Before I begin this one, let me acknowledge that, yes, I have been talking a lot about Bilt lately. But, in my defense, that’s only because they keep doing fascinating stuff! Of course, it also helps that I’m now a Bilt Mastercard cardholder so my attention is heightened. Still, I wanted to share their latest promotion because it strikes me as being unique, premium, and potentially impactful for travelers.
Last month, Bilt unveiled its inaugural Rent Day promotion, while promising more to come. Making good on that, November’s Rent Day offering includes a status challenge from United Airlines. Bilt Rewards members with Blue status (AKA the level you earn just for signing up) can earn United MileagePlus Premier Silver status for four months, while those at the Bilt Rewards Silver level can enjoy MileagePlus Premier Gold status for the same length of time. To be clear, you don’t need to be a Bilt Mastercard holder to take advantage of this — you just need to sign up for a free Bilt Rewards account. However, you will need to submit for this offer on or before November 1st.
So what are the benefits of MileagePlus Premier status? First, customers will enjoy priority check-in and boarding, complimentary checked bags (1 for Silver, 2 for Gold), access to Economy Plus for you and a travel companion (available at check-in for Silver and at booking for Gold), and have a chance to at further upgrades. Additionally, Silver elites earn 7x miles on every flight while Gold elites earn 8x.
As with other status challenges I’ve seen, this United offer also provides customers with a way to retain their elite status for longer. For Silver, those who fly at least 4 Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) and earn at least 1,000 Premier Qualifying Points (translation: spend $1,000 on United flights) will be able to retain their status through January 2024. Meanwhile, those who participate in the Gold challenge, fly at least 6 PQFsm, and earn 2,000 PQPs during their 4-month trial will be able to keep their status until January 31st, 2024. Notably, both of these requirements are below the typical qualifications:
- Premier Silver qualifications: 8 PQF and 3,000 PQP or 3,500 PQP
- Premier Gold qualifications: 16 PQF and 6,000 PQP or 7,000 PQP
To take part in this offer, Bilt Rewards will first need to link their United MileagePlus account to Bilt. This needs to be done via the Bilt app, but is as easy as entering your name and account number. Then, according to the terms, customers will be notified within 3 weeks of November 1st that their status challenge is live — meaning they can start taking advantage of their elite benefits.
By the way, this status challenge is in addition to some of the other Bilt Rent Day offers. Most notable for me as a Bilt Mastercard holder is that customers can earn double points on all non-rent purchases for the day. This means 6x on dining, 4x on select travel, and 2x on everything else. There’s also an offer where you can bring a friend to SoulCycle for free, but I don’t have much interest in that (especially since I doubt there’s a location anywhere near me).
Naturally, although I don’t really have any plans to fly United at the moment, I did go ahead and join this status challenge. Who knows — perhaps a new plan will pop up in the next 4 months and I’ll be able to enjoy the perks of being Silver. But, to me, the story here isn’t this specific deal but how Bilt continues to do interesting things. Therefore, even if you don’t end up becoming a Bilt Mastercard customer and your property isn’t part of the Bilt Rewards Alliance, I do think it’s worth opening a Bilt Rewards account and keeping an eye on what this growing startup is doing.