The news: Bilt added Preferred Hotels & Resorts as a transfer partner to its “I Prefer” Hotel Rewards loyalty program, per a press release.

• Bilt members can exchange Bilt points for I Prefer points on a 1:2 ratio.
• Point transfers must be in increments of at least 1,000 for Silver, Gold, and Platinum members and 2,000 for Blue members.

Partnering with Preferred Hotels & Resorts portfolio brings 700 independent hotels, resorts, and residential properties across 85 countries to Bilt members.

How we got here: Bilt’s credit card revamp came with a reshuffled rewards program. While Bilt’s original card had a simple reward structure—buy four bananas and earn points on rent payments—the new card program is anything but. 

Now, members must spend at least 75% of the value of their rent/mortgage on other purchases to cash in on housing-based rewards. And the new rewards system has byzantine rules, with its multitude of platforms making it confusing to navigate and redeem rewards. 

This restructure, however, will help protect Bilt’s new issuer (Cardless) from eating the losses Wells Fargo was incurring—as much as $10 million a month. 

Why this matters: Building out its hotel portfolio helps Bilt compete against American Express Platinum’s and Chase Sapphire Reserve’s robust travel offerings. This could keep affluent millennials and Gen Zers from ditching the Bilt Card for a legacy premium card.

At the same time, Bilt may lose cardholders over the intense gamification of its rewards. Redeeming points for things like hotels and flights has always been a black box for consumers. However, Bilt’s numerous tiers, point categories, and platforms are so opaque that they may erode the luxury value Bilt claims to provide.

Implication for payment providers: Unnecessarily complex reward structures breed suspicion from members. Creating tools for users to understand the value of their points and how they can be redeemed can inject more trust back into a complicated premium rewards experience.

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