Bilt CEO and Founder Ankur Jain at the Bilt launch party
Our lives are becoming increasingly interconnected, and that forces brands to expand their reach outside of the traditional spaces they hold to become a part of our greater day to day.
From lifestyle brands to financial instruments, more and more we’re seeing the brands that we’ve championed launch expanded offerings and products. It comes as no surprise that the financial industry is looking to capitalize on that very shift and introduce new products and services into their product offerings.
See also: You Can Now Invest In Real Estate In The Most Desirable Neighborhoods Around The World
All this leads us to Bilt; the latest lifestyle-meets-tech-meets-finance rewards card geared towards the modern day credit card user. Built in conjunction with Mastercard, Bilt is a loyalty program that rewards you for engaging in simple behaviors such as paying your rent or paying for the gym.
A$AP Rocky performing at the Bilt launch party in NYC
Bilt launched in NYC with a party at Summit at One Vanderbilt. The event brought out Mayor Adams, Dorinda Medley, Brendan Fallis and Hannanh Bronfman with performances by Wyclef Jean and A$AP Rocky.
CEO and Founder Ankur Jain demonstrated that he and Bilt are here to stay. We sat down with Jain to discuss Bilt and what he’s got coming up for members.
How did Bilt come about?
I’ve always been focused on building solutions to make life more affordable and accessible for this generation. Around 2018, I became fixated on the challenges of rent and finding a way to make renting work for you instead of against you.
A conversation with Starwood co-founder and CEO Barry Sternlicht sparked an idea. What if we could take the loyalty concept that’s worked for hotels and airlines for decades, and apply it to the $500 billion-a-year rental market?
Since then, Bilt has evolved into an even bigger picture solution: rewarding renters on their largest monthly expense, and even turning renting into a path towards homeownership. Bilt officially launched in June 2021, and today is the no. 1 loyalty program for renters.
Is there any significance to the name?
Over years of building the program, Bilt has had many different names, but we always wanted the brand to allude to the idea of building a future. Bilt was a perfect fit.
How do you differentiate Bilt from other rewards cards?
The Bilt Mastercard is the first and only credit card that allows you to pay rent and earn points with no fees. The Bilt Mastercard has no annual-fee, comes with World Elite Mastercard and additional premium benefits, and allows cardholders to earn three-times the points on dining, two-times the points on travel, and single points on rent and all other spends.
Bilt Rewards members can redeem points for travel around the world through our one-to-one hotel and transfer partnerships, free fitness classes at the country’s top boutique studios, curated collections of art and home decor, rent credits, or even towards a down payment on a home.
How did you determine the initial partners you wanted to launch with?
We want our members to get the most possible value out of our rewards program with partners they may not be able to find through other loyalty programs. We know our generation cares deeply about travel, and health and wellness, so we worked tirelessly to bring on partners like American Airlines, Hyatt and SoulCycle so that members could redeem for the experiences that matter most to them.
What’s in store for the future of Bilt?
We’re excited to continue broadening our roster of partners, and giving members even more options to enjoy the rewards of renting.
Visit biltrewards.com for more info.
Photography by: Courtesy of Bilt / BFA
