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Is Paying Rent with a United Credit Card Worth the 3% Fee? We Do the Math
July 1, 2025
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The new Bilt x United partnership lets you earn 2X miles on rent, but there's a catch that makes this deal work for almost nobody.
Bilt just announced that United MileagePlus cardholders can earn 2X miles on rent payments. Sounds amazing, right? Your $2,500 monthly rent suddenly generating 5,000 United miles?
Not so fast.
There's a 3% processing fee that completely changes the economics of this deal. Let's break down who this actually makes sense for (spoiler: it's a very short list).
The Real Cost of "2X Miles"
Here's what nobody's talking about in the press releases: you're not actually getting 2X miles for free. You're buying them at a specific price point, and it's not a good one.
The Math on a $2,000 Rent Payment
When you pay rent with a United card through Bilt:
- Processing fee: $60 (3% of $2,000)
- United miles earned: 4,000 miles (2X on $2,000)
- Bilt Points earned: 1,000 points (1 point per $2 when using non-Bilt cards)
Cost per United mile: $60 ÷ 4,000 = 1.5 cents per mile
Cost per incremental United mile (above the 1X you'd normally earn): $60 ÷ 2,000 = 3 cents per mile
United regularly sells miles for 1.8-2.5 cents each during promotions. You're essentially paying 3 cents per mile for that second mile, which is 20-50% more expensive than just buying miles directly from United.
The Only Scenarios Where This Makes Sense
1. You're Desperate for PQPs to Hit Status
If you're 1,500 PQPs short of United Premier Gold and it's December, this could work:
- $30,000 in rent payments = 1,500 PQPs
- Cost: $900 in fees
- Value of Premier Gold for one year: Depends on your travel patterns, but could be $1,000-2,000+ if you fly United frequently
Verdict: Maybe worth it as a last-resort status run.
2. You Value United Miles Higher Than Average
Some redemptions offer outsized value:
- Business class to Europe: 2-3 cents per mile
- Premium cabin awards during peak season: 2+ cents per mile
- Last-minute domestic flights: occasionally 2+ cents per mile
If you consistently redeem United miles at 2+ cents each AND you're earning PQPs toward status, the math starts to work.
Verdict: Still questionable for most people.
What You Should Do Instead
Use the Bilt Mastercard® (See Rates & Fees) (Seriously)
[[ SINGLE_CARD * {"id": "2990", "isExpanded": "true", "bestForCategoryId": "52", "bestForText": "Renters", "headerHint" : "Rewards on Rent Payments" } ]]
The Bilt card earns:
- 1 Bilt point per $1 on rent
- Zero processing fees
- Bilt Points worth ~2.2 cents each (transfer to United 1:1 anyway)
$2,000 rent payment with Bilt card:
- Fee: $0
- Bilt Points: 2,000 (worth $44)
- Net gain: $44
$2,000 rent payment with United card:
- Fee: $60
- United miles: 4,000 (worth $52)
- Bilt Points: 1,000 (worth $22)
- Net loss: -$14 after accounting for $74 in rewards
The information for the Bilt Mastercard® has been collected independently by Kudos. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Alaska Loophole (If You're on the West Coast)
Several commenters on Reddit mentioned a better deal: the Alaska Airlines credit cards earn 3+ miles per dollar on Bilt rent payments for the same 3% fee.
- Cost per Alaska mile: 1 cent or less
- Alaska regularly sells miles for: 1.5-2 cents
- Alaska award charts can be excellent for West Coast travel
If you're set on paying fees for miles, Alaska is the better play.
The Hidden Winner: Bilt's Business Model
Let's talk about what's really happening here. Bilt is brilliant at partnerships that benefit them while appearing to benefit cardholders.
How Bilt makes money:
- 3% processing fee when you use non-Bilt cards ($60 on a $2,000 payment)
- Interchange from the Bilt Mastercard when you use that instead
- Referral bonuses from credit card partnerships like this United deal
- Transaction fees from the Bilt Travel portal
What United gets:
- Loyalty from MileagePlus members
- Increased credit card usage and spending
- Data on high-value customers (people paying $2,000+ in rent monthly is an attractive demographic.
What you get:
- A mathematically inferior deal compared to using the Bilt card
- OR useful PQPs if you're chasing status
Bilt's Actually Valuable Update: "Book Direct" Labels
Buried in the same announcement is something genuinely useful: Bilt now labels which flights in their portal are NDC (New Distribution Capability) bookings that airlines service directly.
Why this matters: When you book through most travel portals, airlines treat you like a second-class citizen. Changes, cancellations, and irregular operations become nightmares. NDC bookings mean United services your ticket as if you booked on United.com.
United's NDC coverage on Bilt: 92% of flights shown
This is actually valuable and could make the Bilt portal worth using for United flights, especially when:
- Paying all cash (you'll earn airline booking bonuses)
- Using Bilt Points (transfers to United at 1:1 anyway)
- Booking complex itineraries where airline support matters
The Bottom Line
The Bilt Mastercard remains the optimal rent payment card for 99% of scenarios. The United partnership creates a narrow exception for status chasers, but the 3% fee makes it uneconomical for pure rewards maximization.
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are those of Kudos alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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