Monthly spending. We rank on rewards minus the full annual fee, so statement credits and perks are listed separately and never counted for you.
Choosing between the Bilt Palladium Card ($495/yr) and the Discover it Cash Back (no annual fee) comes down to where you spend most. Bilt Palladium Card needs about $4,125 a month in dining, groceries, gas, flights, hotels, other travel or other purchases, counting that spending alone, to make up its $495 higher annual fee over Discover it Cash Back. Below that, Discover it Cash Back comes out ahead. Enter your monthly spending above to see which comes out ahead for you.
2x on everything, 4x on hotels through Bilt Travel, 4x on Lyft, up to 1.25x on rent and mortgage. Earns a solid 2.0% on everything else.
Perfect if: You book through the issuer's own site and want premium perks to offset the fee.
Apply Now5% on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500/quarter), 1% on everything else. Cashback Match doubles all cash back in first year.
Perfect if: You want solid rewards without paying an annual fee.
Apply Now| Feature | Bilt Palladium Card | Discover it Cash Back |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $495 | $0 |
| Sign-Up Bonus | 50,000 points after $4,000 spend in 90 days | None |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 0% | 0% |
| Base Reward Rate | 2% | 1% |
| Rates with conditions not counted in the rows above |
4% on hotels through Bilt Travel Earns 4% only on hotels booked through Bilt Travel, Bilt's own booking site. Hotels booked anywhere else earn 2%. 3% on flights through Bilt Travel Earns 3% only on flights booked through Bilt Travel. Flights booked direct with an airline earn 2%. 4% on Lyft Earns 4% only on Lyft rides, after linking your Bilt and Lyft accounts. Other rideshare and travel earns 2%. |
None |
| Key Benefits | 2x on everything, 4x on hotels through Bilt Travel, 4x on Lyft, up to 1.25x on rent and mortgage. | 5% on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500/quarter), 1% on everything else. Cashback Match doubles all cash back in first year. |
Bilt Palladium Card pulls ahead for travel, dining, groceries, gas spending.
The $495/year fee difference means Bilt Palladium Card needs to earn about that much more in rewards to justify its cost.
Bilt Palladium Card carries $400/year in credits (mostly tied to specific merchants or bookings). Those only count if you’d actually use them. Worth checking against your own habits before treating them as a discount on the fee.
Not sure which fits your life? Enter your spending below and we’ll do the math. The calculator ranks purely on rewards minus the full annual fee, so credits and perks are yours to judge.