Two cards, two very different bets on what an everyday travel rewards card should do. Bilt vs Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the more interesting comparisons in the travel rewards world because the cards share many of the same airline and hotel transfer partners but reach you through completely different spending categories. Bilt is built around rent and dining for renters. The Sapphire Preferred is built around travel and dining for everyone, with a portal bonus that pushes its value higher when you redeem inside the Chase ecosystem.
This Bilt vs Chase Sapphire Preferred comparison walks through rewards, fees, transfer partners, protections, and the kinds of households that should pick each.
Bilt vs Chase Sapphire Preferred: The Quick Verdict
- Choose Bilt if you rent your home and want to earn points on the largest line item in your budget without paying a fee on the rent payment or an annual fee on the card.
- Choose Chase Sapphire Preferred if you own your home (or do not pay rent) and want higher multipliers on travel and dining plus a portal bonus that makes Chase Travel redemptions worth more.
Both cards transfer points to a long list of airline and hotel partners. Both target applicants with good to excellent credit, often FICO scores in the high 600s or above.
Rewards Compared
This is the most important section because the two cards earn rewards on different parts of your life.
Bilt Rewards
- 1x point on rent payments, up to 100,000 points a year, with no transaction fee charged by Bilt to landlords or tenants
- 3x points on dining
- 2x points on travel
- 1x points on other purchases
- Earns the bonus rates only on months where you make at least five transactions on the card
- Rent earning specifically requires using the Bilt app and works whether or not your landlord accepts cards directly
Chase Sapphire Preferred Rewards
- 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel
- 3x points on dining (including eligible takeout and delivery)
- 3x points on online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs)
- 3x points on select streaming services
- 2x points on other travel
- 1x points on other purchases
- 25% point boost when redeeming through Chase Travel (every point worth 1.25 cents instead of 1)
- 10% anniversary points bonus on prior-year spend
The Sapphire Preferred has more bonus categories and a portal bonus that does meaningful work on day-to-day redemptions. The Bilt has the unique 1x on rent, which can be worth thousands of points a year on its own.
The Rent Math Is the Whole Story for Renters
For renters, the Bilt's rent multiplier is the deciding factor. A renter paying $2,000 a month earns 24,000 Bilt points a year just from rent, no fees attached. Those points transfer to partners like American Airlines AAdvantage, World of Hyatt, and United MileagePlus at 1:1, which means 24,000 points can plausibly become a round-trip economy ticket on a domestic route or a couple of nights at a category 4 Hyatt property.
The Sapphire Preferred cannot match that on rent. If you tried to pay rent through a service that accepts cards, you would face a processing fee of about 2.5% to 3%, which would erase most or all of the points value.
Bilt's Once-a-Month Rent Day
On the first of each month, Bilt offers extra point multipliers in dining, transit, fitness, and other categories. The exact promotion changes month to month. For frequent users of Bilt's app, this is a real boost that pushes annual rewards higher than the base earn structure suggests.
The Sapphire Preferred Math for Non-Renters
A homeowner spending $1,000 a month at restaurants and $400 a month on travel outside Chase Travel earns 36,000 points a year from dining and 9,600 from travel, plus 12,000 a year from other spending at 1x. That is 57,600 points before any portal use.
Redeem those through Chase Travel and the 25% portal boost turns them into $720 of travel value. Transfer them to airline partners and the value can climb higher on the right redemption, though it is also subject to award availability.
The 10% anniversary bonus adds a few thousand more points a year on top.
Annual Fees
This is the cleanest fee comparison in the major travel card space.
- Bilt: $0 annual fee
- Chase Sapphire Preferred: $95 annual fee
For a heavy traveler, the $95 on the Sapphire Preferred is usually justified by the 25% portal bonus alone if you redeem 8,000 points a year through Chase Travel. The 10% anniversary bonus on prior-year spend often covers it too for moderate spenders. For someone whose travel rewards come almost entirely from rent payments, the Bilt's $0 fee is a meaningful advantage.
Foreign Transaction Fees
Both cards charge 0% foreign transaction fees. International travelers do not need to swap to a different card abroad with either of these as their daily driver.
Transfer Partners
This is where the cards look more similar than different.
Bilt Transfer Partners
Bilt has built one of the strongest transfer partner lists in the rewards world for a no-annual-fee card, with about 18 airline and hotel partners as of recent years. Highlights include:
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- United MileagePlus
- World of Hyatt
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Marriott Bonvoy
- IHG One Rewards
The American Airlines partnership is particularly notable because few transferable point currencies offer AAdvantage at 1:1.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Transfer Partners
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to 14 partners at 1:1, including:
- United MileagePlus
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- World of Hyatt
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- British Airways Avios
- Marriott Bonvoy
- IHG One Rewards
Both lists are deep enough to support most common redemptions. The Sapphire Preferred has Southwest, which Bilt does not. Bilt has American Airlines, which Chase does not.
Travel Protections
The Sapphire Preferred is famously strong on protections for a sub-$100 card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Protections
- Primary auto rental collision damage waiver in most countries
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance with per-trip limits
- Trip delay reimbursement after a covered delay
- Lost luggage and baggage delay coverage
- Purchase protection and extended warranty
Bilt Protections
- Trip cancellation and interruption coverage with per-trip limits
- Auto rental collision damage waiver (secondary)
- Cellphone protection on phones paid through the card
- Purchase security
Both are above average for their respective fee tiers. The Sapphire Preferred's primary rental coverage and trip delay reimbursement are the meaningful gap. Coverage limits, exclusions, and procedures vary, so always read the current benefits guide before relying on any specific protection.
Portal Bonus and Anniversary Boost
The Sapphire Preferred has two structural features the Bilt does not.
First, the 25% point boost when redeeming through Chase Travel. Every 1,000 Chase points are worth $12.50 toward Chase Travel bookings instead of $10. Over a year, that quietly adds 25% of value to any non-transfer redemption.
Second, the 10% anniversary points bonus. Spend $30,000 in a card year and you get 3,000 extra points the following anniversary. That is a modest but real bump that often covers most or all of the $95 annual fee for moderate spenders.
Bilt has no portal bonus and no anniversary boost. Its value comes from rent and bonus categories rather than redemption-side multipliers.
Real-World Spend Scenarios
Profile 1: Renter Paying $2,000 a Month
$2,000 rent, $500 dining, $200 travel, $1,500 other monthly.
- Bilt: about 53,400 points a year (rent + 3x dining + 2x travel + 1x other), no annual fee
- Sapphire Preferred: about 38,400 points a year plus 10% anniversary bonus, minus $95 annual fee
Bilt wins clearly for this renter.
Profile 2: Homeowner with Travel and Dining Spend
No rent on card, $800 dining, $600 travel outside portal, $400 Chase Travel, $1,500 other monthly.
- Bilt: about 32,400 points a year, no annual fee
- Sapphire Preferred: about 64,800 points a year plus portal boost on redemptions, minus $95 annual fee
Sapphire Preferred wins clearly here, especially after factoring the 25% portal boost on travel redemptions.
Building Credit First
Both cards target applicants with at least good credit, typically FICO scores in the high 600s or above. Sapphire Preferred is also subject to Chase's 5/24 rule, which denies applicants with five or more new card accounts in the last 24 months.
For applicants still building their credit, a credit-builder product is the better starting point. The Self Visa® Credit Card pairs a Self Credit Builder Account with a secured Visa card, with on-time payments reporting to all three bureaus and the security deposit built from your loan savings rather than a separate cash deposit. Used responsibly, the Self Visa® Credit Card can help thin-file applicants build the credit profile needed to qualify for travel cards like Bilt or the Sapphire Preferred.
Who Should Pick Which
Pick Bilt If
- You rent your primary home
- You want a $0 annual fee card with serious transfer partners
- You like the idea of an app-driven points program with monthly promotions
- American Airlines miles are a frequent target for you
Pick Chase Sapphire Preferred If
- You own your home or do not have meaningful rent payments
- You spend regularly on dining and travel
- You value primary rental coverage and trip delay reimbursement
- You want a portal bonus on redemptions and you book travel through Chase Travel often
- Southwest or Hyatt are important to your travel pattern
Can You Have Both?
Yes. Many rewards optimizers hold a Bilt for rent and a Sapphire Preferred for everything else, using each card in the categories where it wins. The combined annual fees are still under $100 a year. Be aware of Chase's 5/24 rule before adding the Sapphire Preferred to a wallet that already has several recent accounts.
Bottom Line
Bilt vs Chase Sapphire Preferred is mostly a question of whether you rent. If you do, the Bilt's rent multiplier and $0 annual fee make it the clear winner for the category that drives most of your spending. If you do not, the Sapphire Preferred's deeper bonus categories, 25% portal bonus, and stronger travel protections justify the $95 fee for almost any regular traveler. The two cards play well together if your wallet has room for both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you pay rent with the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Not directly without paying a processing fee. Most landlords do not accept credit cards, and third-party services that allow card-paid rent typically charge 2.5% to 3%. That fee usually wipes out the rewards you would earn at 1x on the Sapphire Preferred. The Bilt card is the only major card that pays points on rent with no transaction fee.
Does Bilt have an annual fee?
No. Bilt charges a $0 annual fee, which is unusual for a card with a transfer partner list this deep. The card does require at least five transactions per month to earn the bonus rates, which is the soft requirement to keep the program viable.
Which has better transfer partners, Bilt or Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Both have strong lists. Bilt's about 18 partners include American Airlines, which Chase does not. Chase's 14 partners include Southwest, which Bilt does not. For most travelers, both lists are deep enough that the choice comes down to preferred airlines and hotel brands rather than total partner count.
Is Chase Sapphire Preferred worth the $95 annual fee?
For most regular travelers, yes. The 25% portal bonus alone adds 25% of value on every Chase Travel redemption, the 10% anniversary points bonus rewards consistent spending, and the protections include primary rental coverage and trip delay reimbursement. Moderate spenders typically cover the fee through rewards and benefits without trying.
