The Bilt Obsidian Card (rates & fees) is one of the newest credit cards on the market, part of Bilt’s 2.0 card refresh. The 2.0 revamp includes 3 new credit cards and a brand-new program, with the Obsidian Card as the midtier card.
This particular card comes with several useful benefits for a reasonable $95 annual fee (rates & fees), including the opportunity to earn Bilt Points (offer terms) on rent and mortgage payments and Bilt Cash (up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year) on everyday purchases.
While Bilt’s 2.0 program is complex and has a learning curve, the Obsidian Card has some valuable perks, including versatility within its high bonus categories, statement credits, and flexibility to earn and redeem the way that’s right for you.
Read on to find out the top benefits of the Obsidian Card.
1. Generous Welcome Offer
Here is the current welcome offer for the Obsidian Card:
- $200 of Bilt Cash when you apply and get approved. At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire. (offer terms).
This is a generous welcome offer that can unlock earning the full 1x Bilt Points on up to nearly $7,000 in rent or mortgage payments. You can also spend it in other ways, such as for hotels, dining, Lyft rides, and more.
2. Earn Points on Rent and Mortgage Payments
The Obsidian Card is one of the few cards on the market that allows you to earn points on rent and, most recently, mortgage payments without paying a transaction fee (rates & fees). However, there are some caveats to getting the most out of this benefit, so review the terms carefully before relying on this benefit.
3. Choose Between Housing-Only Rewards or Flexible Bilt Cash
The Obsidian Card allows cardholders to pick between 2 different reward options: Bilt Cash or housing-only rewards. Although the system may seem complicated at first, we love that cardholders have the flexibility to choose.
Bilt Cash Option
If you choose Bilt Cash, you can use it for credits or to unlock the ability to get the full 1x Bilt Points on rent and mortgage payments, with no transaction fee (rates & fees). For every $30 of Bilt Cash, you can unlock 1,000 points. If your rent or mortgage is $3,000 per month, you’d need $90 in Bilt Cash to earn all $3,000 points. You’ll also earn a percentage back (4%) in Bilt Cash for every nonhousing purchase.
Housing-Only Rewards
Depending on how much you spend each billing cycle, you’ll earn more points (up to 1.25x) on your housing payment made in that same cycle. If you choose this option, do the math to make it worthwhile (and track your spending in the Bilt app):
- If you spend 25% of your housing payment on everyday shopping, you’ll get 0.5x points on your housing payment
- If you spend 50% of your housing payment on everyday shopping, you’ll get 0.75x points on your housing payment
- If you spend 75% of your housing payment on everyday shopping, you’ll get 1x points on your housing payment
- If you spend the same amount (or more) of your housing payment on everyday shopping, you’ll get 1.25x points on your housing payment.
The key to maximizing this benefit is calculating and tracking your spend and/or your Bilt Cash so you obtain the most Bilt Points possible on your housing payment.
4. Flexible Bonus Categories for Earning Bilt Points
Bilt’s more complex rewards structure offers choices, including where you want to earn bonus points. The earnings structure is below:
- 3x points on your choice of grocery (up to $25,000 per year) or dining, and the option to earn 4% Bilt Cash; your 3x category choice remains in effect for the entire calendar year
- 2x points and the option to earn 4% Bilt Cash on travel purchases
- 1x points and the option to earn 4% Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
- Up to 1x points on rent and mortgage
Cardholders can decide whether to earn bonus Bilt Points on dining or grocery purchases.
5. Earn More on Rent Day
If you hold the Obsidian Card, the first day of every month — Rent Day — is still a special day, where you can obtain double points on Rent Day (up to 1,000 points) through January 1, 2027.
This means your earning rates on the first of each month would be:
- 6x points on dining or groceries
- 4x points on travel
- 2x points on everyday purchases
You can’t earn additional Bilt Cash on Rent Day, but it’s still a great time to get extra points, so save those larger purchases for the first day of every month, at least for the next year.
6. Valuable Options for Redeeming Bilt Points
Bilt Points are among the most valuable points available, thanks to their flexibility. We value Bilt Points at 2 cents per point, so aim for that value or more when redeeming your points.
Cardholders of the Obsidian Card can transfer their Bilt Points to numerous transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio, including over 25 airline and hotel programs.
|
Bilt Transfer Partner |
Minimum Point Transfer |
Transfer Ratio |
Transfer Time |
|
Airline Programs |
|||
|
Aer Lingus AerClub |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Air Canada Aeroplan |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Air France-KLM Flying Blue |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Atmos Rewards (Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines) |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Avianca Lifemiles |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
British Airways Executive Club |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Cathay Pacific |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Emirates Skywards |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Etihad Guest |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Iberia Club |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Plan |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Qatar Airways Privilege Club |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Southwest Rapid Rewards |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Up to 72 hours |
|
TAP Miles&Go |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
United MileagePlus |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Virgin Red |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Hotel Programs |
|||
|
ALL – Accor Live Limitless |
2,000 |
3:2 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Hilton Honors |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
IHG One Rewards |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Marriott Bonvoy |
2,000; 5,000 bonus points when transferring 20,000 points |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer |
2,000 |
1:2 |
Almost Instantly |
|
World of Hyatt |
2,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
|
Wyndham Rewards |
1,000 |
1:1 |
Almost Instantly |
You can also redeem your Bilt Points on:
- Amazon shopping
- Fitness classes
- Gift cards
- Home delivery
- Lyft rides
- Putting a down payment on a home
- Statement credit
- Student loan payments
- Travel via the Bilt Travel Portal
In most cases, transferring Bilt Points to partners is the best way to get the most value from them.
7. Flexible Ways To Redeem Bilt Cash
Another benefit of the Obsidian Card is the flexibility it offers for spending Bilt Cash.
The most obvious way many cardholders will spend Bilt Cash is to unlock the ability to earn points on housing payments. For every $30 of Bilt Cash, you can unlock 1,000 points.
You can also use Bilt Cash for:
- BLADE credit
- Bilt Design Collection
- Bilt Dining restaurants
- Bilt Neighborhood Comedy
- Bilt Neighborhood Parking
- Blacklane rides
- Fitness classes
- GoPuff
- Guru Hub
- Home delivery
- Hotel bookings
- Lyft rides
- Walgreens
Depending on what you decide to use your Bilt Cash for, it’s important that you read the terms and conditions. For example, you can redeem $10 of Bilt Cash per month at Walgreens, up to $120 per year.
If you have the Obsidian Card, you can also enable an additional 1x bonus points on everyday spending for the next $5,000 for $200 of Bilt Cash (up to 5 activations annually), taking your bonus category levels to 4x on dining or groceries, 3x on travel, and 2x on everyday spending.
8. $100 Bilt Travel Portal Hotel Credit
Get $100 worth of Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit, split into 2 $50 statement credits, with your Obsidian Card. Mark your calendar so you don’t forget to use these 2 annual credits.
9. Mastercard World Elite Travel and Purchase Protections
The Obsidian Card is a World Elite Mastercard, so it comes with the following travel and purchase protections:
- Trip cancellation and interruption protection of up to $2,000 per trip.
- Trip delay reimbursement of up to $300 per trip if your trip is delayed by more than 6 hours.
- Lost or damagedluggage coverage of up to $1,500 per incident for repairs or replacement of your luggage (with a maximum of 2 claims annually).
- MasterRental coverage offering secondary coverage for damage or theft.
- Cellular protection of up to $800 per claim.
- Purchase assurance with a maximum of $1,000 per loss and a total of $50,000 per cardholder account per year.
- Mastercard ID Theft Protection provides fraud alerts.
- Access to World Elite Mastercard Concierge for assistance with restaurant recommendations, travel, and much more.
10. No Foreign Transaction Fees
You can use your Obsidian Card abroad, anywhere in the world, without having to pay additional fees (rates & fees).
11. Low Annual Fee
The Obsidian Card has a $95 annual fee (rates & fees). But when you consider everything the card has to offer, the fee seems reasonable. You can easily outweigh the annual fee by utilizing the card’s many perks and benefits.
Final Thoughts
It might take a bit of time to understand exactly how the Obsidian Card can best benefit you, but once you do, you stand to gain a lot from it. It’s true that the card’s earning and redeeming structures are anything but simple, but they offer flexibility and choice, something many other credit cards don’t. This card features many benefits that can help offset its low annual fee, but if it’s not right for you, there are other cards in Bilt’s 2.0 card collection that might be a better fit.