I checked Bilt’s New Home away from home hotel collections – here’s what you need to know
Many credit card issuers have their own luxury hotel plans – think of the editors of American Express’Fine Hotels + Resorts and ChaseTravel℠. These plans only apply to most quality cardholders and bring benefits such as free breakfast and free room upgrades.
Bilt shocked things when it announced in July that its new home away from home hotel collections are available for members in gold status and above – whether they own it or not BiltMastercard® (See rates and fees).
I booked a home in Ritz-Carlton, Portland, Oregon to test the benefits through a home away from home.
Booking Home with BILT
Before booking my stay, I compared the prices and benefits of the four booking platforms: Bilt Home Youngh Home, Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts, editors of Chase and direct with Marriott Hotels.
| program | Cash price | Points Price | benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Put outside the home outside the home outside the home | $667 | This booking is not available, but if available, the price is 53,300 |
|
| Amex Fine Hotels + Resort | $667 | 66,700 |
|
| Chasing Editor | $667 | 33,350 (due to points increase transactions at booking time) |
|
| Wanhao | $654 | 110,500 |
|
*If anything
The cash price collected through the three issuers is $667 per night. Even if that’s $13 more than booking directly with Marriott, each series contains over $100 in value added, so booking through one of the programs is effortless.
It is worth noting that not all properties in homes outside the home can book points. BILT tells us that it is working to increase the number of attributes that can be booked with point, but if you want to use points, be sure to check the attributes you want to book.
To book, just search Bilt’s travel portal (via BILT.com or BILT app) within a specific destination and date range. If you have a golden status or above, you will mark your home properties away from your hometown in your search. You can also add filters to your search so that only house attributes appear.
Related: Comparison of credit card issuers’ luxury hotel plans
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Make home benefits outside the home
Check in early
Accommodation outside the home includes early check-in and late checkout where available. My flight started early so I warned the travel concierge (more below) that I wish I could check in early. I was glad to learn that my room was ready for me when I arrived – my luggage was not abandoned and the time needed to be killed before check-in.
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Emily Thompson / Score guy
Daily breakfast
Accommodation outside the home includes daily breakfast credits for up to two people, but the amount of credit and methods available in the property varies.
The property’s daily breakfast appears in a hotel restaurant or room service order in the form of a $80 breakfast credit, but does not apply to taxes, tips, alcohol purchases or service charges.
$100 property credit
Like other hotel plans, you will receive $100 in property credit on a portion of your booking. Again, the exact items covered by credit will vary between properties.
I was able to use my food and drinks in a hotel bar or restaurant, which is perfect for grabbing the appetizers and drinks before going out in the evening.
Room upgrade
I booked a luxurious King’s room but I was upgraded to a high floor with a mountain view room. While not necessarily a huge currency difference, the higher floors offer some views that make the experience even better.
Reward points
When booking any trip through Bilt’s portal, you will receive 2 points per dollar add If you book with a Gemini Mastercard, 2 bilt points per dollar are spent on travel purchases, and if you book with a Gemini, it costs a total of $4 per dollar. You must use five cards during each statement to earn points.
Better yet – I also earned Marriott Bovo points for my stay, which is not always one when booking through a third party.
Related: You need to know about booking directly with third-party travel
Special Gemini Travel Concierge
After booking my stay at home, I got a dedicated travel concierge through Virtuoso to help me with everything I needed. Right away, she gave me some general advice on what to do during my stay.
She also made sure my room was ready for early check-in, recommended a restaurant for dinner, which was part of Bilt’s meal (so I got more beekeeping!), and booked me dinner. Better yet, sending her a message is easy – I have a chat feature on the home page of my BILT app and BILT account as part of my travel details.
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Emily Thompson / Score guy
BILT also announced that a personalized neighborhood guide will be available later this year. These guides will include local advice to help you make better decisions about where and what to do when you travel.
Bottom line
Bilt’s Home Stay Away from Home Collection is a great addition to the Bilt Rewards program, especially for anyone who wants to access a quality property collection without having to tie a quality credit card. The benefits of property credit, daily breakfast and dedicated concierge make it easy to book through the series, which is the added benefit of earning bonus bilt points during my stay. Of course, outside of your home is a collection hiding on your radar, especially as Bilt continues to make it better.
Related readings:
For the rates and fees of Bilt MasterCard, click here.
Here, rewards and benefits for Bilt Mastercard.
