Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card vs Bilt Blue Card

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +6% cash back in choice category for first year (3% + 3% bonus)
• +No annual fee
• +$200 welcome bonus after $1,000 spend
• +0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
• +Flexible category selection - change monthly

• +No annual fee
• +Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage with no transaction fees
• +4% Bilt Cash on all non-housing spend (stackable with 1X points)
• +$100 Bilt Cash welcome bonus with no spending requirement
• +Transferable points to 23 airline and hotel partners (valued at 2.2 cents each by TPG)

Cons

• −3% foreign transaction fee
• −$2,500 quarterly cap on bonus categories (combined choice category + grocery)
• −6% rate drops to 3% after first year
• −Requires monthly category management for optimal returns

• −Only 1X points on non-housing purchases (below average for flat-rate cards)
• −Unlocking housing points requires regular non-housing spend or Bilt Cash redemptions
• −Most Bilt Cash expires at year-end (only $100 rolls over)
• −No bonus categories like dining or travel (those are Obsidian features)
• −Fewer card-specific protections than Obsidian or Palladium