Credit Card News
It’s Official: Bilt Members Can Now Earn Bilt Points on Rakuten
Following a premature website update that led to a lot of digital ink being spilled, Bilt and Rakuten have formally announced a new partnership that will be rewarding for members.
How Bilt Members Can Earn Points on Rakuten:
The time has come: Bilt members can now earn Bilt Points by shopping via Rakuten. To do this, members can visit their Rakuten profile and navigate to “Choose How You Get Paid.” Alternatively, a Rakuten section has been added to the Bilt app, which not only allows members to easily link their Bilt and Rakuten accounts but also shows current offers from the shopping portal.
With Rakuten, shoppers can earn rewards when making purchases from hundreds of online retailers. To qualify for these rewards, customers must shop using the links on Rakuten.com or download and utilize the Rakuten browser extension to activate offers. Then, Rakuten will pay out cashback or points on a quarterly schedule (the 15th of February, May, August, and November).
Notably, earning Bilt points with Rakuten will work a bit differently than with the American Express Membership Rewards points option. Technically, those who opt for Bilt Points will continue to earn cashback, but will then see that cashback converted to Bilt Points during the quarterly payout process. In contrast, with the Amex MR points option, cardholders see earning rates expressed as “2x” instead of “2%” and view their rewards balanced expressed in point totals the entire time.
The reason for this altered operation is that not all Bilt Members will see their cashback earning converted at the same rate. Following a promotional period, those with Bilt Blue status (the entry-level status) will only be able to earn 50 Bilt Points for every $1 in Rakuten cashback earned. Meanwhile, those with Silver, Gold, or Platinum status will continue to redeem 100 Bilt Points per $1 in Rakuten cashback.
To mark the launch of this new partnership, the two brands are offering a special deal for members. For a limited time, those who sign up for Rakuten through the Bilt app can earn 2,500 bonus Bilt Points after making their first qualifying purchase of $25 or more. (Editor’s note: using Fioney’s referral link, you can currently earn a $50 bonus after making a purchase of $50 or more on the platform.) Additionally, as mentioned, Blue members can get 1,000 Bilt Points for every $10 earned in Rakuten Cash Back before the lowered exchange rate goes into effect.
My Thoughts:
Of course they announced this news right after I wrote about Bilt’s 2.0 rollout plans! Woe is me.
Now that we have the actual details about this partnership, it’s even clearer to me that I’ll be sticking with earning American Express Membership Rewards points instead. Why? Well, as a basic Blue member on Bilt, it seems that my exchange rate will be halved after this initial promotion, whereas my MR points convert at a rate of 1:1. Incidently, I already accidentally changed my selection to Bilt, but was able to easily rectify this.
Having said that, with Bilt now confirming that cardholders will be able to earn rewards on any mortgage payment, perhaps my Bilt usage will increase come 2026. If that does happen and I’m able to reach a higher status, then moving my Rakuten earnings to Bilt Points may make sense.
Regardless of my personal plans, though, I’m excited for this partnership and what it means for Bilt members. Now bring on 2.0!
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