For years, credit card issuers and others have put a heavy emphasis on their own travel booking portals. From increased rewards for those who book using those sites to offering credits that can only be redeemed on them, the likes of Chase, Capital One, Amex, and others have been pushing them hard. This leads to a dilemma as some travelers may prefer to book directly with the hotel or airline to ensure that they have an easy contact should things go awry (not to mention the status benefits that may only be offered to members who book directly). Well, Bilt is now trying to solve this problem — and has opened up a double-dipping opportunity along the way.
In a Reddit post from Bilt’s own Richard Kerr, he shared the platform’s efforts to expand its New Distribution Capability (NDC) connections. This means that Bilt Travel is looking to work directly with more travel brands in order to book travelers directly with them rather than running through a third-party service. Of course, the problem is that customers may not know exactly how they’re booking when they use Bilt Travel, since the method may differ.
Well, that’s why Bilt Travel now shows which flights are booked directly with the airline by adding a straightforward “Direct Book” tag to search results. To start, many United flights (but interestingly not all, per my quick search test) are now available to book directly on the Bilt Travel platform. Incidentally, Bilt also just announced a rent pay perk for United credit cardholders, so clearly the two companies are getting chummy.
To be clear, when you choose a flight with the Direct Book tag, you’ll be able to manage your booking from the airline itself. However, what’s even better is that these purchases will also show that they were booked directly with the airline — and you don’t need to use a Bilt Mastercard for your transaction. That’s key, as cards such as the American Express Platinum Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve offer better multipliers (5x and 4x, respectively) on flights booked directly with carriers. So, by finding Direct Book flights on Bilt, you can still earn the full rewards you’re entitled to from another card while also scoring 1 Bilt point per dollar spent on the portal!
Speaking of Bilt Points, though, there is one exception. If you’re redeeming any Bilt Points toward a Direct Book flight, while you’ll still enjoy the customer service benefits, the transaction may code as Bilt instead. Therefore, if you are trying to double dip with the likes of the Amex Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll likely want to ensure you’re paying in “cash” only.
While this development seems limited to United for now, should it expand further, it could be truly game-changing for travelers. After all, it’s an easy way to gain an extra point per dollar without really going out of your way. Also, if more Bilt Travel flights (and maybe hotels?) were Direct Book, the site would combine the best parts of a travel portal — the searchability and comparison — with the benefits of dealing directly with the carrier/hotel brand. So here’s hoping more big things are in the works for Bilt Travel!