Bilt's new credit cards will feature 10% interest rate, meeting
bipartisan call for lower card rates
[January 15, 2026] By
KEN SWEET
NEW YORK (AP) — Fintech giant Bilt announced an overhaul of its credit
cards on Wednesday, which notably will include an introductory rate on
all card users’ interest rates at 10% for one year.
The promotion comes at a time of heightened political rhetoric around
the cost of credit cards, with President Donald Trump announcing last
week that he also is seeking a one-year cap on credit card interest
rates of 10%.
New York-based Bilt, which originally built its business model around
earning rewards on rent and other routine purchases, has been branching
out into other financial products as its grown. The privately held
company, backed by several Venture Capital and pension funds, was valued
last year at $10.75 billion and has been expanding its partnerships with
landlords. It's starting to build in rewards programs for other routine
transactions, like a customer’s mortgage payment. The company says
roughly 1 in 4 landlords accept Bilt and the company says Bilt is now
the largest reporter of on-time rental payments to credit bureaus.
In an interview, Bilt CEO Ankur Jain said Bilt was deciding to cap its
interest rates on credit cards for one year to meet the “bipartisan call
for a solution” on the issues of affordability that he says many of his
customers are facing. Candidly, Jain also said it could also be a chance
to lure in new customers.
“If (a credit card rate cap) is going to happen, we’d rather be at the
forefront,” Jain said.
The 10% rate applies as an introductory annual percentage rate on new
eligible purchases for the first 12 months for cardholders approved for
one of Bilt’s three new cards. After that, purchases, balance transfers
and cash advances carry APRs that can run well above 20%, similar to
other rewards cards.
The credit card industry has long pushed back against any caps on
interest rates on its products, with the average credit card interest
rate hovering around 21%. They have faced their most serious challenge
yet with Trump, who has embraced the populist idea of capping credit
card interest rates for one year. Researchers at Vanderbilt University
estimated that Trump’s proposal would cost the credit card industry $100
billion. Left-leaning politicians like Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of
New York and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have long embraced capping
credit card rates.
Bilt is effectively offering its new and existing customers a
promotional rate; not unlike other promotions the credit card industry
does to attract new customers like a zero percent APR or promotions for
customers who transfer balances. But the announcement by Bilt, being
small relative to the giants JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and American
Express, may have political ramifications, Politicians can now point to
Bilt voluntarily capping interest rates for all its customers and ask
why its larger competitors are unable or unwilling to embrace the same
move.
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This photo provided by Bilt in January 2025 shows their Obsidian
Card, Palladium Card and Blue Card. (Bilt via AP)
 The new credit cards from Bilt,
which were unveiled at the top of the World Trade Center on
Wednesday, follows the “good, better, best” model that other credit
card companies have adopted. The center of the program is Bilt Cash,
which is a points program that converts into cash back inside the
Bilt ecosystem. These are often merchants that have signed up with
Bilt to help attract customers in the local area. Bilt is also
keeping its transfer partners with several airlines and hotels
through its Bilt Rewards points program.
At the top end of Bilt’s new credit card program is the Bilt
Palladium Card, with a $495 annual fee, will give $400 annual
credits toward hotel stays as well as $200 in Bilt Cash. The middle
tier card will be the Bilt Obsidian Card, which focuses more of its
rewards accumulation on dining out and grocery purchases and carries
a $95 annual fee. The basic card will be called the Bilt Blue Card,
which has no annual fee, but will also offer cash back and points
accumulation, but at lower multiples compared to the annual fee
cards.
Bilt is trying to move beyond its “credit card for renters” identity
and focus more on being a financial liaison between local merchants,
landlords and renters in the area. Bilt previously partnered with
Wells Fargo on its credit card program, but that partnership is
coming to an end in February in what appears to have been an
acrimonious divorce. Wells Fargo apparently lost $10 million a month
on the Bilt credit card, The Wall Street Journal previously
reported, and chose to end its partnership several years before it
was supposed to expire in 2029.
The new card is being issued in a partnership with credit card
operations company Cardless, while the bank Column N.A. will be the
issuing bank.
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