I’m a big fan of transfer bonuses that banks regularly offer to airline and hotel partners. When the timing syncs up with award availability and your trip plans, transfer bonuses are a great way to stretch your miles and points.
I always tell readers that I don’t recommend transferring points speculatively, meaning don’t transfer in hopes of booking a future award if you don’t see the award availability you need now. But, sometimes a transfer bonus is so big that I make an exception.
Bilt April Rent Day Transfer Bonus: Up to 100% Bonus!
My husband owns the no-fee Bilt credit card (personal referral link). We primarily got it to earn points for paying my son’s college apartment rent. The card doesn’t have a welcome bonus, but some new card owners receive an offer for 5X on spending for the first 5 days of the card.
Every 1st of the month, Bilt celebrates “Rent Day” by giving double points for purchases on that day only:
- 6X on dining
- 4X on travel
- 2X on all other purchases
You can only earn a maximum of 1000 bonus points each month (it used to be 10,000 max, which is mostly how we earned our current 50k points balance).
On April 1, Bilt is offering a transfer bonus to British Airways Avios, Iberia Avios and Aer Lingus Avios. The transfer bonus varies according to your Bilt Rewards status:
- Blue status = 50% bonus
- Silver status = 60% bonus
- Gold status = 75% bonus
- Platinum status = 100% bonus
Last November, Bilt had a targeted transfer bonus that some people got at various levels. My husband was targeted for a 50% transfer bonus then, but we decided not to transfer any points at that time. For this Rent Day, he has Gold status, so he could get a 75% bonus.
Pros and Cons of Speculative Transfer
With the transfer bonus, we could turn 50,000 Bilt Rewards points into 87,500 Avios. And that’s nothing to sneeze at!
Pros of this transfer:
- We gain 37,500 Avios
- I plan to book flights to Europe for 2026 in the next few months. This bonus would almost cover the award cost of a business class flight from DFW to Madrid in the off-season. Plus, Iberia has been very consistent with award availability 360 days in advance.
Cons of this transfer:
- Iberia could devalue its award chart or make award flights less available at any time
- Transferring Bilt points to Avios means I will own fewer flexible points that I could use to transfer to other valuable partners like Hyatt and Alaska Airlines
Final Thoughts
I’m leaning towards transferring these points for the 75% transfer bonus to Avios, but I still have a few days to make up my mind. Bilt Rewards members, are you tempted by this transfer bonus?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I’d say that the deciding factor would likely be how you’re set on other flexible currencies. Amex often has transfer bonuses to Avios but if you don’t have a sizeable stash of MR’s then Bilt seems the way to go. I’m still a Bilt newbie with under 50K points so I’m still learning.
@Christian My biggest fear is missing out on Alaska miles transfer I may need from my Bilt points. We do have about 70k in Amex MR. I’m sure I’m overthinking this. 🙂
Excellent opportunity! And 2026 is not too far away to plan for.
Happy travels!!
If I were in your situation, I would probably do it. Since you live in Dallas, you will have plenty of opportunities to liquidate Avios on AA flights. Even if the rate increases and availability dries up, I’m sure you will find something eventually. There is a lot of potential for an upside, so I would personally go for it.