When your rent check starts stacking airline miles, building credit, and covering your next dinner out, that’s when you know the loyalty game just grew up and left the kids’ table.
Bilt Rewards just closed a $150 million Series C-II led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), with Vanderbilt University Endowment and the University of Illinois Foundation joining the cap table. It’s the kind of raise that doesn’t just fund product, it funds movement. Founding CEO Ankur Jain didn’t just see the $750 billion paid in U.S. rent every year and think, “How do we take a slice?” He asked the better question, “Why the hell aren’t we rewarding this like we do everything else?” That’s not a pivot, it’s a paradigm rewrite.
You’ve got nearly 5 million members earning points on the thing they have to pay anyway, with over $30 billion in annualized platform spend, and they’ve done it without turning into another “tech-enabled landlord.” There’s no sleight of hand here. Just strong pipes, a sharp product, and a very real business that hit EBITDA profitability in 2023 while pushing $275 million in revenue this year.
Let’s talk mechanics. This isn’t just points-for-rent. The Bilt Mastercard (issued by Wells Fargo, powered by Mastercard) is a spend magnet. It’s been swiped by over 1 million members, giving users Rent Day bonuses and pulling in item-level receipts through a Method integration that’s driven a 148% spike in card enrollment. Meanwhile, partnerships with American Airlines, United, Hyatt, and 20,000+ restaurants turn rent into routes, rooms, and risottos.
Ankur Jain isn’t doing this solo. Daniel Seder is running operations with the steady hand of someone who’s seen both Goldman and Stone Point. David M. Wyler is steering commercial strategy, bringing DNA from both Tinder and Humin. Zoe Oz is building a brand that actually means something in fintech (not easy), while Erick Rabin keeps the compliance tight and Brandt Smallwood turns credit cards into strategy weapons. And yes, Ken Chenault is Chairman of the Board, Roger Goodell’s on deck, and Doug Bibby is chairing the Bilt Awards Alliance. This isn’t startup cosplay. This is built different.
With $3.25 billion on the board and a network covering 4.5 million rental properties, Bilt Rewards is scaling faster than most proptechs can spell “rent.” Mortgage payments, groceries, and even student loans are next. They’ve got their eyes on condos, single-family homes, and the global market. And if you’re a merchant, landlord, or lender not already plugged into this loop, you’re missing your ticket to the next economy of loyalty.
The funding? That’s just gas. The engine’s already running.
