Well, it sounds like the new Mesa Homeowners Card has gotten the attention of one of its competitors.
Bilt is best known for its credit card that allows its members to earn points on rentals, but soon homeowners will be able to earn points on mortgage payments.
We’ve heard rumors that it might happen, but it never happened, probably because the numbers weren’t penciled.
Now it seems that another good old fashioned competition may have proved to be the mother of innovation.
And if you have been paying attention, Mesa, which is planning the same thing, it just so happened that it was built by some former Bilt workers, among others.
Bilt MasterCard Will Reward Homeowners in 2025
In its Letter to Bilt Members released today, Bilt Rewards CEO Ankur Jain said, “We will announce the first phase of programs in the mortgage space, creating a new category of value for homeowners.”
This includes the ability to earn points on mortgage payments, and points when financing a home loan, almost a referral style program.
As I always say with those referral programs, don’t use a lender unless the total cost is lower than other options, or you can earn points!
Still, the fact that you’ll be able to use a credit card to pay off the mortgage is a big deal here, at least for me.
It has been very difficult to remove, and even if it is allowed, there are often large costs that negate the benefit of using plastic.
I have long thought that the math doesn’t work and that mortgage lenders and loan servicers aren’t very willing to charge their customers a mortgage. And who can blame them?
But the public has been vocal about claiming points/cashback on almost every purchase they make, especially large transactions with high revenue potential.
So apparently Bilt will soon let you pay off your loan with a credit card. Just stay tuned for that official launch date.
Competition Is Fierce for Homeowners in the Credit Card Space
Recently, it seems that credit card issuers have grown more interested in homeowners.
It makes sense as they likely have a lot of expenses (other than the mortgage) and can be strong customers.
As noted, a new competitor (Mesa) entered the fray recently with its Mesa Homeowners Card that earns one point per dollar spent on monthly mortgage payments.
It’s currently on a waiting list, but it might be the inspiration for Bilt to make the announcement in their book today.
Especially since some of the Mesa team includes former Bilt employees.
For the record, Bilt floated the idea as early as 2024 but nothing happened for the rest of the year.
Perhaps they are still working out the economics of it, as it may be too expensive to allow mortgage payments on their network when no other card issuers allow it without cash.
I’m also wondering if there will be an annual fee on the card or if it will require cardholders to spend X amount on other purchases.
Currently, the Bilt Mastercard offers 1X rent but you need to use the card at least five times during each statement to earn points.
This can be a mortgage payment requirement as well. Obviously it has to make sense to all involved.
Bilt Rewards Now Offers Points on Home Purchases Again
Back in late November, Bilt announced that it had launched the industry’s first program to earn points on home purchases.
What they meant by that was that Bilt Members will now be able to earn Bilt points when purchasing a home through an eXp Realty agent.
So it’s a real estate agent referral program where you earn one Bilt point for every $2 in property value when you refer one of their preferred agents.
For a $400,000 home purchase we’re talking about 200,000 Bilt Points, which can be used for all kinds of things like shopping, fitness classes, and travel.
In fact, you can transfer points to frequent flyer programs and hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio to maximize value.
Perhaps even more interesting, you can redeem Bilt points for a down payment on the house, and the value is even better at 1.5 cents per point.
This works up to $1,500 off your down payment if you have 100,000 Bilt points. It’s very good.
Finally, you can use points for rentals as well, although the redemption value is less than 0.55 cents per point, or $55 for every 10,000 points.
In other words, it would be better to save those points and use them for a down payment on a new home and rent bye-bye!
Read on: Should I rent or buy a home?
Before creating this site, I worked as an account manager for a real estate broker in Los Angeles. My experiences in the early 2000s inspired me to start writing about mortgages 18 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the mortgage process. Follow me on Twitter for the latest.
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