The free way to earn valuable travel points — no premium credit card required

Most people assume you need a pricey premium credit card to earn meaningful travel rewards.

And even if you already have one, many travelers still don’t realize there’s a surprisingly lucrative double (and sometimes triple) dip opportunity they’re missing.

Let me explain.

Related: The new best way to book United flights isn’t what you think

Bilt basics

You may know Bilt as the program that made it possible to pay rent with a credit card and earn points without fees.

But in recent months, Bilt has expanded far beyond rent. The program now makes it easy to earn valuable points on everyday activities, and you don’t need a specific credit card to do it.

While I first signed up to earn points on my (overpriced) New York City rent, I now use Bilt for far more than that.

Bilt’s Neighborhood Benefits program offers free points on dining at more than 20,000 participating restaurants, shopping at Walgreens, and even taking fitness classes at select brands.

Bilt points are among the most valuable and flexible currencies out there. You can transfer them to a long list of airline and hotel partners or redeem them directly through Bilt’s travel portal for above-average value on virtually any trip.

Here’s how I earn and redeem my Bilt points.

Earning Bilt points for free

Earning Bilt points is straightforward and costs nothing. It’s essentially a two-step setup, and there are even two simple ways to quickly accelerate your earnings.

1. Sign up for a Bilt account

The first thing you need to do is sign up for a free Bilt Rewards account. It took me just a few minutes, and note that no credit checks or approval processes are required.

Head to Bilt’s website, click “Start earning today” and follow the prompts to set up your account.

2. Link a card

Once your account is active, the next step is linking a card.

To earn points on everyday activities like dining out or shopping at Walgreens, you’ll need to link the card you usually use for those purchases.

This can even be a debit card — no Bilt-branded card is required.

Linking a card allows Bilt to recognize eligible purchases and automatically award you points.

Bilt doesn’t charge your card itself, and you’ll still earn all the usual rewards from your card issuer, whether that’s Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or something else.

Power users can link more than one card, so if you’re someone like me who uses different cards for different spending categories, you can load them all into your Bilt wallet.

3. Connect Lyft and Rakuten to earn more

Beyond everyday spending at participating merchants, you can quickly boost your Bilt balance by linking two additional accounts.

First, Lyft.

When you connect your Bilt and Lyft accounts, you’ll earn 2 Bilt points per dollar spent on Lyft rides — on top of whatever points your credit card already earns.

If you also have the Bilt Mastercard, you’ll earn an additional 3 Bilt points per dollar, for a total of 5 Bilt points per dollar on Lyft rides.

Second, Rakuten.

For those not familiar, Rakuten is an online shopping portal that lets you earn cash back at more than 3,500 retailers. If you haven’t signed up for Rakuten, use my referral link to earn a free $50 after your first $50+ purchase.

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If you link your Bilt account to Rakuten, you can convert your cash back into Bilt points at a rate of 1,000 Bilt points for every $10 in Rakuten cash back.

For frequent travelers, this is a better deal than taking cash back, since Bilt points are worth at least 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel.

Earn extra Bilt points on United flights

Bilt also operates its own travel portal, which awards an extra Bilt point per dollar spent on top of whatever your credit card already earns.

Historically, I’ve been hesitant to recommend booking flights through third-party portals, since changes and cancellations can be more complicated.

But the good news is that Bilt just introduced a new “direct book” option for United flights, with plans to expand to other airlines.

When you book a United flight labeled “direct book” through Bilt Travel, you earn your usual credit card points, an extra Bilt point per dollar, and still get the benefits of a direct airline booking.

If you need to change or cancel your flight, you deal directly with United — not Bilt. That’s a rare win-win (and true double dip) in the points-and-miles world.

Related: Stop booking United flights the usual way — here’s a better option

Redeeming Bilt points for maximum value

There are tons of ways to easily redeem Bilt points, but I personally save mine for the most valuable redemption in my book: travel.

You can redeem points directly through Bilt’s travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. For example, 10,000 Bilt points are worth $125 toward flights, hotels, or other travel.

Booking this way avoids blackout dates and award-availability issues.

But power users (like me) will probably prefer to transfer your points to one of Bilt’s 24 airline and hotel partners.

Transferring points almost always requires a bit more legwork. You need to research the available redemption options and award availabilities with different partners.

Still, it’s almost always worth the time investment because redemption rates with partners often exceed 1.25 cents per point.

Personally, I’ve been sending my Bilt points to Alaska’s Atmos Rewards, and then redeeming my Atmos points for pricey last-minute American Airlines flights.

I’ve been saving hundreds of dollars this way, though I did get burned by a trip-delay insurance snafu on a recent Alaska ticket. (But it was all my fault.)

Bilt transfer partners

Airlines (all 1:1 transfer ratios)

• Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• Spirit Airlines Free Spirit
• United MileagePlus
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Avianca Lifemiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Iberia Plus
• Japan Airlines (JAL)
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• TAP Miles & Go
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Virgin Red

Hotels (all 1:1 transfer ratios, except for Accor)

• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt
• IHG One Rewards
• Accor Live Limitless (3:2 transfer ratio)

Bottom line

These days, Bilt is much more than just a portal for paying rent and earning valuable rewards. (Though you can still pay your rent via Bilt to boost your points earnings.)

You can now earn points for free on everyday activities like dining out, taking Lyft rides, and shopping online, all while stacking rewards from your existing credit cards.

Add in flexible, high-value points and an expanding travel booking platform, and Bilt has quietly become one of the most compelling loyalty programs out there.

If you haven’t joined yet, you’re likely leaving free points on the table.

Sign up for a free Bilt Rewards account, and start earning toward your next vacation.

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