Bilt is a relative newcomer to the world of travel rewards, but in short order, the company that set out to give travelers a way to earn transferable points for paying rent has become a household name.
Since setting up shop in mid-2021, Bilt has added more and more ways for members to earn and redeem points – making its currency a formidable rival to industry titans, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and American Express Membership Rewards.
Whether you're earning Bilt points on your monthly rent payment, swiping your *Bilt Mastercard* out shopping, or engaging with the program in another way, building up your balance of Bilt points is only half the battle. While you can use them to book travel through Bilt, redeeming them for maximum value with one of Bilt's growing list of airline and hotel partners is where the real fun is.
Here's everything you need to know about Bilt transfer partners and where you should (and shouldn't) transfer your points.
A Growing List of Bilt Transfer Partners
Before we get into the “how?”, let’s cover the “who” and “where?” As in, who does Bilt partner with? And where can you transfer your points?
With more than 16 different transfer partners, Bilt has assembled one of the strongest lists of airline and hotel partners out there. Bilt has more partners than Chase Ultimate Rewards and boasts a list that includes two domestic airlines – American and United – as well as our favorite hotel rewards program, World of Hyatt.
You could certainly make a strong case for Bilt points being the most valuable transferable currency of all.
Below are the current options for moving your Bilt points from your Bilt Rewards account to an airline or hotel brand – and breakouts on some of our favorite options.
Bilt Airline Transfer Partners
| Program | Transfer Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | 1:1 | May take up to 72 hours |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| British Airways Avios | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Iberia Avios | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Turkish Miles & Smiles | 1:1 | Transfers are instant but limited to a maximum of 50,000 points per day and 100,000 points per year |
| United MileagePlus | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
Let's go over some important details before we highlight the strongest Bilt airline partners. Unlike American Express and Capital One, where certain airline partners have a different transfer ratio, you won't find that with Bilt. All of Bilt's airline partners (and hotel partners, for that matter) convert points at a 1:1 ratio.
Each Bilt point you send to the airline will result in one mile (or point) in the corresponding currency. That means you can easily turn 10,o00 Bilt points into 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles, 10,000 British Airways Avios, 10,000 Virgin Atlantic points, and so on.
Similar to the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, Bilt has its own travel booking platform where you can redeem points at a rate of 1.25 cents each towards flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities … so why should you even bother with transfer partners?
Taking advantage of transfer partners is the easiest way to get outsized value from your Bilt points. Getting 1.25 cents per point redeemed through the portal is nice – but you can save a ton of Bilt points by transferring them to an airline partner and booking flights that way instead.
Here's a quick example of how this works in practice. Say you want to go to Europe and this roundtrip flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Amsterdam (AMS) is the one that works best for you. You could use your hard-earned Bilt points to book through the Bilt Travel Portal and it would cost you nearly 86,000 points. Not terrible when you look at the cash price – but there's a better option still.
Since Bilt partners with Virgin Atlantic, you could instead move 30,000 Bilt points to Virgin and book the exact same roundtrip flight for a fraction of the points. At this rate, you could book for yourself and two others for nearly the same amount of points as it would have cost to book just one flight through the portal!
That's just one example, but it showcases the power of turning to transfer partners with your Bilt points.
Just keep in mind: These transfers are a one-way street. Once you send your Bilt points to one of these partners, you can't get them back to your Bilt account. That means you'll want to scope out award availability to ensure the flights you're eyeing are actually bookable with miles before initiating any transfers.
Bilt Hotel Transfer Partners
With Bilt, you get the same set of hotel transfer partners as Chase … including Hyatt.
| Program | Transfer Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| World of Hyatt | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| IHG Hotels | 1:1 | Instant transfer |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 | Instant transfer and get 5,000 bonus Bonvoy points for every 20,000 Bilt points you transfer |
The Best Bilt Transfer Partners
Let's run through some of the best, most worthwhile Bilt transfer partners – and areas where they shine.
American Airlines
Earlier this year, American Airlines mostly ditched its award chart in favor of dynamic pricing, joining competitors like Delta and United with award rates that constantly change, largely based on the cash price of a ticket. Thankfully, this shift hasn't yet led to a drastic price increase and means that AA miles are still quite useful.
But the real value of AAdvantage miles comes when using them to book premium cabins with Oneworld partner airlines like Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways. American still has an award chart in place for these carriers and it's quite generous.
For instance, American Airlines charges just 60,000 AAdvantage miles to fly from the U.S. to Tokyo in Japan Airlines business class. That price is the same whether you're originating in an American hub like Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) or a small regional airport like Sioux Falls (FSD).
Read our full review of Japan Airlines business class here!
Finding the availability to actually book these seats with your AA miles can be a challenge. But Thrifty Traveler Premium members regularly receive alerts when these excellent flights are wide-open for the taking, including this recent one to fly JAL's latest and greatest business class seat all the way from New York (JFK) to Tokyo (HND).
What's more, aside from Marriott, Bilt is the only transferable currency that partners with American Airlines – and Bilt points transfer to American at a 1:1 ratio, compared to Marriott's 3:1. The value of AA miles combined with the exclusivity of this partnership furthers the case for why having a stash of Bilt points is a worthwhile investment.
Air Canada
Air Canada's Aeroplan program is great for finding awards to every corner of the globe, especially if flying business class is your thing.
- With a hybrid pricing formula that charges more points the farther you fly, business class flights from the U.S. to Europe on any fellow Star Alliance carrier start at 60,000 points – or you can fly the incomparable Lufthansa First Class for 90,000 to 100,000 points each way.
- You can get to Asia in business class starting at 75,000 points.
- Or stay closer to home and redeem points for domestic flights on United, with transcontinental jaunts up front at 25,000 points each way or roundtrip flights to Hawaii starting at 25,000 points.
One amazing feature of Aeroplan is that you can add a stopover to any award ticket for just 5,000 additional points. That's a better perk than you'll find with almost any airline program, and it makes Aeroplan one of our go-to Bilt transfer partners.
In addition to the bevy of two-dozen-plus Star Alliance airlines, the airline has also partnered up with some other airlines including Etihad, Emirates, Gulf Air, and Oman Air. That means you can book flights on all those airlines using Aeroplan points, too.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is one of our absolute favorite Bilt transfer partners and another great option for transferring your points.
For starters, you can book Delta flights through Virgin Atlantic for far fewer points than Delta itself is charging in SkyMiles.
When Delta is charging 280,000 SkyMiles or more to fly in Delta One, you might be able to snag the same seat by transferring just 50,000 Bilt points to Virgin Atlantic. Even after Virgin increased the award rates for most Delta routes earlier this month, Virgin points can still be a great way to save miles when flying Delta whether you're hoping to stay close to home, heading to Europe, or flying out to Hawaii or even Asia.
The power of transferring points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club goes beyond Delta, though. It's a stellar way to book flights to Europe with Air France or KLM for as low as 12,500 points each way. You can even book ANA business or first class to Tokyo via Virgin Atlantic.
Like most of the best options on this list, Bilt points transfer to Virgin on a 1:1 basis, which means 50,000 Bilt points will get you 50,000 Virgin Atlantic points.
Iberia Airlines
Keep Iberia in mind if you're looking to get to Europe in comfort. The Spanish flag carrier offers one of the cheapest ways to get to Europe in business class using miles.
For as low as just 34,000 Avios each way, you can book Iberia business class to and from Madrid (MAD). That's less than most airlines charge for a one-way ride in economy, making this one of the best deals in the world of points and miles and a stellar option to transfer your Bilt points.
If business class isn't a necessity for you, Iberia also offers flights to Spain in economy for half the cost: as low as just 17,000 miles each way, or 34,000 miles for a roundtrip to Madrid.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
Air France and KLM's Flying Blue program can be worth a hard look, especially if you're catching a big discount on one of the monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards tickets to Europe.
Flying Blue regularly slashes economy, premium economy, or business class award tickets on select routes between the U.S. and Europe by as much as 50%. No matter which cabin you're hoping to fly in with your Bilt points, those monthly deals can lead to gems like this uber-cheap one-way flight from Chicago O'Hare (ORD) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
But even without those discounts, Air France and KLM's mileage program can be worthwhile. With low rates and fairly solid availability to actually book these flights with your miles, this is one of our favorite ways to book business class to Europe. Whether you want to get to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), or connect almost anywhere else in Europe, you can regularly find business class seats bookable for just 50,000 miles each way.
Like our other top contenders, Bilt points typically transfer to Air France/KLM at a 1:1 ratio – but in the past, we've seen transfer bonuses to Flying Blue as high as 150% thanks to Bilt's monthly Rent Day promotion. If you happen to catch a big bonus like that, a case could even be made for speculatively transferring your points.
Read more: The Best Ways to Use Air France/KLM Flying Blue
British Airways
Fancy a trip to Hawaii or the Caribbean? Or maybe you want to fly the world's best business class all the way to the Middle East? British Airways Avios has got you covered.
British Airways is a stellar Bilt transfer partner. Consider this:
- Even after a recent price hike, British Airways is still one of our favorite ways to get to Hawaii using points. Nonstop flights on American Airlines from several West Coast cities to all four major Hawaiian islands and back will cost you just 32,000 Avios.
- Start from the East Coast instead and you can make it to many Caribbean islands for 16,500 to 22,000 Avios roundtrip, again flying on American Airlines.
- Book your own Qatar Airways Qsuite from many U.S. cities to Doha (DOH) for just 70,000 Avios!
Since Avios is the same currency used by British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Qatar – and soon, Finnair – you can even move your Avios between all these programs. This means you'll get the first crack at booking Qatar Qsuites, save hundreds in fees for a nonstop flight to Ireland, and potentially save a ton of points if there are any transfer bonuses to any airline that uses Avios.
Avianca LifeMiles
Avianca LifeMiles is Bilt's newest transfer partner – and it's a pretty good one, at that. This quirky Colombian airline's miles are insanely versatile and lucrative.
From cheap economy flights in the U.S. to jaunts down to South America and booking business class seats to Europe or Asia, Avianca LifeMiles is one of our go-to airline programs. While its website isn't the best and its customer service can be poor, you won't find a better combination of cheap award rates and low taxes and fees to book flights.
You can book domestic flights on United Airlines for fewer miles than United itself would charge. It’s also one of the best ways to book flights in business or first class to Asia.
Read more: 6 Sweet Spots Using Avianca LifeMiles
Hyatt
We'll keep this simple: Hyatt is the only Bilt hotel transfer partner that you need to be concerned with.
While most hotel chains have scrapped their award charts in favor of dynamic award pricing, Hyatt has maintained its cheat sheet for what a night will cost at a given property. And with the introduction of “peak” and “off-peak” pricing, free nights can now be had for as few as 3,500 World of Hyatt points per night.
Since Bilt points transfer 1:1 to World of Hyatt, you could book this hotel in Berlin for just 3,500 Bilt points per night. When you compare that to the pre-tax cash rate of $98 per night, you'd be getting nearly 3 cents per Bilt point in value!
Alternatively, you could book the same hotel through the Bilt Travel Portal for just over 7,500 points per night which is still significant savings. Bilt points are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel through the portal but this rate is non-refundable so it's not even a true apples-to-apples comparison. Transferring points to Hyatt would clearly be the better move.
Bilt Transfer Bonuses Sweeten the Deal
You like airline miles, right? How about some free miles?
Several times a year, Bilt teams up with a specific airline or hotel program to give travelers a bonus when transferring points during a specific timeframe. Whereas most other transferable currencies run these transfer bonuses for weeks at a time, Bilt's usually come as part of its monthly Rent Day promotion and are one-day-only deals.
With that limited timeframe comes some pretty exciting bonuses, though. In the past, we've seen Bilt offer up to a 150% bonus to several different airline and hotel partners. Typical transfer bonuses from banks like Amex and Chase top out at 40% but are typically between 20-30%, making these transfer bonuses from Bilt extra special.
It's easy to see why. Most recently, members with top-tier Bilt status could get 150% more miles when transferring Bilt points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue. That meant you could book a one-way business class flight from anywhere in the U.S. to Europe on either airline for just 20,000 Bilt points.
Time transferring your Bilt points right to coincide with one of these promotions, you can come out even further ahead.
How to Transfer Bilt Points
Unlike most transferable currencies, you won't be able to move Bilt points to a partner on your desktop. With Bilt, you'll need to have the mobile app to get it done – not shocking from a company whose customer base skews younger.
After logging into the Bilt app, you'll need to ensure that the partner you're planning to move points to is linked to your Bilt account. If you don't already have a loyalty account with the given partner, you can create one right from the Bilt app as well. Linking your Bilt account to your airline or hotel loyalty program also yields you an extra 100 Bilt points, so it's not a bad idea to just go ahead and do this for all of Bilt's partners right away.
After you find the partner that you're looking for under the travel tab you'll be asked how many points you want to transfer. Blue members have to transfer at least 2,000 points, while those with Silver status or higher only need to move 1,000 points.
Bilt status is determined by the number of qualifying points you've earned through rent payments, the Bilt Dining program, or by spending on your Bilt Mastercard. You can also earn status through a spending “fast track” by linking any debit or credit card to your Bilt wallet.
The last step in the process is to simply review and confirm the accuracy of your point transfer request. If everything looks as it should, you'll need to agree to the terms and conditions and hit “confirm transfer.”
Just beware: Once your transfer goes through, you can’t pull those points back into your Bilt account. That makes it critical to do your research and make sure sending your Bilt points to that partner is the best way to go, and that the award tickets you want to book are available using points and miles.
Most of these transfers will clear instantly, but every once in a while, they can take a little longer. One notable exception is American Airlines – transfers to AA can take up to 72 hours but in our experience usually arrive within one day. The good news here is that you can put AA awards on hold for up to five days so you don't need to worry about award space disappearing while you wait for your miles to show up.
Check out the charts above to get a sense of how long it should take for most transfers to go through.
How to Earn Bilt Points
Earn Points on Rent
When you pay your rent through Bilt, you'll get 1x point for every dollar spent on rent payments (up to $100,000 per year) – with no additional transaction fees.
If you live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance property, your payment will be sent electronically through the Bilt Rewards app or website – and you can even set up autopay so that you don't forget to make a payment. If your landlord has an online portal where you're required to make your rent payments, Bilt will generate a unique routing and account number for you to use that automatically charges your Bilt Card each month. You can also earn rewards by paying rent via Venmo or Paypal.
If your landlord only takes checks, you can still pay rent through the Bilt Rewards app and they'll mail your landlord a check—all for no additional cost.
Spend On the Bilt Mastercard
Piling up Bilt points with the *bilt rewards card* is easy. And unless you live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance property, you'll need to have the Bilt Card to earn points on rent, too. So long as you make at least five purchases each billing period with your card, you’ll earn points on rent and your non-rent purchases as well.
The Bilt Mastercard isn't just for renters – it's a really good option for your everyday spending as well. With bonus point earning on travel and dining purchases, plus the ability to earn double points on Rent Day it's easy to rack up points in a hurry.
Here's a closer look at everything the card has to offer:
- 1x points per dollar spent on rent in the Bilt Rewards app (up to $100,000 per calendar year)
- 1x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases
- 2x points per dollar spent on travel
- 3x points per dollar spent on dining
- Earn double points on Rent Day (the 1st of the month), up to 10,000 bonus points per month
- 6x points per dollar spent on dining
- 4x points per dollar spent on travel
- 2x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases
- 1x points per dollar spent on rent
- Make five transactions each billing period to earn points
- Trip cancellation, interruption, and delay protection
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- Cell phone insurance
- No foreign transaction fees
- No annual fee!
Learn more about the *Bilt Mastercard*.
Other Ways to Earn Bilt Points
Paying rent and using the Bilt Mastercard will be the quickest ways to rack up a bunch of Bilt points – but they're not the only options.
Each month, you can earn up to 250 points by playing Bilt's “Point Quest” trivia game during the monthly Rent Day festivities. This game is free to play, no matter if you've got a Bilt Rewards Card or not … and most importantly, it's fun! Just log in to the Bilt app on the first of the month and start answering questions for your chance to score some bonus points.
Linking your airline and hotel loyalty accounts to Bilt is another easy way to earn points. You'll get 100 Bilt points for every loyalty account you link up – and with 16 travel partners in total, you can easily earn 1,600 points by doing so.
Bilt Dining is another great way to casually earn Bilt points. When you eat out at participating restaurants, you'll earn anywhere from 2x to 16x Bilt points by paying for your meal with a card that's linked to your Bilt Wallet. Bonus point earning is highest on Rent Day but even when you're earning 2x on top of your credit card rewards, it can add up in a hurry.
Finally, you can earn bonus points when you take a ride with Lyft by linking your Bilt account with the rideshare service. If you're paying with the Bilt Mastercard, you'll earn 5x points on your Lyft rides – all other cards earn 2x Bilt points, in addition to your usual credit card rewards.
Bilt Transfer Partner FAQs
What Airlines Can I Transfer Bilt Points to?
You can transfer your Bilt points to a grand total of 13 airlines.
It's an extensive list, including a couple of U.S.-based carriers as well as many fantastic foreign airlines. From A to Z, the list includes Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, American Airlines, Avianca, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic.
Do Bilt Points Expire?
No … at least not if you're using your account.
Officially, points don't expire as long as your account remains open and active. Much like the points earned with other banks, you'll immediately lose all your points if your account is closed, or if you violate any of the rewards program's terms and conditions.
For purpose of point expiration an “inactive account” means there has been no activity (earning or redeeming points) for 18 months.
Read more: Will My Airline Miles Expire?
Is Transferring My Bilt Points to a Partner Airline Worth the Hassle?
There's no question it requires more legwork to transfer points. But that little bit of extra hassle can be easily worth it.
Transferring your Bilt points to the right partner airline can allow you to book a trip for a fraction of the points it would take to book directly through Bilt using your points. And if you're aiming to book a business or first class flight, transferring points is often the only way to make it happen.
How Long Do Bilt Points Take to Transfer?
It depends on where you're sending them, but most transfers are instant … or nearly instant.
Transfers to American AAdvantage are the only ones that don't clear within minutes. In our experience, most transfers to AA take around 24 hours, though Bilt says it can take up to 72 hours. Thankfully, American allows you to put an award on hold for up to five days for free so you won't need to worry about the space getting scooped up by someone else while you wait for your points to arrive.
Not seeing your points? Try logging out and logging back into your airline or hotel account.
What Hotels Are Bilt Transfer Partners?
You can transfer Bilt points to Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG One Rewards.
Of these hotel transfer partners, Hyatt is really the only one of value – unless you just need a few extra points to top off your account for an award. In most cases, you'd be better off booking Marriott and IHG stays through the Bilt Travel portal at 1.25 cents per point.
Which Airline or Hotel Partner Would You Recommend For Transfers to Maximize Future Trips?
It depends on what trip you want to take!
Generally speaking, we get the most bang for our buck (or points) by transferring to Hyatt for hotel bookings. If you're looking to use your points for a flight, we find great value with Air Canada Aeroplan, American Airlines, British Airways, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and Avianca LifeMiles.
Bottom Line
It's not quite as straight-forwards as using your points toward a great flight deal, but the ability to transfer Bilt points to partners opens up a whole new world of travel.
Use this guide to get started and learn how to maximize those Bilt points.