Bilt Rewards has officially launched its highly anticipated travel booking site, the Bilt Travel Portal, offering members a fresh avenue to redeem points for travel. This innovative platform empowers Bilt Rewards members to use their points for a wide array of travel bookings, encompassing flights, hotels, and exciting activities. Notably, even individuals without the Bilt Mastercard can now earn valuable points simply by booking travel through this portal.
A standout feature of the Bilt Travel Portal is its integration with Disney, allowing users to book Disney hotels and park tickets directly using their accumulated rewards points. This opens up exciting possibilities for family vacations and Disney enthusiasts.
Let’s delve deeper into the functionalities and benefits of the Bilt Travel Portal.
Exploring the Features of the Bilt Travel Portal
The Bilt Travel Portal is powered by Expedia, a well-established name in online travel, mirroring the technology previously utilized for the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. This partnership ensures a robust and user-friendly booking experience.
Through the Bilt portal, members gain access to an extensive inventory mirroring Expedia.com, encompassing virtually any flight, hotel room, rental car, or activity available on the Expedia platform. However, it’s worth noting that, similar to the Chase portal under Expedia, some budget airline options might not be available for booking.
The redemption rate within the Bilt Travel Portal is set at a solid 1.25 cents per point. This means that for every 10,000 Bilt points redeemed, users receive $125 in travel value. This redemption rate directly matches the rate offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card when points are redeemed for travel through the Chase portal, setting a competitive benchmark in the travel rewards space.
Accessing the Bilt Travel Portal is seamless, available through both the Bilt website and their mobile app. Users might need to update their mobile app to ensure the new portal feature is visible and accessible.
Maximize Your Earnings with the Bilt Travel Portal
The Bilt Travel Portal not only provides redemption opportunities but also enhances point earning potential. Bilt Rewards members who do not possess a Bilt Mastercard will earn 1 point for every dollar spent on travel booked via the portal. For Bilt Mastercard holders, this earning rate doubles to 2 points per dollar. This is in addition to the existing benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, which already awards 2 points per dollar on flights, hotels, rental cars, and cruises when booked directly with travel providers.
It’s important to highlight that the bonus earning on the Bilt Mastercard for travel does not extend to bookings made through online travel agencies other than the Bilt Travel Portal. This incentivizes using the Bilt portal for maximizing point accumulation on travel purchases.
Related: Should you use the Bilt Mastercard? Why it could be a game changer for renters
Bilt Travel Portal: A Competitive Comparison
When placed against competitors, the Bilt Travel Portal presents a compelling value proposition. While it matches the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal in redemption rate (1.25 cents per point, similar to Chase Sapphire Preferred), it differs in earning structure. The Chase portal offers a higher earning rate of 5 points per dollar when booking travel through their platform with the Sapphire Preferred.
However, a crucial distinction lies in annual fees. The Sapphire Preferred carries a $95 annual fee, whereas the Bilt Mastercard boasts no annual fee. The ability to redeem points at 1.25 cents per point through the Bilt Travel Portal, with a no-annual-fee card, is a significant advantage. It provides valuable flexibility, especially when award space through Bilt’s transfer partners is limited. This makes the Bilt Mastercard and Bilt Travel Portal combination particularly attractive, especially as the Bilt Mastercard stands out as a primary way to earn rewards on rent payments.
The Bilt Travel Portal also outshines most American Express cards in terms of redemption value within their portal. Amex Travel typically offers a redemption rate of only 1 cent per point, with exceptions for premium cards like The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Business Gold Card, which offer rebates on points redeemed for certain premium flights. Citi’s travel portal with the Citi Premier® Card also generally offers a 1 cent per point redemption rate.
A distinctive and highly appealing feature of the Bilt Travel Portal is the ability to book Disneyland and Disney World hotels and park tickets. This is a rare offering among competing travel portals and presents a significant benefit, especially for families and theme park enthusiasts looking to utilize their points for Disney vacations. Disney park tickets can be found under the “Things to do” tab within the portal, while Disney hotel bookings are integrated into the standard hotel search.
Leveraging Bilt Transfer Partners: Still the Optimal Strategy?
While the Bilt Travel Portal offers a convenient redemption option, maximizing the value of Bilt Rewards points often still lies in utilizing their transfer partners, such as American AAdvantage and World of Hyatt. Transferring points to these partners can unlock significantly higher value, particularly for aspirational travel experiences like luxury hotel stays and business-class airfare.
However, the Bilt Travel Portal serves as an invaluable tool when award availability through transfer partners is scarce or when a straightforward paid flight booking is preferred. Redeeming points at 1.25 cents per point for paid flights provides flexibility and still allows for earning airline miles and elite-qualifying credits, just as with any regular paid ticket.
It’s important to note that hotel bookings made through the Bilt Travel Portal may not qualify for hotel points or elite status benefits. Direct bookings with hotels are generally required to access these perks.
Final Thoughts on the Bilt Travel Portal
The launch of the Bilt Travel Portal is a significant enhancement to the Bilt Rewards ecosystem. The 1.25 cents per point redemption rate offered is notably competitive, especially for a no-annual-fee card program. This addition makes the Bilt Mastercard and Bilt Rewards program even more attractive to individuals seeking valuable travel rewards without the burden of annual fees.
While transferring points to partners often yields the highest potential value, the Bilt Travel Portal provides essential flexibility and a solid redemption option for situations where award travel isn’t feasible. It expands the utility of Bilt Rewards, catering to a broader range of travel needs and preferences.
This post has been updated from when it originally published. We removed a section about Chase’s Pay Yourself Back program that wasn’t directly tied to the travel portal comparison.
