The Bilt Obsidian card costs $95 a year. You pick one 3× category: dining, which is uncapped, or groceries, which earn 3× on the first $25,000 a year and 1× after that. The fee audit on this page uses the dining choice, Bilt Obsidian Card (Dining). The grocery choice, Bilt Obsidian Card (Grocery), has the same $95 fee and the same $100 hotel credit. It moves the 3× to groceries and earns 1× on dining. Bilt points transfer to airline and hotel partners, so each one can be worth about 2.2¢.
Use the fee audit below. It is the dining choice, so groceries are not a 3× field. Housing payments are included, and the rate depends on other spend on the same card, up to 1.25×. The hotel credit starts at $0 until you enter what you would actually save. Then open the full MaxPoints calculator if you want the grocery choice, or a whole wallet, in the math.
Fee audit for Bilt Obsidian Card (Dining)
Enter what you actually spend and save on Bilt Obsidian Card (Dining) each year. This uses the same calculation as the full fee audit, against its $95 annual fee.
How we estimate
We estimate Obsidian value for the dining choice: dining at 3×, hotels through Bilt Travel at 4×, flights through Bilt Travel at 3×, other travel at 2×, and everything else at 1×, at 2.2¢ per point. The grocery choice is a separate catalog row with the same fee. It earns 3× on groceries up to $25,000 a year, then 1×, and 1× on dining. Only the hotel credit counts if you mark it, and it starts off. The $200 welcome offer is Bilt Cash, not points, so it is left out. Year 2+ keeps the $95 fee. Educational only—confirm terms with Bilt.
When it’s usually worth it
Dining is a large category and you will keep dining as the 3× choice. It is uncapped.
Groceries are the large category, you will stay near or under $25,000 a year at the grocery rate, and you accept 1× on dining. Use the grocery card row for that math.
You would book at least one two-night stay through Bilt Travel in each half of the year, so the $100 hotel credit pays out.
You transfer points to airline or hotel partners and value them near 2.2¢.
You pay rent or a mortgage through Bilt and want 3× on food to help the everyday-spend side of housing rewards. See Bilt vs paying rent with no rewards.
When it isn’t
Dining and groceries are both modest, so 3× on one of them does not clear a $95 fee.
You would pick groceries and spend far past $25,000 a year there. Spend above the cap earns 1×.
You mainly want housing rewards. Bilt Blue earns on rent and mortgage with no annual fee.
You will not book two-night stays through Bilt Travel, so the $100 hotel credit goes unused.
You want a flat 2× on everything and would use a larger hotel credit. See is Bilt Palladium worth it?.
Tips
Pick the category you will actually spend on. Dining 3× is uncapped. Grocery 3× stops at $25,000 a year, then drops to 1×. The other category earns 1×. Our catalog keeps both as separate cards so the math can follow your pick.
Count the hotel credit only if you would book it. It is $50 twice a year, each on a stay of two nights or more through the Bilt Travel portal, and it does not roll over between halves of the year.
Leave variable partner rates out. Bilt lists up to 6× at Bilt dining partners, and the rate varies by restaurant. This page does not treat that as a fixed 6×.
Value points by how you will redeem them. Near 2.2¢ needs a transfer to a good partner. See Bilt transfer partners and active transfer bonuses before you move points.
Check the lineup. Read the Bilt Rewards card guide for how Blue, Obsidian, and Palladium compare.
FAQ
Is the Bilt Obsidian card worth it?
Should I pick dining or groceries on Bilt Obsidian?
What does the Bilt Obsidian earn?
How does the Bilt Obsidian hotel credit work?
Is the Bilt Obsidian welcome offer points?
Is MaxPoints free to run a Bilt Obsidian fee audit?
See how this card fits the rest of your wallet—not just the categories above.
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