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Award Travel 101 · Yesterday · 46 min

Bilt Makes More Changes

In Episode 197 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Cameron Laufer is joined by member Evan Fleisher to discuss the latest points and miles news, including several notable transfer bonuses. Chase is offering a 30% bonus to three Avios programs, Capital One has a 20% bonus to Air France/KLM Flying Blue and a 30% bonus to Copa (although the transfer ratio makes it less attractive), and Amex is offering a 30% bonus to Virgin Atlantic. Chase also launched bonuses to Wyndham and IHG, though the hosts question whether transferring valuable Chase points to IHG is worthwhile. Other topics include Point.me's new hotel search tool, upcoming benefit changes to two Citi American Airlines cards, and community member TJ's impressive achievement of earning 650K American Airlines miles and more than 250K Loyalty Points in just two years. The hosts also share their latest travel plans, including trips to New York, Park City, and Thailand. The main discussion focuses on Bilt's latest program changes, many of which will take effect in 2027. One positive change is that Bilt Cash will now expire 12 months after it is earned rather than following the previous calendar-year expiration policy. However, new cardholders will lose the ability to choose the 4% Bilt Cash earning option and will instead earn up to 1.25X points on housing payments. Existing cardholders and those who open an account by December 31, 2026, can retain the flexible earning option, but must opt out of the new housing benefits before their account anniversary to do so. Annual card credits are also changing; hotel redemptions will be limited to twice per year, and Bilt is introducing new elite benefits, including luxury hotel bookings and rental car status. Daily Rewards, launching January 15, 2027, will offer additional opportunities to earn points, Bilt Cash, and entries into major prizes. Overall, the hosts see some positive additions but believe Bilt Cash is becoming harder to earn and use, making it especially important for existing cardholders to review their options before their next account anniversary. Episode Links: Chase to Avios transfer bonus Capital One to Flying Blue transfer bonus Capital One to Copa Amex to Virgin transfer bonus Chase to Wyndham transfer bonus Chase to IHG transfer bonus Point me hotel tool Citi AA card refresh Where to Find Us The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here Reserve tickets to our April 2027 Meetup in Nashville now. award.travel/bna2027 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

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In Episode 197 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Cameron Laufer is joined by member Evan Fleisher to discuss the latest points and miles news, including several notable transfer bonuses. Chase is offering a 30% bonus to three Avios programs, Capital One has a 20% bonus to Air France/KLM Flying Blue and a 30% bonus to Copa (although the transfer ratio makes it less attractive), and Amex is offering a 30% bonus to Virgin Atlantic. Chase also launched bonuses to Wyndham and IHG, though the hosts question whether transferring valuable Chase points to IHG is worthwhile. Other topics include Point.me's new hotel search tool, upcoming benefit changes to two Citi American Airlines cards, and community member TJ's impressive achievement of earning 650K American Airlines miles and more than 250K Loyalty Points in just two years. The hosts also share their latest travel plans, including trips to New York, Park City, and Thailand.

The main discussion focuses on Bilt's latest program changes, many of which will take effect in 2027. One positive change is that Bilt Cash will now expire 12 months after it is earned rather than following the previous calendar-year expiration policy. However, new cardholders will lose the ability to choose the 4% Bilt Cash earning option and will instead earn up to 1.25X points on housing payments. Existing cardholders and those who open an account by December 31, 2026, can retain the flexible earning option, but must opt out of the new housing benefits before their account anniversary to do so. Annual card credits are also changing; hotel redemptions will be limited to twice per year, and Bilt is introducing new elite benefits, including luxury hotel bookings and rental car status. Daily Rewards, launching January 15, 2027, will offer additional opportunities to earn points, Bilt Cash, and entries into major prizes. Overall, the hosts see some positive additions but believe Bilt Cash is becoming harder to earn and use, making it especially important for existing cardholders to review their options before their next account anniversary.

Episode Links:


Where to Find Us

  1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
  2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
  3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
  4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
  5. Reserve tickets to our April 2027 Meetup in Nashville now. award.travel/bna2027

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!

Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.  

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