Today Only: Get Up to a 100% Bonus on Bilt Transfers to British Airways!

Bilt is back with another Rent Day promotion, and it's a good one for travelers with their sights set on Europe, Africa, the Middle East … or just about anywhere, really.

Today (Nov. 1) only, Bilt Rewards is offering members a transfer bonus of up to 100% when moving points to British Airways Avios.

This transfer bonus is targeted and ranges between 50% and 100% – and unlike previous Rent Day promotions, this bonus is not solely based on your Bilt status. Most members of the Thrifty Traveler team (with and without status) are seeing a bonus of 50%, but some lucked out and got the bigger 100% bonus.

To see what you're targeted for, log in to your Bilt account on the app or website. 

Even though British Airways gutted many of our favorite sweet spots for domestic travelers earlier this year, there are still plenty of ways to get good value out of this bonus. Much of that is thanks to the ability to freely transfer Avios between all the airlines that use them.

This means that you could use this bonus to transfer to British Airways and then move those Avios to Iberia to book business class flights to Madrid for as few as 17,000 Bilt points each way. Or you could instead kick them over to Qatar to book roundtrip flights from the West Coast to Hawaii for as few as 16,000 Bilt points on American Airlines. With so many different airlines using Avios these days, booking flights on British Airways is really just the tip of the iceberg. 

Read on for more details about this transfer bonus and to see what else Bilt has in store for this month's Rent Day.

Read more: Free Breakfast: Why Hilton Gold (& Diamond) Status Reign Supreme

How to Use British Airways Avios

Avios is the points and miles currency used by … well, a lot of airlines these days: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways, and even Finnair. And while most airlines don't allow you to transfer miles to another carrier, these Avios partners are an awesome exception. This is useful because even though they all use the same type of currency, they each price awards a little bit different. 

Say you want to go to Europe … but in style. There are few cheaper ways to get there in business class than flying Iberia. One-way flights from the East Coast hubs of Boston (BOS), Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD), New York City (JFK) – and oddly enough, Chicago (ORD) – all price out at 34,000 Avios each way.

That means that by taking advantage of this big transfer bonus, you could book business class flights to Europe for as few as 17,000 Bilt points and a little over $100 in taxes and fees, each way. Even if you're only targeted for a 50% transfer bonus, you'd need just 23,000 Bilt points to make it happen. That's less points than most airlines charge for a ride across the pond in economy.

Read our review of Iberia business class! 

Or how about a trip to Hawaii? Using Qatar Avios, you can book flights operated by American or Alaska Airlines from the West Coast to the Hawaiian islands for just 16,000 miles each way. 

Since you can combine British Airways Avios and Qatar Avios, that means you'd need as few as 8,000 Bilt points and a little over $20 in taxes and fees for a trip to paradise. 

But Avios are way more useful than that – they also unlock the best business class flight in the world. While not always the case, Avios have quickly become the best way to book the airline's outstanding Qsuites business class seats due to practically non-existent partner availability.

For example, you could book a simple nonstop from many cities in the U.S. over to Doha (DOH) for just 70,000 British Airways Avios. If you want to take it next level and connect elsewhere – Dubai (DXB) or Muscat (MCT) in the Middle East, Cairo (CAI), or maybe even the Maldives (MLE) or down to Cape Town (CPT) in South Africa – you'll want to turn to Qatar Airways Avios, where the lengthiest routes top out at just 95,000 Avios each way. 

With this transfer bonus, you'd need as few as 35,000 Bilt points to make it happen. Heck, even with a 50% transfer bonus, you'd be able to fly in lie-flat comfort for 12-plus hours for only 47,000 Bilt points. 

Sadly, both Qatar and British Airways recently raised taxes and fees on these business class redemptions. What was once a $100-or-so charge has increased to roughly $235. That's a small price to pay to fly the world's best business class, if you ask us. 

Read our review of Qatar Qsuites! 

Other Rent Day Promotions

If a big transfer bonus isn't your thing, Bilt has a couple of other promotions in store for you with today's Rent Day promotion.

First off, select Bilt members with an Alaska Airlines Card will receive a waived 3% transaction fee for the first $2,500 of rent payments this month, up to $75 in savings. When Bilt added Alaska as a transfer partner earlier this year, it also announced that co-branded Alaska Airlines cardholders could use their card to pay rent and earn 3x Alaska miles on up to $50,000 in rent spending per year. The one catch is that doing so incurs a 3% transaction fee, negating much of value.

Other Rent Day staples like Bilt's “Rent Free” game show is making a comeback as well. Each month Bilt brings on a well-known individual to play its Family Feud-esque game show and determine how much free rent will be paid. This month's guest is Snoop Dogg's BFF, Martha Stewart.

Finally, Rent Day Rides is returning for another month. Bilt members can reserve a complimentary bike at one of the more than 50 SoulCycle locations around the country. One lucky rider at all the studios participating in Rent Day Rides will even win a free month of rent, courtesy of Bilt.

Earn Double Points on Rent Day

There's another thing to keep in mind on Rent Day: You'll earn double the points (up to 1,000 bonus points) for every non-rent dollar spent on your *bilt rewards card* on the first of the month. 

So long as you make at least five purchases each statement cycle, you'll earn points at the following rates on Rent Day:

• 6x Bilt points on dining (usually 3x)
• 4x Bilt points on travel (usually 2x)
• 2x Bilt points on other spend (usually 1x)

This is all in addition to the 1x Bilt points you earn on rent payments with the Bilt Mastercard.

Read more: Paying Rent? You Need to Have This Card in Your Wallet
 

Learn more about the *bilt rewards card*.

How to Use Bilt Rewards Points

Just because the points can be fairly difficult to earn doesn't mean they aren't useful – just the opposite. There are many ways to use Bilt points. And once you've got them, they're some of the most valuable points in the world of travel.

The easiest way to use them is to book through the Bilt Rewards travel portal, where each point will be worth 1.25 cents apiece. That means 10,000 Bilt points are worth $125 toward travel.

But you'll get the best value for your Bilt points by transferring points to one of its 14 travel partners, including World of Hyatt, Alaska Airlines, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, United Mileage Plus, and British Airways Avios, among many others.

Just keep in mind that unless you've earned Bilt status, you'll need to transfer a minimum of 2,000 points to get started.

Here's the full list:
 

If you prefer to use your points for something other than travel, Bilt recently introduced the ability to “cash out” Bilt Rewards points  (at a rate of .55 cents per point) by applying them as a statement credit to the outstanding balance on your Bilt Rewards Card. At approximately a half-cent per point, redeeming them this way represents poor value and should really only be done as a last resort.

Prior Rent Day Promotions

Over the months, Bilt has done a good job leveraging its partners to come up with some really creative (and often incredibly lucrative) promotions. While not every month's promo is a home run for travelers, the majority of Bilt's Rent Day promos do a good job engaging members on a day that's otherwise un-celebrated.

Here's a look back at some of the other Rent Day promotions from the past year:
 

Most of Bilt's Rent Day promotions are centered on travel and even the ones that aren't are still valuable for most Bilt Rewards members. Looking at prior Rent Day promos, you have to wonder how Bilt can continue to raise the bar month after month.

Bottom Line

Bilt Rewards' Rent Day promo for November is a good one for travelers.

Today, Nov. 1 – and only Nov. 1 – you can get up to a 100% bonus when transferring Bilt points to British Airways Avios. This transfer bonus is targeted (not based on status) and ranges between 50% and 100%. You'll need to log in to your Bilt account, on the app or website, to see what your specific bonus amount is.

If you've got a *Bilt Mastercard* in your wallet, you'll earn even more when you spend on the first of the month.