Bilt Extends Rewards Program to Student Housing and Student Loans

Bilt Rewards now enables students to earn rewards on their student housing payments and redeem their rewards toward student loan payments.

The first of these new capabilities results from the expansion of the Bilt Rewards network of homes to include student housing properties, beginning with those of its launch partner American Campus Communities (ACC), Bilt Rewards said in a Wednesday (April 23) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

This partnership with ACC, which is a student housing company and a Blackstone portfolio company, will begin in late May at two properties at Baylor University and then expand in the coming months to the broader ACC portfolio that serves nearly 140,000 students, according to the release.

The collaboration extends to student housing properties the Bilt Rewards payments and commerce network that transforms housing and neighborhood spending into rewards and benefits, per the release.

“At Bilt, we’re constantly expanding our network of homes and looking for ways to help our members maximize value from their largest monthly expenses,” Bilt Rewards Founder and CEO Ankur Jain said in the release.

The other new feature announced Wednesday — the ability for Bilt members to redeem their Bilt Points toward eligible student loan payments — is the first of its kind for Bilt Rewards, according to the release.

Starting Wednesday, Bilt members can redeem Bilt Points on student loans with five servicers: Nelnet, MOHELA, Sallie Mae, Aidvantage and Navient, per the release.

The company plans to add more servicers in the coming months, the release said.

“By enabling members to redeem Bilt Points toward student loan payments, we’re addressing a critical financial need while continuing to differentiate our program as offering the most valuable and flexible points currency in the industry,” Jain said in the release.

Bilt was valued at $3.2 billion in an August funding round in which it raised $150 million, just months after being valued at $3.1 billion in a $200 million round, PYMNTS reported at the time.

The company launched its loyalty rewards platform in 2021 and said in August that its growth had been fueled by expanding its resident loyalty program to more apartment buildings, including seven of the 10 largest multifamily managers, as well as into the condominium and HOA market.