing payments, both credit card options include enhanced reward categories for various everyday purchases.
Bilt’s rewards categories include:
- 3x on dining
- 2x on select travel
- 1x on all other purchases
As for Mesa, the Homeowners card includes these rewards categories:
- 3x on home-related purchases (Home Decor, Home Improvement, General Contractors, Cable & Streaming Services, Home Insurance, Property Taxes, Maintenance, and Telecom & Utilities)
- 2x at gas stations and EV charging stations
- 2x on groceries
- 1x on all other purchases
In my opinion, the Mesa categories are far more attractive and unique than Bilt’s. That said, as you’ll see in the next section, there’s another aspect of these rewards that needs to be considered.
Redemption options
Neither the Bilt Mastercard nor the Mesa Homeowners card are cashback products. Instead, both earn points that can be redeemed in a few different ways — and at varying values.
Starting with the least lucrative option for Bilt, customers can redeem points for a statement credit at a value of 0.55¢ per point. Next up, points can also be used directly on Amazon for a value of 0.7¢ each (although Bilt has offered some temporary bonuses for this option in the past). Meanwhile, one of the best options is using points on Bilt Travel where they’ll be assessed at a value of 1.25¢ each. Lastly, in terms of set values, Bilt does also allow customers to cash out points toward the purchase of a home. In this case, points are worth 1.5¢ each — which is pretty nice.
Bilt also prides itself on having a large list of airline and hotel transfer partners. This enables those with some points and miles savvy to really get the most value for their rewards.
Turning to Mesa, unfortunately, their statement credit option is an even worse value than Bilt’s, coming in at just 0.5¢ per point. The platform also currently offers a number of gift card redemptions, which seem to value points around 0.7¢ each. Lastly, Mesa’s travel portal appears to put a value of around 1¢ each on points, although it’s difficult to tell for sure. Also, when redeeming points on the travel platform, customers will need to cover at least half of the cost in points but can pay for the rest in cash.
I should note that Mesa does tease transfers as an option for the future — although there are not any details on that expansion as of this writing.
Credits
Something that really separates the Mesa card from Bilt is the credits it offers. Some of these offers renew on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis while others are one-time deals. Here’s the full rundown:
- Home improvement stores: Up to $25 per quarter on eligible purchases ($100 per year)
- Big box members: Up to $65 per year for memberships to Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s.
- The Farmer’s Dog: Up to $10 per month on eligible purchases ($120 a year)
- Wag: Up to $10 per month on eligible purchases ($120 a year)
- Thumbtack: Up to $25 per job booked (up to $200 per year)
- Armadillo: Up to $100 back on a home warranty deductible (one time)
- Cozy Earth: $100 gift card after activating their card (one time)
Of these, my favorite is the Home Improvement Stores credit (it’s also the first I used as it was triggered by a purchase at Lowe’s) followed by the Big Box Membership benefit. The others aren’t quite as easy to use but could still be beneficial for some. All things considered, it’s quite rare for a no-annual-fee card to have these types of credits, so I’d count these as a win regardless.
Currently, the Bilt Mastercard doesn’t have any such credits — at least not on a regular basis. However, that could be changing as the product evolves. Speaking of which…
What’s ahead
Although this is how these two cards compare today, there are likely some big changes on the horizon — especially for Bilt.
Recently, Bilt emailed a survey to cardholders, asking them for their thoughts on some different card options. This included cards in three tiers: no annual fee, a $95 annual fee, and a $550 annual fee. As I teased above, the latter cards would apparently offer some credits to offset the fee.
Another big change in the works for Bilt is the ability to earn rewards on mortgage payments — which, of course, would put it in direct competition with Mesa. However, at this time, it’s not clear exactly how this would work.
Besides the reveal that transfer options are on the way, Mesa hasn’t announced any other major changes that may be up ahead. Nevertheless, with the product being so young, I fully expect that we will see tweaks as time goes on. In other words, watch this space for an update look at these two cards as they continue to evolve.
Final Thoughts on Bilt vs. Mesa (In Their Current Form)
As you can see, although they serve similar functions in general, there’s quite a divergence when it comes to the Bilt Mastercard and Mesa Homeowners cards. What’s more, even as Bilt looks to expand into mortgage payments, I’d reckon that the two cards will continue to appeal to different markets.
In my view, the Bilt card is best for those in high-rent cities who want to turn their rental rewards into travel experiences and the like. Meanwhile, true to its name, the Mesa Homeowners card is definitely tailored to those who own homes as it emphasizes more unique and practical rewards categories (in addition to those credits). This is something I don’t think will change much even when Bilt does move into mortgage payments, with Bilt likely to remain the “hip” option versus the more grounded Mesa card.
Unfortunately, both cards do share some flaws — namely in terms of redemption. In fact, with either card, the only reasonable redemption option (from a value standpoint) is travel. While I think this reality fits Bilt, I’d like to see Mesa reconsider and find a more demo-appropriate option to emphasize.
Having said all that, I do think that both the Bilt Mastercard and Mesa Homeowners card are interesting products that are also net positive (which is why I still keep each in my wallet). So, I look forward to seeing how these two mold-breaking products grow and change the way Americans earn credit card rewards.
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