It’s Official: You Can Now Transfer Rakuten Points to Bilt – and It Changes Everything

Becca Alves
Nov 6
3 min read

We’ve been hearing rumors for months… but now it’s real:

👉 Rakuten just added Bilt Rewards as a transfer partner.

This is MASSIVE news for anyone who’s been using Rakuten to earn cashback or Amex points – and even bigger for those of us in the travel hacking world who are always looking for lie-flat flights, 5-star hotels, and smarter redemptions.

If you’re new to either platform, don’t worry – I’ll explain everything.

If you’ve been in the game a while? You already know how big this is.

💳 First, What Is Rakuten?

Rakuten is a free cashback portal that rewards you every time you shop online. They partner with 3,500+ brands – from Sephora and Ulta to Apple, Viator, and Nike.

Until now, Rakuten users had two payout options:

Cash back (default)
Amex Membership Rewards points (if you had an eligible Amex)

I’ve personally been earning Amex points through Rakuten for years – it’s been one of my easiest ways to stack points for luxury travel.

But now, Rakuten has added a third option – and it might be the best one yet:

👉 You can now transfer Rakuten earnings to Bilt Rewards.

🏠 What’s Bilt, and Why Is This Huge?

Bilt Rewards is one of the most powerful – and honestly underrated – rewards programs in the U.S.

They’re best known for letting you earn points on rent payments (without fees), but they’ve evolved into a top-tier travel loyalty program with some of the best airline and hotel transfer partners out there. Mortgage payments are also launching in February.

Bilt points transfer 1:1 to:

✈️ Hyatt
✈️ Alaska Airlines
✈️ Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
✈️ Turkish Airlines
✈️ Iberia
✈️ British Airways
✈️ Virgin Atlantic

💡 That’s a BIG deal – especially because some of these partners aren’t available through Amex or Chase.

And now, you can earn those Bilt points… just by shopping online through Rakuten.

🔁 How to Link Rakuten to Bilt (and Get Bonus Points)

Step 1: Sign up for both platforms

– 🎁 Sign up for Rakuten with my link and get 5,000 points after your first purchase

(That’s 5,000 – double the 2,500 you’d get if you signed up through Bilt directly!)

– 💡 Sign up for Bilt here (This is my mom’s referral link! There’s never a public signup bonus for Bilt, but she’ll earn a few points – and we both appreciate you!)

Step 2: Link your accounts

Go to this page → https://www.biltrewards.com/p/rakuten

Log into Rakuten and connect your Bilt account

Step 3: Start earning

From now on, when you shop through Rakuten, your earnings will convert directly into Bilt points instead of cashback or Amex points.

⚠️ Limited-Time: 1:1 Transfer Rate (Then It Changes)

For the first six months, everyone gets a 1:1 transfer rate:

$10 in Rakuten cashback = 1,000 Bilt Points

But after that period ends, your transfer rate will depend on your Bilt status:

Silver, Gold, or Platinum members → still earn at the 1:1 rate
Blue (basic) members → drop to 1:0.5
(i.e., $10 cashback = only 500 Bilt Points)

So if you don’t level up your status after 6 months, you’ll lose half the value of your Rakuten earnings.

🎯 My advice?

Lock in the 1:1 rate now, and aim to reach Silver status in the next few months to maintain that full earning power.

✈️ Why This Changes Everything for Travel Hackers

Here’s why this is such a big deal:

You don’t need an Amex card to earn points from Rakuten anymore. You can do it with a FREE Bilt card.
You get access to Hyatt and Alaska, two of the most valuable transfer partners (which Amex doesn’t touch!)
You can now earn high-value travel rewards on everyday purchases you were already making
You stack it all with your favorite credit card to double-dip