Bilt Palladium

The short answer

Bilt Palladium has a $495 annual fee, against $95 for Obsidian and nothing for Blue. Julia's test for a paid Bilt card is whether it adds enough useful value over Blue and your existing cards to justify the fee, and housing rewards alone do not make every paid tier worthwhile. For Palladium she says there is more fee to overcome than for Obsidian.

The Studio gives Palladium a Wallet Score of 65 out of 100, compared with 61 for Blue and 74 for Obsidian. Its fit note reads, "Everyday spending that fits Bilt partners, with optional points transfers." Its limitation reads, "Housing rewards are outside the 30,000-dollar nonhousing test. Bilt Cash has restricted uses and cannot be withdrawn as cash."

It suits a household that would use the full Bilt Cash and hotel credit and gets more from the extra points than the card it would replace. It does not suit a household counting on housing rewards alone to cover $495.

What it costs

The annual fee is $495. Obsidian currently costs $95 a year and Blue has no annual fee, so Palladium has more fee to overcome than either.

That fee is the hurdle. Julia asks what Palladium adds above Blue and your existing cards, counting only benefits you would actually use, and whether that justifies $495. The other comparison is the card you use now: in her housing example it pays 2 percent.

Housing payments carry a practical cost too. Under Card 2.0, eligible housing payments through Bilt come from a linked bank account and do not use the card's credit line. Bilt says it automatically debits that account within 24 hours, so the money has to be ready.

What it earns

Julia notes that the paid Bilt cards earn differently on everyday spending and have additional benefits. The Studio's rate card puts Palladium's base rate at 2 points per dollar, against 1 point per dollar on Blue.

The Studio values a Bilt point at 1.25 cents, and Julia's examples use 1 cent and then 1.25 cents. Worked out from her 1 cent value, 2 points per dollar equals 2 cents per dollar, the same as the 2 percent card in her housing example. The extra earning beats that card only if you redeem for more than 1 cent per point.

Julia explains Bilt's two housing options with Blue as the example. Under Housing-only, eligible everyday spending is compared with eligible housing payments during the billing cycle, and housing earns 0.5 points per dollar at 25 percent of the housing amount, 0.75 at 50 percent, 1 point at 75 percent and 1.25 points at 100 percent. The Flexible option instead pays 4 percent in Bilt Cash on eligible everyday purchases.

The credits, used honestly

Palladium's rate card lists two benefits, Bilt Cash and a Bilt hotel credit. Julia's method counts a benefit only where a household would use it, so a credit that goes unspent adds nothing against the fee.

Bilt Cash is not a deposit into a bank account. It needs a permitted program use, such as unlocking housing points, where $3 of Bilt Cash unlocks 100 points, up to 1 point per eligible housing dollar. It counts only when it replaces specified purchases, and only up to $100 of Flexible Bilt Cash rolls into the next year; the rest expires. The Studio's rate card counts Palladium's usable Bilt Cash at $240 a year.

The hotel credit is counted at what a household would use. Across the Studio's 3 budgets that is $100, $200 or $300 a year, and the rate card sets its face value at $300 and flags it to be checked against the issuer's page.

The catch

The fee is the first catch. Julia says Palladium has more fee to overcome than Obsidian, and that housing rewards alone do not make every paid tier worthwhile. The sum has to be run on the extra points and credits you would really use.

Restricted credit is the second. Bilt Cash has restricted uses and cannot be withdrawn as cash, and Julia would not call it an extra 4 percent that can simply be moved to a bank account. Earning more of it than you can use does not improve a budget.

Timing is the third. Purchases must post in the relevant billing cycle to count toward a spending level, returns can reduce the amount, and a calendar month is not necessarily your billing cycle. Bilt Cash availability and option changes have their own timing rules, so follow the current app progress and the formal terms.

The old Wells Fargo Bilt arrangement had a 5-transaction rule and a rent-points cap. Those are not Card 2.0 terms, and figures built on them do not apply.

Who it fits

It fits a household that would use the Bilt Cash and the hotel credit in full, and that redeems points for more than 1 cent each, since at 1 cent or less the 2 points per dollar earn no more than a 2 percent card. For that household the fee is set against value it actually uses.

It fits less well a household that would use only part of the credits, one whose other cards already pay well on its main spending, or one counting on housing rewards alone to cover $495. Rent or mortgage rewards could change a personal decision, Julia says, but only after checking the spending and cash choices.

The arithmetic

Julia's video does not work a Palladium sum, so this section gives her two worked examples and the test she applies to a paid card.

The paid-card test, worked for Obsidian:

• $4,000 of existing yearly spending in Obsidian's chosen category earns 3 points per dollar against Blue's 1: 8,000 more points.
• At 1 cent per point, 8,000 points are worth $80.
• Against Obsidian's $95 fee, that is $15 short, so she would need at least $15 of other useful value before moving up.

The housing reward, worked for Blue: a $2,400 housing payment and $1,200 of everyday purchases earn 3,000 points, 1,200 for the purchases at 1 point per dollar and 1,800 for housing at 0.75 points per dollar. That is $30 at 1 cent per point and $37.50 at 1.25 cents. The gain over keeping the purchases on a 2 percent card is $3.50 for the cycle at 1 cent, and roughly $10.37 at 1.25 cents.

For Palladium the same test sets $495 against three things: its extra points over Blue at your value per point, the Bilt Cash you would use ($240 in the rate card), and the hotel credit you would use ($100 to $300 across the Studio's budgets). Whether they add up to more than $495 depends on how much of each you use.

Before you apply

Check Bilt's page for Palladium's current annual fee and earning rate, the Bilt Cash and hotel credit terms, and how the housing options apply to this tier. Use the current Card 2.0 terms, not the old Wells Fargo arrangement.

The figures here were checked on October 6, 2026. Terms may have moved since Julia recorded the video, and her examples rest on assumptions: a $4,000 category figure, a $2,400 housing payment, $1,200 of everyday purchases and a point value of 1 cent or 1.25 cents. Replace them with your own. For an ongoing comparison Julia assumes you pay in full, with no interest or extra card-payment fees.