The market for co-branded credit cards has traditionally been dominated by successful partnerships in travel, airlines, and retail, where incentives are aligned among issuers, merchants, and consumers. Attempts to expand that model into new categories can create compelling opportunities, but they also introduce new challenges around profitability, customer engagement, and loyalty rewards programs. The recent transition of the Bilt card program highlights how difficult it can be to balance innovative rewards structures with the financial realities of credit card issuing.
At the center of the debate is whether rent payment rewards can become a sustainable long-term business model. While millions of consumers rent their homes and represent an attractive market, the economics of rewarding large monthly transactions without generating sufficient revenue have proven difficult. As fintech banking partnerships continue to explore new approaches to customer acquisition and engagement, the Bilt experience provides an important case study in the risks and rewards of reimagining traditional co-branded credit cards.
The original Bilt card, sponsored by Wells Fargo, was a good effort, but the revenue dynamics didn’t work. It is not the first failed co-brand to step outside the realm of successful airline and travel partnerships. The opportunity looked promising—about a third of American households rent—but the known obstacle remained: landlords willing to part with a portion of their profits.
Was it that Bilt required their loyalty infrastructure to be the focus rather than the bank card model? What about mis-forecasting interest revenue because cardholders figured out how to game the system? Or was it just a bad marriage? Time will tell, but there are many gory details in this WSJ article.
Replacing Wells with a Small Fintech Bank?
Bilt 2.0 is off to a weak start. It looks like Wells Fargo was correct—this variation of the successful credit card co-brand model might scale, but it loses money. Now, instead of a card issuer, in business when Mastercard was Master Charge, and Visa was Bank Americard, a tiny fintech looks to replace the model that a top issuer couldn’t get to work.
Instead of a top Wall Street bank leading the charge, Bilt’s new partner is a fintech bank, named Column, NA. Column is no Wells Fargo (or BoA, Chase, or Citi, for that matter). Originally named the Northern California National Bank, it turned into a fintech bank in 2021. The bank is FDIC-insured for deposits and its national bank charter allows it to offer loan products such as credit cards. Their current assets (loans, in bank-speak), are under $1 billion, and their liabilities (deposits) are slightly more than half that. In their latest report to the FFIEC, Column NSA reported $25,000 in credit card interest earned in December 2025. Compared to Wells Fargo, that is a rounding error.
Off to a Rugged Start
Forbes reports broad dissatisfaction with the new card. Payments are not hitting properly—instead of allowing cardholders to harvest points from their shelter payments, the payments are getting lost in cyberspace. The customer service function is a mess and relies on very confused AI chatbots. Pristine credit-scored accounts are racking up late notices, and Bilt has been ineffective in providing backup support. Cardless, the program sponsor, is reported to be unresponsive.
I Know Credit Cards, and Bilt 2.0 Looks Like a Miss
After more than four decades in credit cards, I can confidently call the shot on what is a winner and what is a loser. Javelin even has a reconnaissance tool for top issuers, known as Card Bench, that reports changes to rates, rewards, or terms within minutes of the event. But this won’t displace many cards in the market, I promise.
As Wells exited, they offered to convert Bilt Cards to their Autograph card product, a reward-rich, good-credit-limit card suitable for general-purpose use. I don’t have an Autograph card, but I can tell you I’ve never had an issue with Wells Fargo, and if I call customer service right now, there will be a live agent on the phone, with no more than a momentary wait. And all my payment transactions to pay and charge will go through, as you’d expect with any Mastercard or Visa payment.
Learning moment: forget about non-standard co-brands, especially those that have competing loyalty systems. And, a good partnership relies on a solid relationship, where all parties win.
The challenges facing Bilt underscore an important lesson for the payments industry: even innovative products must be supported by sustainable economics, reliable operations, and strong partnerships. Successful credit card issuer relationships require all stakeholders to benefit, from the issuing bank and program manager to the merchant partners and cardholders themselves. When those interests become misaligned, even a promising concept can struggle to gain long-term traction.
As the market continues to evolve, fintech banking partnerships will likely pursue new approaches to loyalty rewards programs and customer engagement. However, the experience of Bilt suggests that innovation alone is not enough. Consumers ultimately expect dependable service, responsive credit card customer service, and rewards that deliver value without creating instability in the underlying business model.
