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New Made Card Rewards Mortgage Payments: How It Compares to Bilt and Other Options
July 1, 2025
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The mortgage payment rewards space just got more competitive. Made Card recently launched the Made Essential Visa Signature Preferred Card, a no-annual-fee credit card that lets Fairway Home Mortgage borrowers earn rewards on their monthly mortgage payments—without paying transaction fees.
But how does it stack up against established players like Bilt and Mesa? Here's what homeowners need to know.
What Makes the Made Card Unique
The Made Essential Card takes a different approach to mortgage rewards compared to its competitors. Instead of paying your mortgage directly with the card, you earn bonus "mortgage matching" points based on your everyday spending.
How Mortgage Matching Works
For every dollar you spend on purchases, you earn 1 bonus point toward your mortgage payment, up to your monthly mortgage amount. For example:
- Your monthly mortgage payment: $2,000
- You spend $1,500 on groceries: Earn 4,500 grocery points (3x rate) + 1,500 mortgage matching points
- You spend another $500 on gas: Earn 1,500 gas points (3x rate) + 500 mortgage matching points (hitting your $2,000 cap)
Total rewards: 7,500 points on a $2,000 spending month
Standard Earning Rates
- 3x points: Gas, EV charging, groceries, utilities (capped at 30,000 points annually)
- 2x points: Home improvement, maintenance, furniture (capped at 20,000 points annually)
- 1x point: Everything else
Redemption Options
Points offer varying values depending how you use them:
- 1 cent per point: Cash back toward your Fairway mortgage or closing costs on future Fairway refinances/purchases
- 0.8 cents per point: Gift cards
- 0.7 cents per point: Statement credit
How Made Compares to Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard® pioneered mortgage payment rewards and remains the category leader with some key advantages:
Bilt's Advantages
- Direct mortgage payments: Pay any landlord or mortgage company directly with the card on the first of each month
- No mortgage lender requirement: Works with any mortgage servicer or rental property
- Higher potential value: Points transfer to 100+ airline and hotel partners, often worth 1.5-2+ cents each
- Flexible earning: 3x on travel, 2x on travel booked through Bilt, 1x on rent/mortgage (up to 100,000 points annually)
- Rent day multiplier: Double points on all purchases made on rent day
- No spending requirement: Earn rent/mortgage rewards even without other purchases
Made's Advantages Over Bilt
- Higher grocery rewards: 3x on groceries vs. Bilt's 1x
- Gas station rewards: 3x on gas and EV charging (Bilt offers 1x)
- Home-focused perks: Two complimentary annual HVAC maintenance visits, AC filter credits, 24/7 repair hotline
- Utility rewards: 3x on utilities (Bilt offers 1x)
- Simple redemption: Direct application to your mortgage balance at 1 cent per point
The Trade-offs
Bilt requires more strategy and travel knowledge to maximize value, while Made offers straightforward earning on everyday categories that homeowners frequently use. However, Made's mortgage matching caps at your monthly payment amount and requires you to be a Fairway customer to redeem toward your mortgage.
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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.
Comparing to Mesa and Other Mortgage Payment Cards
Mesa Credit Card
Mesa offers another approach to mortgage rewards:
- 2.2% cash back: When paying your mortgage through Mesa's platform
- Annual fee: Currently $0 promotional rate
- Direct payment: Pay most mortgage servicers directly
- Broad compatibility: Works with most major mortgage companies
Made vs. Mesa: Mesa offers higher potential cash back on your actual mortgage payment (2.2% vs. Made's effective 1%), but Made provides better rewards on everyday spending categories. Mesa is better if you want to maximize mortgage-specific rewards; Made is better for overall household spending.
Traditional Cash Back Cards
Some homeowners simply use high-earning cash back cards and apply rewards toward their mortgage manually:
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Made vs. Traditional Cards: Made's mortgage matching feature essentially adds 1% to your earning rate on purchases up to your mortgage amount, making it competitive with 2% cards while offering higher rates on home-related categories.
Who Should Get the Made Card?
The Made Card makes the most sense for:
- Fairway Home Mortgage borrowers who want to redeem rewards toward their loan
- Homeowners with high grocery and gas spending who can maximize the 3x categories
- Those who value home maintenance perks like complimentary HVAC visits
- People who prefer simple redemption over maximizing travel transfer values
Who Should Choose Bilt Instead?
Bilt remains the better choice for:
- Renters and anyone with non-Fairway mortgages who want universal acceptance
- Travel enthusiasts who can extract 1.5-2+ cents per point through transfers
- Those who value flexibility in how and where they redeem rewards
- People who want to earn rewards without minimum spending requirements
The Bottom Line
The Made Essential Card brings welcome competition to the mortgage rewards space, particularly for homeowners who prioritize everyday spending categories over travel rewards. Its 3x rates on groceries, gas, and utilities combined with mortgage matching points can deliver solid value for Fairway customers.
However, Bilt's universal acceptance, transfer partners, and rent day multipliers still make it the most versatile mortgage payment rewards card for most people. Mesa may offer the highest direct mortgage cash back rate, but requires using their payment platform.
The best choice depends on your specific situation:
- Choose Made if you're a Fairway customer who spends heavily on groceries and gas
- Choose Bilt if you want maximum flexibility and travel rewards
- Choose Mesa if you want the highest cash back specifically on mortgage payments
- Choose a traditional 2% card if you prefer simplicity over category optimization
With no annual fee, the Made Card is worth considering as part of a multi-card strategy, even if Bilt remains your primary mortgage payment card. Just remember to check preapproval status on the Made website to see offers without impacting your credit score.
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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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