How to Turn Your Rent and Mortgage Into Travel Rewards (The Complete Guide)
Your rent or mortgage is probably your biggest monthly expense, and it can earn you points toward business class. This is the complete guide to earning on rent and mortgage with Bilt, including the airline cards that earn up to 2x-3x miles, and exactly how to set it up.
How to Turn Your Rent and Mortgage Into Travel Rewards (The Complete Guide)
by Julia Portela
August 5, 2026 Reading Time: 8 min read
Advertiser Disclosure: Journey on Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products and may receive a commission at no cost to you.
Most people pay rent or a mortgage every single month and earn nothing back. That is thousands of points a year left on the table. Bilt fixes that by letting you earn points on your housing payments, and there are a few different ways to do it. Here is exactly how, step by step.
New to Bilt? Bilt is a free loyalty program, and the points you earn can go toward travel. Earning is simple: create a free account, link a qualifying card to your Bilt account, and use it with Bilt's partners.
Better yet, you don't need to rent, own a home, or carry a Bilt card to be a member. Anyone can open a free rewards account, link their cards, and earn points every time they spend with a Bilt partner, including restaurants, Lyft rides, pharmacies, fitness classes, and more.
In this post:
- Why earning on rent matters
- Option 1: The Bilt Card (rent and mortgage, no fee)
- The two ways to earn on housing
- Which reward option I recommend
- The three Bilt Cards
- How to actually pay
- Option 2: Airline co-branded cards (rent only, 3x miles)
- The airline options compared
- The 3% fee and the quick math
- New: Qatar Airways 3x Avios on rent
- A bonus perk: airline elite status
- Maximize your rewards with Bilt
- Bottom line
Why Earning on Rent Matters
Rent is the one bill you cannot avoid, and for most of us it is the biggest number on our monthly statement. If you are paying it and getting zero rewards, you are missing the easiest points in the game. Turn that same payment into points, and your rent quietly becomes flights, hotels, and business class seats.
There are two main paths I recommed: the Bilt Card, or an airline co-branded card linked through Bilt. Let me break down both.
Option 1: The Bilt Card (Rent and Mortgage, No Fee)
The simplest path is the Bilt Card itself. The big advantages: you earn on both rent and mortgage, and there is no transaction fee on housing payments. Your payment is pulled straight from your linked bank account, so it does not even use your credit line.
The Two Ways to Earn on Housing
When you set up your Bilt Card, you choose one of two reward options:
Housing-only rewards. You earn points on your rent and mortgage automatically, up to 1.25X. How much you earn depends on how much everyday spending you put on the card that same month:
- Spend 25% of your housing payment on everyday purchases, earn 0.5X on housing
- Spend 50%, earn 0.75X
- Spend 75%, earn 1X
- Spend the same or more than your housing payment, earn 1.25X
If you do not hit the first threshold, you still earn 250 points. No fee, nothing to redeem.
Flexible Bilt Cash. You earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on your everyday spending. Then you redeem that Bilt Cash to unlock up to 1X points on your rent and mortgage, at a rate of $30 in Bilt Cash per 1,000 points.
Quick math: that $30 per 1,000 points works out to about 3% of your rent. So on a $2,000 payment, you redeem $60 in Bilt Cash to earn the full 2,000 points. To know how much Bilt Cash to keep on hand, just do:
Your rent or mortgage x 0.03 = the Bilt Cash you need to cover it.
This is not a fee. It is simply the Bilt Cash you spend to turn your housing payment into points.
Which Reward Option I Recommend
My pick is Flexible Bilt Cash, and here is why: that Bilt Cash does more than unlock points. You can use it to unlock Rent Day perks inside the Bilt app. For example, I used my Bilt Cash to unlock higher status for the day, which gave me a higher percentage on a transfer bonus. That kind of flexibility is worth more to me than the automatic points, so Flexible Bilt Cash is the option I would choose.
The Three Bilt Cards
All three earn on housing (no fee) and let you pick either reward option above. They differ on everyday earning and perks:
- Bilt Blue ($0 annual fee): Welcome bonus: $100 Bilt cash. Earn 1X on everyday purchases. Direct link.
- Bilt Obsidian ($95 annual fee): Welcome bonus: $200 Bilt cash. Choose dining or grocery as your 3X category (grocery up to $25k/year), 2X on travel, plus a $100 hotel credit. Direct link.
- Bilt Palladium ($495 annual fee): Welcome bonus: 50k Bilt points + Bilt Gold status + $300 Bilt cash. Earn 2X on everyday purchases, $200 Bilt Cash annually, $400 hotel credit, and Priority Pass lounge access. Direct link.
How to Actually Pay
You can pay rent and mortgage through Bilt no matter how your landlord or servicer takes payment:
- Rent in a Bilt Alliance property: pay directly in the "My Home" tab of your Bilt account.
- Mortgage serviced by UWM: pay directly in the "My Home" tab too.
- Everyone else: use BillPay. This lets you pay through a third-party portal, or by Venmo, PayPal, or check. Even if your landlord only takes checks, Bilt issues the check for you.
So yes, you can still earn on rent even if you pay by check, PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle. Bilt handles it.
Bilt has a full step-by-step here: How to pay rent with Bilt.
Option 2: Airline Co-Branded Cards (Rent Only, Up to 3x Miles)
If you would rather earn airline miles directly instead of Bilt Points, Bilt lets you link certain airline credit cards to earn boosted miles on rent. Two important notes before you do this:
- These cards earn on rent only, not mortgage.
- Because they are third-party cards, a 3% fee applies to the payment.
The Airline Options Compared
Each of these cards earns boosted miles on the first $50,000 of rent you pay through Bilt each year:
- Air France KLM (Flying Blue) Visa Signature: 3 miles per $1, so up to 150,000 miles a year.
- Alaska Atmos Rewards (Ascent or Summit): 3 miles per $1, so up to 150,000 a year.
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Visa Signature or Infinite): 3 Avios per $1, so up to 150,000 a year.
- United MileagePlus (Gateway, Explorer, Quest, Club, or Presidential Plus): 2 miles per $1, so up to 100,000 a year.
One thing to be clear on: the $50,000 is a limit on how much rent earns the boosted rate each year, not a cap on your miles. Once you pass it, you keep earning at a lower rate (Flying Blue, for example, drops to 1.5 miles per $1).
Direct link to connect each airline card through Bilt.
The 3% Fee and the Quick Math
Since these are the cards that carry the 3% fee, use the same simple formula to see the cost:
Your rent x 0.03 = the fee you will pay.
On $2,000 of rent, that is $60 to earn 6,000 miles (at 3x). Whether that is worth it depends on how you redeem those miles. For a Qsuite or a business class seat, buying miles at roughly a cent each can be a good deal. For everyday economy, maybe not. Always run your own numbers.
New: Qatar Airways 3x Avios on Rent
As of August 5, 2026, Qatar Airways Privilege Club joined this lineup. If you hold the Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa Signature or Visa Infinite card (powered by Cardless), you now earn 3 Avios per $1 on rent through Bilt, up to $50,000 a year.
What makes Qatar especially interesting: it earns Avios, and Avios move for free between British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair, and Qatar. So you are not locked into one airline, you unlock the whole Avios family, and you can put those Avios toward Qsuite business class, oneworld partners, and more.
A Bonus Perk: Airline Elite Status
Paying rent with an airline co-branded card can also help you earn airline elite status. Most airlines let you earn toward status by spending on their co-branded card. You probably will not spend your entire way to status on rent alone, but it is a meaningful boost on an expense you are already paying.
Maximize Your Rewards With Bilt
Sign Up for Free — If you're not yet a Bilt Rewards member, now is the perfect time to join and start earning points on rent, mortgage and everyday spending. Direct link
Link Your Lyft Account — Double-dip on rewards by linking your Bilt account with Lyft. Direct link
Dine Out and Earn — Connect your credit cards to your Bilt Wallet and automatically earn points when you eat at participating restaurants. Direct link
Bottom Line
Your rent and mortgage can work for you instead of just disappearing every month.
- Want the simplest, fee-free option that also covers your mortgage? Get the Bilt Card, and I would choose the Flexible Bilt Cash option so you can unlock Rent Day perks, points accelerator, and more!
- Want to earn airline miles directly and do not mind the 3% fee? Link an airline card (Qatar, Flying Blue, Atmos) to earn up to 3x on rent (United only earns you 2x).
Either way, you are turning your biggest monthly expense into your next trip. Start with whichever fits how you travel, and your rent becomes a business class seat.
Advertiser Disclosure: Journey on Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products and may receive a commission at no cost to you.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
