The news: Bilt will launch the Bilt Card 2.0 in partnership with fintech Cardless in February 2026, per a press release, after Wells Fargo ended its deeply unprofitable co-brand partnership early.

• The new Bilt Card will feature three tiered products—one basic, two premium.
• While the basic tiered card will remain without a yearly fee, the two premium cards will feature yearly fees of $95 and $495. 

How we got here: Since Wells Fargo and Bilt launched the program in 2022, the issuer has struggled with losses as high as $10 million a month.

• Bilt structured its product so landlords could avoid paying typical interchange fees for cardholders’ rent payments—leaving Wells Fargo to eat those costs.
• Bilt cardholders largely didn’t use their card beyond rewards-eligible rent payments.
• Cardholders also rarely carried balances on their accounts, resulting in low carryover.

Wells originally hoped young Bilt cardholders would come to them for mortgages after their renting days were behind them, per The Wall Street Journal, only for the bank to throttle back on the mortgage space down the line.

The opportunity: Bilt wants to rearrange its rewards offerings—and has new tools to make it happen.

• Bilt bought Banyan, a hyperpersonal rewards company, that offers perks for FSA/HSA savings, new resident rewards, target localized rewards, and cross-merchant experiences.
• Bilt also wants to expand its offerings to other housing types, like student housing, condos and HOAs, and mortgages.

Our take: Bilt Card 2.0 appears to close some of the gaps that made its partnership with Wells Fargo so rocky. With yearly fees and new deals with major US landlords, Bilt is positioning itself to make the Bilt card more successful—and more profitable. 

However, if Bilt wants to become top-of-wallet for millennial and Gen Z cardholders, it needs to incentivize everyday spend. Banyan could help personalize local shopping benefits for cardholders, but competing with cards geared toward grocery and gas perks may prove challenging if it doesn’t offer points or cash back for new categories.

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