Bilt’s new credit cards will feature 10% interest rate, meeting bipartisan call for lower card rates

NEW YORK (AP) - Fintech giant Bilt announced an overhaul of its credit cards on Wednesday, which notably will include an introductory rate on all card users' interest rates at 10% for one year.

The promotion comes at a time of heightened political rhetoric around the cost of credit cards, with President Donald Trump announcing last week that he also is seeking a one-year cap on credit card interest rates of 10%.

New York-based Bilt, which originally built its business model around earning rewards on rent and other routine purchases, has been branching out into other financial products as its grown. The privately held company, backed by several Venture Capital and pension funds, was valued last year at $10.75 billion and has been expanding its partnerships with landlords. It's starting to build in rewards programs for other routine transactions, like a customer's mortgage payment. The company says roughly 1 in 4 landlords accept Bilt and the company says Bilt is now the largest reporter of on-time rental payments to credit bureaus.

In an interview, Bilt CEO Ankur Jain said Bilt was deciding to cap its interest rates on credit cards for one year to meet the "bipartisan call for a solution" on the issues of affordability that he says many of his customers are facing. Candidly, Jain also said it could also be a chance to lure in new customers.

"If (a credit card rate cap) is going to happen, we'd rather be at the forefront," Jain said.

The 10% rate applies as an introductory annual percentage rate on new eligible purchases for the first 12 months for cardholders approved for one of Bilt's three new cards. After that, purchases, balance transfers and cash advances carry APRs that can run well above 20%, similar to other rewards cards.

The credit card industry has long pushed back against any caps on interest rates on its products, with the average credit card interest rate hovering around 21%. They have faced their most serious challenge yet with Trump, who has embraced the populist idea of capping credit card interest rates for one year. Researchers at Vanderbilt University estimated that Trump's proposal would cost the credit card industry $100 billion. Left-leaning politicians like Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have long embraced capping credit card rates.

Bilt is effectively offering its new and existing customers a promotional rate; not unlike other promotions the credit card industry does to attract new customers like a zero percent APR or promotions for customers who transfer balances. But the announcement by Bilt, being small relative to the giants JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and American Express, may have political ramifications, Politicians can now point to Bilt voluntarily capping interest rates for all its customers and ask why its larger competitors are unable or unwilling to embrace the same move.

The new credit cards from Bilt, which were unveiled at the top of the World Trade Center on Wednesday, follows the "good, better, best" model that other credit card companies have adopted. The center of the program is Bilt Cash, which is a points program that converts into cash back inside the Bilt ecosystem. These are often merchants that have signed up with Bilt to help attract customers in the local area. Bilt is also keeping its transfer partners with several airlines and hotels through its Bilt Rewards points program.

At the top end of Bilt's new credit card program is the Bilt Palladium Card, with a $495 annual fee, will give $400 annual credits toward hotel stays as well as $200 in Bilt Cash. The middle tier card will be the Bilt Obsidian Card, which focuses more of its rewards accumulation on dining out and grocery purchases and carries a $95 annual fee. The basic card will be called the Bilt Blue Card, which has no annual fee, but will also offer cash back and points accumulation, but at lower multiples compared to the annual fee cards.

Bilt is trying to move beyond its "credit card for renters" identity and focus more on being a financial liaison between local merchants, landlords and renters in the area. Bilt previously partnered with Wells Fargo on its credit card program, but that partnership is coming to an end in February in what appears to have been an acrimonious divorce. Wells Fargo apparently lost $10 million a month on the Bilt credit card, The Wall Street Journal previously reported, and chose to end its partnership several years before it was supposed to expire in 2029.

The new card is being issued in a partnership with credit card operations company Cardless, while the bank Column N.A. will be the issuing bank.