Archives for November 2025

Updated for Rent Day 12/1. Bilt Rewards recently announced “Bilt 2.0” which promises three new credit cards with rewards on both mortgage payments and rent. Applications are not open yet; More details supposedly coming January 2026. If you have the existing card issued by Wells Fargo, it is scheduled to work as usual until February 6th, 2026.

December 1st, Bilt is offering a transfer bonus to British Airways* Avios of between 50% and 100%. (* or Aer Lingus and Iberia Avios.) Avios can be pretty useful in many cases, and this transfer bonus is a potential way of getting excellent value out of your Bilt points, if you have a redemption in mind.

If you haven’t, you should also link your Rakuten account to Bilt for a small but pretty easy bonus. Look for the option in the app.

Rent Day also means 2X double points where you can get 6X on dining, 4X on travel, and 2X on other purchases (except rent). There is a cap of 1,000 bonus points. Remember that you must use your card to make 5 purchases (of any amount) each statement period to earn points.

Existing Bilt members can still earn lots of Bilt points just for paying monthly rent to any landlord with no transaction fees, which is their most important feature.

Full review on the old card:

The updated Bilt Mastercard is a unique credit card that earns rewards on rent payments to any landlord. Bilt is a rent payment platform and they will send your landlord a check or ACH bank transfer so that your landlord will not have to do anything. The credit card itself is issued by Wells Fargo. Bilt has bonus categories and a variety of points redemption options like many other rewards credit cards. Here are the highlights:

• Up to 1X points spent on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year.
• 3X points on dining.
• 2X points on travel including hotels, rental cars, and cruises when booked directly with airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies.
• 1X points on other purchases.
• Earn points when you make 5 transactions that post each statement period.
• When renting at a Bilt Alliance property, you can choose to have your rent payments automatically reported by Bilt to the three major credit bureaus each month; Experian(TM), TransUnion(TM), and Equifax(TM).
• No annual fee.
• World Elite Mastercard perks like cell phone insurance and purchase protection.

That means your rent can be up to $100,000 per year ($8,333 per month) and you would still be able to take full advantage of the 1X points per dollar spent on rent payments. They do require you to make at least 5 transactions per month (rent can be one), otherwise too many people might just put their rent on the card and not use the card otherwise.

Bilt has partnered with the owners of over 2,000,000 apartment units to create the Bilt Rewards Alliance. The easiest way is find out if you live in a qualifying property is to simply type in your address into the Bilt app.

Bilt also offers Double Points on “Rent Day”, aka the 1st of every month. This means that on the 1st day of every month, you can get 6X on dining, 4X on travel, and 2X on other purchases(except rent). They also offer other promos on this day.

Bilt Rewards Points redemption options

Travel partners. Bilt Rewards points transfer on a 1:1 basis to the following hotel and airline partners. You can also get 100 bonus points for every loyalty program you link to Bilt.

• Alaska Airlines Atmos (Hawaiian)
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• United Airlines
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Miles & Smiles (Turkish Airlines)
• Emirates Skywards
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Aer Lingus Aer Club
• Turkish Miles & Smiles
• Iberia Plus
• TAP Air Portugal
• World of Hyatt
• IHG One
• Accor ALL

Hyatt hotel points, Alaska, and United are likely the most useful points for the average US traveler. I am conservative when valuing points and miles due to their redemption hassles and steady threat of devaluation, so I would place the value here a 1 cent a point even though I definitely plan to exceed that. You may wish to use a different value.

Home Downpayment? Bilt says that your points can be redeemed at 1.5 cents per point when used towards a home downpayment. This seems like it might be rather complicated to actually redeem, so I would keep it mind but wouldn’t count on it. If you racked up 100,000 points over time, it would be nice to have $1,500 via this method.

Shop with Points at Amazon. You can link your Bilt Rewards points to Amazon and pay for your purchases at rate of 0.70 cents per point.

Rent. Bilt will let you convert points towards your next rent payment at 0.55 cents per point. This is not a good redemption rate when compared to the miles/Hyatt option. It’s too bad there is no easy, decent cash-out option.

Statement credit. Bilt will also let you convert points towards a statement credit on your credit card statement at 0.55 cents per point.

Other options include fitness classes or physical items like “limited-edition” home decor or art in the “Bilt Collection” catalog. Personally, I like being able to add to my Hyatt and Canada Aeroplan stash.

Possibly help your credit score? When renting at a Bilt Alliance property, your on-time payment activity can be automatically reported to the three major credit bureaus. In addition, with the optional “BiltProtect” feature, your rent payments will be immediately withdrawn from a linked bank account so your credit limit is not decreased (and ideally your rent won’t contribute to your credit card debt).

How do I pay my landlord or property manager? They don’t take credit cards due to the transaction fees. Bilt will provide you with a bank ACH routing number and account number that you can use to perform an ACH transfer, or they will simply send a paper check on your behalf. In March 2025, Bilt added a pre-authorization step that you have to do first in the Bilt app. After that they will provide you new routing and account numbers. You don’t actually pay with the credit card, nor do you or your landlord have to pay any credit card transaction fees.

1. Pre-authorize your payment in the Bilt app (before you pay rent)
Each month, pre-authorize your rent payment from the Bilt app, up to five (5) days before paying rent.
Select your rent amount and payment method.
Use your Bilt Mastercard® for your usual rewards and waived fees, or
Use any other credit/debit card to earn both Bilt Points AND your card’s rewards.
First time only: You’ll receive your BillPay by Bilt routing and account numbers. Add these to your property’s payment portal, replacing your old Rent Rewards account details.
Optional: After setting up BillPay, you can enable auto-authorization under ‘Rent Payment Options’ by selecting the day of the month and payment amount you want automatically authorized each month.

Free cell phone protection. Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Bilt Mastercard and get up to $800 of protection (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft. For complete coverage details, visit wellsfargo.com/biltbenefits. To file a claim, call 1-800-316-8051 or visit mycardbenefits.assurant.com.

Bottom line. The Bilt Mastercard offers a unique rewards structure targeted specifically at all renters with any landlord. At $2,000 a month in rent, the 1X rewards would add up to 24,000 points per year in rewards = 24,000 Alaska Atmos (Hawaiian) or United miles or 24,000 Hyatt points with no additional transaction fees and no credit card annual fee. You may even do better if you wait for a “Rent Day” promo on the first of the month. Something to consider if you already have to pay rent anyway.

Amazon Cyber Week 2025 has arrived, and I will update this post as new things pop up. My first stop is to check the “Buy Again” tab for any red discounts on the specific stuff that you already buy. There are also several refreshed promos for linking certain credit cards as payment methods and/or using their points. I recommend trying all the links again.

(Note: If you are reading this in an email/RSS reader, unfortunately I am not allowed to include any Amazon affiliate links in e-mails, so they have been removed. Please click here to view the links.)

Some deals require a Prime membership. New members can sign up for a 30-day free trial. Amazon Prime Student (student OR age 18-24) has a 6-month free trial and then 50% off the regular price ($7.49/month). If you’ve already done the trial, you can simply buy a month of Prime for $14.99 ($6.99 with SNAP, EBT or Medicaid card).

Deals and Offers

• List of all current Black Friday/Cyber Week deals (updated constantly).
• Gift Card Sale – Up to 20% Off. Examples include CPK, Ulta Beauty, Applebees, H&M.
• Prime Visa $250 Gift Card. This is usually their biggest bonus of the year – Get a limited-time $250 instant Amazon gift card.
• Already have the Prime Visa? Get 10% back on these Prime Card Bonus items.
• Earn 25 cents/gallon of gas on Fridays with Earnify. After that, save 10¢ a gallon at BP, Amoco, and participating ampm stations when you link your Amazon Prime and earnify™ accounts.
• Amazon Device Deals (Echo, Blink, Eero, Ring, Kindle, Fire, etc).
• Apple Deals (Apple Watch, Airpods, Macbook, AirTags, etc).
• Samsung Deals (Galaxy Phones, Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Watch, etc).
• YETI Deals (YETI tumblers, bottles, coolers, etc)
• Sony Deals (headphones, earbuds, cameras)
• Playstation Deals (headphones, earbuds, cameras)
• Dyson Deals

Amazon-related Services

• Kindle Unlimited – 3 months for $1 trial. Usually $11.99 a month. Targeted.
• Amazon Music – 3 months free. Usually $10.99 a month. Targeted.
• Audible Premium Plus – $0.99/month for 3 months + $20 Audible credit. Includes 1 free credit per month, so that could be 4 free audiobooks. Targeted.
• Amazon Photos – $15 credit with first-time use.

Shop with points (check again if targeted). Offers for using your rewards points to offset your Amazon purchase. If you haven’t linked your card, you may enroll your card and check back in after 24 hours.

• Get $ off with Citi ThankYou points. Refreshed; Try it again.
• Get $10 off with Discover® rewards. Refreshed; Your targeted offer might be better.
• Get 15% off with Membership Rewards points. Refreshed; Your targeted offer might be better.
• Get 10% off with American Express Reward Dollars. Refreshed; Your targeted offer might be better.
• Get $ off with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Most likely not working at the moment.
• Get $ off with Capitol One Rewards points. Most likely not working at the moment.
• Get $ off with US Bank Rewards points. Most likely not working at the moment.

Stuff I Like

• Lodge 7.5 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Lid – I am no longer Team Cast Iron. I’m Team Enameled Cast Iron. I hate trying to keep the seasoning on a cast iron when I also like to use a lot of soap when cleaning. Our enameled cast iron dutch oven is used multiple times a week. It works on the stove. It sears. It simmers. It has high walls that hold a lot. It slides into the oven. It goes straight to the table. No PFAS from non-stick. This 7.5 qt size is the biggest Lodge makes, and allows me to make a double batch of recipes like soup and freeze the extra.
• SHOKZ OpenRun Bone Conduction Headphones – I bought these for running about a year ago and they have been great. I can hear cars and other road noise for safety but also enjoy music or audiobooks while outside. I honestly don’t know what the more expensive version offers, I bought this cheaper version and it works just fine through the sweat and rain.
• Apple Watch SE (3rd Gen, most recent) [GPS + Cellular 40mm] . Now $249. I just bought one for Kid #2 for use as a standalone watch with US Mobile service ($78 a year).
• Coway AP-1512HH HEPA Air Purifier. These have now been used nightly for 7 (!) years. The mechanical design is simple and reliable. I have bought both the OEM Coway filters and these VEVA brand filters (usually less than half the price) and found them very comparable. Once you see how much dust these things collect (especially if your kids have allergies), you’ll want keep them running.
• Dyson V11 Origin Cordless Vacuum. Expensive. Powerful. Solid. Used daily.
• Amazon Eero mesh WiFi router system (3-pack). I have the older model, but I appreciate that it continues to just work with minimal fuss. Used reliably every day for years now.
• COSORI Air Fryer 5 Qt. THis is the newest model. Love this air fryer. We use it almost daily, just like a microwave, except it keeps things crispy instead of soggy. Easy to clean. Owned our Cosori since early 2023 and still running fine.
• Vitamix 5200 blender. Had it for many years. Kitchen staple, sometimes we use it a lot, sometimes rarely, but it’s always there ready and powerful.
• KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt Head Stand Mixer. 20 years of use on ours and counting.

The Navy Federal Flagship Rewards Card is their “premium” travel rewards card, and it has always had some nice features for those that wanted a single everyday card because it offered a boosted 3X back in travel but also a flat 2X back on everything else. In addition, the points were directly redeemable for cash (not only offsetting past travel purchases).

However, the card also had a $49 annual fee. The sign-up bonus was usually pretty good and included a free year of Amazon Prime membership ($139 value), but it only promised it for a single year. The thing was, there were scattered reports that if you kept the Flagship card linked and charged your next year of Amazon Prime on it, NavyFed would still reimburse you for that second year. But it wasn’t official, and testing it out requires paying for another annual fee, which is a bit risky.

Well, this “secret” perk is finally official! I found this out via an Instagram ad.

I checked and indeed, the application page now says that all cardholders get a “free Amazon Prime® membership (a $139 value, annually)”.

Offer applies only to Amazon® Prime Annual membership that is paid with your Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Credit Card and posted to your account. Offer is not valid for monthly payment Prime membership options such as Prime Monthly, Prime for Young Adults, and Prime Access. Limit of one Amazon statement credit per Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Credit Card account, per year. Please allow 6-8 weeks after the Prime Annual membership is paid for the statement credit to post to your account.

The highlights including current sign-up bonus:

• 35,000 bonus points when you spend $3,500 within the first 90 days of opening a new card. 35,000 points is worth $350.
• Free year of Amazon Prime membership. Use the card to purchase an Amazon Prime annual membership, and they’ll reimburse you ($139 value). This now works once a year.
• 3X points per net dollar spent on travel.
• 2X points per net dollar spent on everything else.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit (up to $120), once every 4 years.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• $49 annual fee.

The overall catch here is that in order to apply, you must first become a NavyFed credit union member. Membership eligibility for NavyFed now goes beyond active duty members of the armed forces and DoD employees to include veterans and their immediate family members — including spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren.

A smaller catch is that each point is worth $0.01, with a minimum redemption 5,000 points = $50 statement credit. There is a max of $1,500 cash back redeemed each year this way, and you can also redeem 4,900 points to offset the $49 annual fee. Sometimes it gets annoying waiting to reach that $50 threshold. But at 2% cash back on base purchases and 3% back on travel, it’s not a horrible idea to put some purchases on this card. From the fine print:

Visa Signature Flagship cardholders can redeem points for cash (1 point is equal to $0.01). The minimum redemption level is 5,000 points for $50 cash back. The maximum level of redemption is $1,500 cash back, which is equivalent to 150,000 points. Cash back rewards will be credited to your Navy Federal savings account.

I don’t know how NavyFed mathed this one out, but if they keep this structure then this card moves solidly into the “keeper” category for those that already pay for Amazon Prime membership, as the card more than pays for itself each year at $139 vs. $49 annual fee. I also appreciate the straightforward rewards system and $120 towards Global Entry/TSA PreCheck every 4 years.

Side note: NavyFed shares their rules about credit card applications publicly as follows:

Is there a limit on the number of Navy Federal credit card accounts I can open?

Yes. Currently, Navy Federal allows each member to be a primary cardholder on up to 3 Navy Federal credit cards. In addition, we’ll approve only 1 new credit card per member within a 90-day period. This means we’ll decline your application for a new credit card if you opened a credit card within the last 90 days. Note: Home Equity Line Platinum credit cards and GO BIZ® Rewards credit cards aren’t included in this 3-card limit.