When Bilt first launched in 2021, it made waves as the first program that let renters earn points for paying rent with no transaction fee. Since then, Bilt has evolved into a comprehensive rewards ecosystem—with a valuable no-annual-fee credit card, robust travel transfer partners, and a surprisingly robust app experience.
Bilt is now is expanding even further—into retail. You can now redeem your Bilt Points for purchases at stores like Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
When I was checking out at Walgreens the other day and swiped my Bilt Mastercard, I was surprised to see a new prompt pop up on the payment terminal:
I wasn’t tempted—I know better than to redeem valuable points for a bottle of mouthwash—but I was curious, because I’d never seen this prompt before. The next day, I received an email from Bilt explaining the new feature and directing me to their website for more details.
But here’s the thing: nowhere in the email or on the site does it say what kind of value you’re actually getting. You have to do the math yourself—1,429 points for $10 off—which works out to a redemption value of about 0.70 cents per point.
That’s… not great.
How the Redemption Works
Bilt has partnered with select retailers to allow in-store redemption of your points. When you pay with your Bilt Mastercard at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, or Citgo, you might be offered the option to redeem points for a $10 discount.
But there are some important limitations:
- Your purchase must include at least $10.01 in eligible items (before tax and after discounts)
- Redemptions appear to be fixed at $10 off per transaction—there’s no way to use more points for a bigger discount
- You must use your Bilt Mastercard for the prompt to appear
Not a Great Use of Points
Let’s be honest: redeeming 1,429 points for $10 in savings is not a good deal.
And it gets worse—redemption rates vary by merchant. Reportedly, at other participating retailers (such as Walmart), you need to redeem 1,818 points for the same $10 off, which drops the value even further to approximately 0.55 cents per point.
You’re far better off saving your Bilt points for a high-value transfer to one of their travel partners, where you can often get 1.5 to 2.0+ cents per point in value—or even more in some cases.
Some of Bilt’s best transfer partners include:
- World of Hyatt
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Air Canada Aeroplan
Save your points for hotel stays, business class flights, or unique award redemptions. A tube of toothpaste just doesn’t compare.
But You Can Earn Points at Walgreens
Even if you shouldn’t redeem points at Walgreens, it’s still a great place to earn Bilt Points.
You don’t even need the Bilt Mastercard to do it. Simply link a credit card to your Bilt Wallet in the app, and your purchases will be automatically tracked. Here’s what you can earn:
- 1 point per $1 on all eligible Walgreens purchases
- 2x points on Walgreens-branded products
- 100 points per prescription refill
That’s not a bad deal—just make sure to avoid redeeming points at checkout unless you have no better use for them.
Final Thought
Seeing the Bilt redemption prompt pop up at Walgreens was new, and I appreciated the transparency (even if it didn’t include the actual point value). But after digging into it, it’s clear: redeeming Bilt Points at the register is a bad value.
Save your points for travel. Earn some easy ones at Walgreens. And maybe grab that toothpaste—but with dollars, not points.
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