Bilt Obsidian earns more on rent and ties Chase Sapphire Preferred on dining

The short answer

Bilt Obsidian earns more points for a renter who dines out. Both cards pay 3 points per dollar on dining (Bilt Obsidian when dining is your chosen category), and Bilt adds housing points: 0.75 per rent dollar when everyday spending reaches 50 percent of the rent.

More points is not automatically more money: Bilt Obsidian's lead depends on your redemption value and your current card. Chase Sapphire Preferred makes its case on gas, online groceries and Chase Travel, finishing 99.90 dollars ahead of a 2 percent card after its fee on that card's own budget in Julia's worked example.

Both cards charge 95 dollars a year, terms checked October 6, 2026. Julia's Wallet Score gives Bilt Obsidian 74 and Chase Sapphire Preferred 67 out of 100, on nonhousing spending.

Side by side

Terms checked October 6, 2026.

• Annual fee: Bilt Obsidian 95 dollars; Chase Sapphire Preferred 95 dollars.
• Dining: Bilt Obsidian 3 points per dollar if dining is your chosen category; Chase Sapphire Preferred 3 points per dollar.
• Rent: Bilt Obsidian 0.5 to 1.25 housing points per dollar on eligible payments through Bilt, under the Housing-only option; Chase Sapphire Preferred at most its ordinary 1 point per dollar on a card payment.
• Groceries: Bilt Obsidian 3 points per dollar if groceries is your chosen category, with a yearly cap on the grocery bonus; Chase Sapphire Preferred 3 points per dollar on eligible online groceries, excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs.
• Gas and EV charging: Bilt Obsidian 1 point per dollar; Chase Sapphire Preferred 3 points per dollar.
• Travel: Bilt Obsidian 2 points per dollar on flights and hotels; Chase Sapphire Preferred 5 points per dollar through Chase Travel and 2 on other travel.
• Hotel credit: Bilt Obsidian has a Bilt hotel credit, with the amount on Bilt's page; Chase Sapphire Preferred has up to 100 dollars a year on a stay booked through Chase Travel.

How does Bilt Obsidian earn points on rent?

Bilt Obsidian's rent earning depends on your everyday spending in the billing cycle, compared with your housing payment. Under Bilt's Housing-only option, terms checked October 6, 2026:

• At least 25 percent of the housing payment: 0.5 points per housing dollar.
• 50 percent: 0.75 points.
• 75 percent: 1 point.
• 100 percent: 1.25 points.
• Below 25 percent: a minimum of 250 housing points for the cycle on qualifying accounts.

The rent does not go on Bilt Obsidian's credit line. Eligible housing payments through Bilt come from a linked bank account, which Bilt says it debits within 24 hours, so the rent money still has to be ready.

Bilt's other option, Flexible Bilt Cash, pays 4 percent in Bilt Cash on eligible everyday purchases. Bilt Cash has restricted uses, cannot be withdrawn as cash, and now lapses a set time after you receive it rather than at year end, so check Bilt's page for the current deadline.

Can Chase Sapphire Preferred earn points on rent?

Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 1 point per dollar outside its bonus categories, and rent by card can add a processing fee. In Julia's rent example, a 2,400 dollar payment is free from a bank account and costs 2.8 percent by card, which is 67.20 dollars.

A 2 percent card would earn 48 dollars on that rent and still finish 19.20 dollars behind. Chase Sapphire Preferred, at 1 point per dollar, would earn less than that card and finish further behind.

Julia would look again for an unfinished welcome offer she could not reach through planned purchases. Otherwise, the rent stays on the free bank payment.

Where each one wins

Bilt Obsidian wins on points when:

• Your rent qualifies, you pay it through Bilt, and your everyday spending reaches a housing level.
• Dining is your chosen category, so restaurant spending matches Chase Sapphire Preferred at 3 points and counts toward that level.

Chase Sapphire Preferred wins when:

• Your spending reaches beyond restaurants, because gas and EV charging and eligible online groceries earn 3 points alongside dining.
• You book a hotel you already want through Chase Travel, where the hotel credit and 5 points per dollar apply.
• You want cash back at 1 cent a point.

Rent points alone do not settle Bilt Obsidian's fee. Julia's rent example runs on Bilt Blue, the no-annual-fee version, so Bilt Obsidian has to earn its 95 dollars through what it adds above Bilt Blue.

The arithmetic

These 4 examples use different spending and comparison cards, so they do not add up to one total. Fees and earning rates are terms checked October 6, 2026.

Rent on Bilt Blue, for one billing cycle, against keeping purchases on a 2 percent card:

• Rent of 2,400 dollars and everyday purchases of 1,200 dollars, which is 50 percent of the rent.
• The purchases earn 1,200 points at 1 point per dollar, and the rent earns 1,800 points at 0.75 points per dollar, for 3,000 points.
• At 1 cent, that is 30 dollars. The 2 percent card pays 24 dollars, and a qualifying account's minimum 250 housing points add 2.50 dollars, for 26.50 dollars. Moving the spending adds 3.50 dollars.
• At 1.25 cents, that is 37.50 dollars. The alternative is 24 dollars plus about 3.13 dollars, about 27.13 dollars. Moving the spending adds roughly 10.37 dollars.

Bilt Obsidian's fee, for one year, against Bilt Blue:

• 4,000 dollars in the chosen category earns 3 points per dollar on Bilt Obsidian and 1 on Bilt Blue, which adds 8,000 points.
• At 1 cent, that is 80 dollars against the 95 dollar fee, so Bilt Obsidian needs at least 15 dollars of other useful value.

Chase Sapphire Preferred on dining and gas, for one year, in Julia's family food example:

• 6,000 dollars of dining and 2,400 dollars of gas make 8,400 dollars at 3 points per dollar.
• At 1 cent a point, that is 1 cent per dollar more than a 2 percent card, or 84 dollars against the 95 dollar fee.

Chase Sapphire Preferred on its own budget, for one year, against a 2 percent card:

• 5,000 dollars of dining, 3,000 dollars of gas and EV charging and 4,000 dollars of eligible online groceries earn 3 points per dollar, and 2,000 dollars of other travel earns 2.
• That is 14,000 dollars and 40,000 points, worth 400 dollars at 1 cent. The 2 percent card earns 280 dollars, so Chase Sapphire Preferred adds 120 dollars, or 25 dollars after the 95 dollar fee.
• A hotel stay costs 280 dollars direct or 310 dollars through Chase Travel. The 100 dollar credit leaves 210 dollars, which earns 5 points per dollar worth 10.50 dollars, for a net 199.50 dollars. Direct on the 2 percent card costs 274.40 dollars after cash back, a 74.90 dollar saving.
• 25 dollars plus 74.90 dollars is 99.90 dollars ahead. If those groceries go through ordinary supermarket checkouts on the 2 percent card instead, Chase Sapphire Preferred loses 40 dollars and finishes 59.90 dollars ahead.

At 1 cent a point, neither Bilt Obsidian's category example nor Chase Sapphire Preferred's dining and gas example covers 95 dollars alone. Chase Sapphire Preferred clears it on its own budget by adding online groceries and travel.

What do the Wallet Scores of 74 and 67 measure?

Julia's Wallet Score rates Bilt Obsidian 74 and Chase Sapphire Preferred 67 out of 100 on her everyday card test: 55 points for value after costs across 3 household budgets, 20 for using rewards, 15 for effort and 10 for 2 specific protections.

Housing rewards sit outside that 30,000 dollar nonhousing test, so Bilt Obsidian's 74 reflects no rent points, and Bilt Cash counts only when it replaces specified purchases.

Chase Sapphire Preferred's 67 uses a fixed redemption route, so potentially better transfer redemptions are not assumed, and it covers both protections.

Before you apply

On Bilt's page for Bilt Obsidian, check:

• The current Card 2.0 housing options and spending levels. They differ substantially from the old Wells Fargo Bilt arrangement, including its 5-transaction rule and rent-points cap.
• That your property manager accepts the payment method, and the delivery timing.
• Your billing-cycle dates. Purchases must post in the relevant cycle to count, and returns can reduce the amount. Buying something unnecessary to reach a level can cost more than it adds.
• The yearly grocery cap, the Bilt hotel credit, Bilt Cash uses and the benefit guide's protections.

On Chase's page for Chase Sapphire Preferred, check:

• Which purchases count as online groceries.
• The hotel credit. It follows your account anniversary year and needs a Chase Travel booking; a canceled or changed booking can reverse it, and so can closing the account within 90 days of receiving it.
• The benefit guide, including rental cover that pays before your own car insurer and is not liability insurance.

Keep any welcome offer separate from the yearly sums above. Terms checked October 6, 2026. Terms may have moved since, so use what each issuer's page shows today.

The cards in this guide

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