Bilt Mastercard Obsidian

The Bilt Mastercard Obsidian is the Goldilocks card in the Bilt 2.0 lineup — more firepower than the free Blue, less commitment than the premium Palladium. At $95 a year, it brings 3x on your choice of dining or groceries, 2x on travel, and the same housing-earning engine that makes all Bilt cards unique. Plus, the $100 annual hotel credit effectively makes the fee disappear.

Here's why it's interesting: this card plays in the same sandbox as the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Citi Strata Premier, but it brings something neither of them can — rewards on your rent or mortgage. If you're a renter who dines out a lot or a homeowner with a big grocery budget, the Obsidian gives you CSP-level category earning and points on housing. That's a combination nobody else at $95 can match.

• 3x on Dining or Groceries: Pick one bonus category for the year — dining (unlimited) or groceries (up to $25,000/year). Choose wisely.
• 2x on Travel: Airlines, hotels, car rentals and cruise lines booked direct. Book through the Bilt Travel portal and it's 3x on flights and 4x on hotels. (Trains, transit and taxis earn just 1x.)
• Up to 1.25x on Housing: Earn on rent, mortgage, and HOA fees with no transaction fees. The Bilt special.
• $100 Bilt Travel Hotel Credit: Two $50 credits per year (one for Jan–Jun, one for Jul–Dec, no rollover) for hotel stays of 2+ nights booked through the Bilt portal. Use both and this wipes out the annual fee.
• Optional 4% Bilt Cash: Switch to the Flexible Bilt Cash option and you earn 4% Bilt Cash on everyday purchases on top of your base points. The catch: you give up the tiered housing points and instead unlock up to 1x on housing by spending Bilt Cash ($3 per 100 points).
• Full Transfer Partner Access: 1:1 transfers to Hyatt, United, Air Canada, Turkish Airlines, Atmos Rewards (Alaska/Hawaiian), and more.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• World Elite Mastercard: Cell phone protection, travel insurance, concierge services.

The $100 hotel credit more than covers the $95 fee — book a 2-night-plus hotel stay through the Bilt portal in each half of the year (the credit comes as $50 for Jan–Jun and $50 for Jul–Dec) and you're net positive. Effective cost: essentially $0 or better. That makes the category bonuses and housing rewards pure upside.

New cardholders receive $200 in Bilt Cash upon approval — no minimum spending requirement. It's once per person: you're not eligible if you have or ever had a Bilt Card 2.0, or already got a Bilt Card 2.0 welcome bonus. And spend it — Bilt Cash expires at the end of each calendar year (up to $100 rolls over).

No hoops, no $4,000 in 3 months. Just get approved and the $200 shows up. It's refreshingly simple. The real value, of course, is the ongoing earning on housing plus category bonuses — that's where the Obsidian pays dividends month after month.

Housing Earning Tiers

Same tiered system as all Bilt cards (on the default Housing-only option) — earn more on housing by using the card for everyday spending too:

• 25% ratio: 0.5x on housing
• 50% ratio: 0.75x on housing
• 75% ratio: 1.0x on housing
• 100% ratio: 1.25x on housing

Quick note: the grocery 3x is capped at $25,000 per year (plenty for most households); dining 3x is unlimited. Pick the category that matches your spending. If you eat out more than you cook, go dining. If your Costco runs are legendary, go groceries.

• Transfer Partners: 1:1 transfers to United, Hyatt, Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Miles&Smiles, Virgin Atlantic, IHG, Atmos Rewards (Alaska/Hawaiian), Avianca LifeMiles, and more.
• Bilt Travel Portal: Book flights and hotels with points.
• Rent / Mortgage: Apply points toward housing payments.
• Statement Credit: Redeem points (1,000 minimum) toward your Bilt Card balance.
• Home Down Payment: Put points toward a home down payment at 1.5 cents each.
• Fitness Classes: Redeem points for classes at Bilt's partner studios.
• Bilt Cash: Use it in the Bilt ecosystem — Bilt Travel hotel bookings, monthly Lyft/Walgreens/Grubhub credits, the Point Accelerator. It can't be turned into a statement credit.

Transfers to Hyatt are the money move. At 1.5-2.5 cents per point on premium stays, your 3x dining rate effectively becomes 4.5-7.5% back when you funnel those points into a nice hotel. That's better than almost any cash back card at any price.

• $100 Bilt Travel Hotel Credit: Two $50 credits per year (one for Jan–Jun, one for Jul–Dec, no rollover) for hotel stays of 2+ nights booked through the Bilt portal.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees: Spend freely abroad.
• Cell Phone Protection: Up to $800 per claim ($50 deductible), up to 2 claims per 12 months. Pay your phone bill with this card.
• World Elite Mastercard: Travel insurance, rental car CDW, concierge services, and airport experiences.
• Rent Day (1st of each month): Special promotions and bonus transfer opportunities. Set a monthly reminder.

The Obsidian doesn't beat the CSP or Strata Premier on pure earning. But it does something they can't: earn on housing. If your rent is $2,000 a month and you hit the 1.25x tier, that's 2,500 transferable points per month that Chase and Citi cardholders simply don't get. Over a year, that adds up fast.

• Renters and homeowners who dine out — 3x dining plus housing rewards on one card is a powerful combo
• Grocery-heavy households who can max out the 3x grocery option alongside housing earnings
• CSP-curious renters who want Sapphire-caliber earning with housing rewards on top

The Obsidian makes sense if you'll use the $100 hotel credit and earn meaningfully on both housing and your 3x category. If you don't pay rent or a mortgage, a Chase Sapphire Preferred is probably the simpler $95 choice — but if you do, the Obsidian has a real edge.