Bilt Obsidian

The short answer

Bilt Obsidian costs $95 a year. Julia's test for any paid Bilt card is what it adds above Bilt Blue and your existing cards, using benefits you would actually use, because housing rewards alone do not make every paid tier worthwhile. In her example, Obsidian's category earning adds 8,000 points over Blue, worth $80 at 1 cent per point, which is $15 short of the fee. She would need at least $15 of other useful value before moving up.

The Studio gives Obsidian a Wallet Score of 74 out of 100, compared with 61 for Blue and 65 for Palladium. 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 Bilt Cash has restricted uses and cannot be withdrawn as cash."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 with enough dining or grocery spending to put in the chosen category, and a real use for the Bilt Cash and hotel credit. It does not suit a household whose spending in that category is small, because the category earning then covers little of the fee.

What it costs

The annual fee is $95. That fee is the hurdle: a paid Bilt card has to add enough useful value over Blue and your other cards to justify it. The no-fee Blue and the card you already hold are what Obsidian is measured against.

The same comparison runs against the card you use now. In Julia's housing example that card pays 2 percent, and the example shows how part of a large point balance only replaces rewards you could already earn.

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

Obsidian earns 3 points per dollar in a chosen dining or grocery category, where Blue earns 1 point per dollar on the same ordinary purchases. The grocery bonus has a yearly cap, so check the cap before you count a large grocery bill. The Studio's rate card gives other purchases 1 point per dollar and flights and hotels 2 points per dollar.

The Studio values a Bilt point at 1.25 cents. Julia's Obsidian example uses 1 cent per point, so its dollar figures are on the lower value.

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. At 25 percent of the housing amount, housing earns 0.5 points per dollar; at 50 percent, 0.75; at 75 percent, 1 point; at 100 percent, 1.25 points. The Flexible option instead pays 4 percent in Bilt Cash on eligible everyday purchases.

The credits, used honestly

Obsidian's rate card lists two benefits, Bilt Cash and a Bilt hotel credit. Neither is cash in hand, and Julia's method counts them only where a household would use them.

Bilt Cash is the 4 percent reward of the Flexible option. Despite the name, it 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 unused allowances add nothing. At year-end only up to $100 rolls into the next year and the rest expires. The Studio's rate card counts the Bilt Cash a household can use at $290 to $390 a year across its 3 budgets.

The hotel credit is counted at what a household would use, $50 to $100 a year across the same 3 budgets, and the rate card flags the amount to be checked against the issuer's page.

The catch

The chosen category is the first catch. The 3 points per dollar applies to a chosen dining or grocery category, and the grocery bonus has a yearly cap. Other everyday purchases earn the ordinary 1 point per dollar.

The second is that housing rewards do not justify a paid tier on their own. Julia looks at what Obsidian adds above Blue, not at the full point balance.

Timing rules apply. 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. Restricted Bilt Cash is also not an extra 4 percent you can simply withdraw into your bank account.

Who it fits

It fits a household with existing yearly spending in the chosen dining or grocery category, such as the $4,000 in Julia's example, and a real use for the Bilt Cash and the hotel credit. There the category earning covered $80 of the $95 fee, so the other benefits had to supply at least $15 more.

It fits less well a household with little spending in the chosen category, or one that would not use the Bilt Cash and hotel credit, because the category earning is then all that stands against the fee. Rent or mortgage rewards could change a personal decision, Julia says, but only after checking the spending and cash choices.

The arithmetic

Julia's paid-card test starts from Blue, which earns 1 point per dollar on dining and groceries.

• Existing yearly spending that would qualify for Obsidian's chosen category: $4,000.
• Obsidian earns 3 points per dollar there and Blue earns 1, so the category adds 8,000 points over Blue.
• At 1 cent per point, 8,000 points are worth $80.
• Against the $95 fee, that is $15 short, so Obsidian needs at least $15 of other useful value before moving up is worth it.

The point value moves every sum like this. In Julia's Blue example, the same 3,000 points were worth $30 at 1 cent and $37.50 at 1.25 cents, and the gain over a 2 percent card rose from $3.50 to roughly $10.37 for the cycle. That example had a $2,400 housing payment and $1,200 of everyday purchases, which earned 1,200 points at 1 point per dollar plus 1,800 housing points at 0.75 points per dollar.

Before you apply

Check Bilt's page for Obsidian's current annual fee, the chosen-category rules and the grocery cap, the hotel credit and Bilt Cash 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 $4,000 category figure and 1 cent point value are assumptions to replace with your own. For an ongoing comparison Julia assumes you pay in full, with no interest or extra card-payment fees.