Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Bilt Builds Better: Blade Helicopters, Blacklane Rides, Equinox Credits + August 2026 Updates

Justin Vacula of the Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast is joined by returning co-host Darren to discuss the latest August 2026 Bilt Rewards updates, including new ways to redeem Bilt Cash for travel, rides, wellness, dining, and lifestyle benefits.

In this episode, Justin and Darren focus on new Bilt Cash redemption options, including Blade helicopter rides, Blacklane car service credits, and Equinox credits for spa treatments, personal training, and pilates.

They also review the Bilt Palladium Card, including earning strategy, Bilt Cash, point accelerators, hotel credits, monthly credits, and rent or mortgage payments.

Justin and Darren discuss how they are using Bilt Cash for Lyft, Walgreens, Grubhub, dining, hotel credits, and other real-world redemptions, as well as their plans to continue spending toward Bilt Platinum status.

The episode also covers a major Bilt card-servicing issue in which some cardholders were mistakenly sent to collections, a problem that was later resolved with 2,500 points. Justin and Darren also discuss a new option to pay rent with Cardless Avios cards for a 3% fee while earning 3X points.

They wrap up by sharing recent travel updates, including Justin’s Savannah trip using Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts credits and Darren’s Southeast Asia trip using points.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:38 Bilt Explained
04:35 Blade Helicopter Redemptions
08:51 Blacklane Chauffeur Credits
12:51 Equinox Wellness Credits
18:03 Support the Show
20:18 Collections Reporting Mistake
25:30 Pay Rent With Avios Cards
29:52 Bilt Spend And Plans
33:53 Recent Trips And Wrap Up
39:30 Closing And Outro

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