[00:00:00] I'm John and my goal is simple to visit all 47 Prefectures of Japan. The only reason that goal is even possible is because of points and miles turning everyday spending into flights, hotels, and experiences across Japan and the rest of Asia. This is rewarding routes, a podcast about making travel like that realistic and repeatable.

Each episode I'll share what I'm learning so you can plan smarter, travel more often, and feel confident using points and mouths without feeling overwhelmed from booking, award travel and choosing the right credit cards to build a meaningful itinerary. In exploring regions, traditions, and moments that just make Japan so special, we'll figure it out together.

If Japan is on your bucket list or you want to keep going back and explore Asia along the way, you're in the right place. Let's build your rewarding route one trip at a time. Welcome back, and in today's episode we'll be going over the [00:01:00] very talked about Built 2.0. Right now everyone seems to be talking about it because.

Built, really created a card and a system that worked for a lot of people. So what I mean is like the built like 1.0 or just the original built it had a credit card that had no annual fee. So you know a lot of people, this was a great card for, you know, intro into points and miles and you can use this card to pay rent and earn points on rent witches.

Going to be most people's biggest expense. So earning points on rent was just a massive win. And the way to do this, like the way to unlock getting points on your rent was making five minor transactions. Like what I would do was I would put like a subscription on it or a few subscriptions like Spotify.

And YouTube premium. And then I'd buy maybe [00:02:00] like a, a coffee or a few coffees within the month. And once you make those five purchases, then you would earn those points for paying your rent, which was amazing. So when Bill came out and talked about bringing mortgages to built 2.0, this really excited a lot of people.

Well, the thing is with the built 2.0. They made it extremely complicated. This is, I've never seen a, a credit card making it so complicated to understand right off the bat, and. People are still trying to wrap their heads around it. Like myself, and this is why I didn't record this episode a little bit sooner because I just needed a little bit of time to just process this entire situation that built, uh, presented to us.

And with that built definitely got a lot of feedback. So just within a day or two of Bill releasing this [00:03:00] information about Bill 2.0 and all the cards coming to the program. Bill already made an adjustment towards earning points with your rent and mortgage because it is extremely confusing and a little bit vague in some parts.

So I'm going to break this episode down as simple as possible so I can make sure everybody stays on the same page because this is very complicated. So what I'm going to do is talk about the three cards that are coming to Bill 2.0, and then I'm going to talk about the mortgage and rent part after, because trying to tie it in with the cards, that's when it's going to get confusing, and earning points on your rent and mortgage.

That's just, I should leave that towards, after explaining the cards, just to break it up as much as possible because it is very hard to wrap your head around this entire system that Built is building now, and I get why [00:04:00] Built did this because the way things were going for built it was almost not sustainable.

To earn points on your rent and make those five transactions, bill had to shift. Their business plan, and this is why we're getting built 2.0. So let's get into it and explain what is going on with the built 2.0. So they are introducing three new cards to this system, the. With all these cards, all of them are earning 4% built cash.

This is another topic I'll be explaining when I talk about the mortgage and rent part of this, um, episode. But Built Cash is something new that Built is introducing for the 2.0. It, you can almost think of it as built, has their reward points and built cash. So you're earning points with these three cards as well as earning built cash, which is used [00:05:00] within the ecosystem.

And it's a little bit vague on how they explained. How to use the built cash, and we don't know exactly how it's going to be valued because these cards don't come out until February 7th, and I expect to learn a little bit more as we get closer to that date. So on top of earning, 4% on built cash for all three cards, all cards are going to get one x on rent and mortgages and there's no transaction fees.

But it comes with a complicated set of rules. So we'll get into that after we talk about all three cards. So the first card is the Built Blue card. This is the intro $0 annual fee card. This card has access to built points which transfer over to Partners, which built has. Probably some of the best, or if not the best transfer partners out of all the programs right now.

Um, the reason is Hyatt is [00:06:00] very valuable and Chase is the only, you know, program that transfers over to Hyatt. So now built. Transfers over to Hyatt, which makes it valuable right there. Japan Airlines is another transfer partner. Capital One also has Japan Airlines, but for a lower value. So with Bill, it's one-to-one.

So the value is great, just like most of. The other transfer partners of Built and Alaska Airlines is the only transfer partner out of all the programs. So built transfers over to Alaska one-to-one. No other program transfers to Alaska Airlines, which they have some very valuable points with Alaska and the new Atmos cards that they have.

Which is a card that I'm eyeing in the future, and I believe I might have touched on it in my previous episode, but yeah. Atmos, um, is Alaska and Hawaiian. They merged. But they still have their own names. They're keeping like the Alaska brand and the Hawaiian brand. [00:07:00] But these points are valuable because you can use Alaska miles to transfer over to Japan Airlines.

Uh, you can use it to transfer over to ux, which gets you to Taipei in Asia. There are ways to use these, points to get you over to Japan and Asia. So very valuable there. And let's get more into the details of Built Blue Card. So the signup bonus for this card is a hundred dollars in built cash.

Once again, we don't know the true value of Bill cash. It probably won't equal a hundred dollars. It might be a little bit less, but when I find out that information, I'll make sure to share it. Um, but yeah, they, they left it a little bit vague on how to use bill cash. We just, all we know is that it can help unlock earning points for mortgages and rent, but of course I'm gonna be speaking about that after I speak about these cards.

With the built blue, you earn one x on everyday spend. You [00:08:00] get that 4% back in built cash. You earn one x on mortgage and rent. You get no foreign transaction fee, cellular telephone protection. And that's kind of it. It's a very simple card, but it's not the original bill. So the, the old system is gone and this is the new $0 annual fee card.

And it's nothing like the original one. So if you were really happy with the original bill card, you're gonna be pretty disappointed with how Bill went about these changes. But I guess, you know, business is business and Bill had to make. Adjustments to their business motto. And yeah, we lost old built card and it's no longer a thing.

This is what's replacing it. So overall, it's a very simple card and it's not one that I'm really targeting, but I guess if you just wanted to have a card to cover mortgage or rent still. [00:09:00] You could look into it, but the way of earning that mortgage and rent points might not be worth it

so let's move on to the Bill Obsidian card. This card has a $95 annual fee. It has. A heist multiplier of three x on either dining or groceries. Now, by default it's going to be dining. You have 30 days once you're approved to change it over to groceries. But this is actually an interesting one because.

There are no chase cards that earn three x on groceries. So if you, you know, value Hyatt or Alaska or Japan Airline Miles and you wanted to look into getting three x on those points that you can transfer over from built to those programs, then you know, groceries is a big expense for a lot of people and.

This could be something that you look at. I mean, for a $95 annual fee, this multiplier might be worth it for some people. The signup bonus when this card comes out [00:10:00] is $200 in built cash. So something that's not super exciting doesn't have like a points signup bonus, which is really nice to have. Um, this is just built cash, which is $200 of, we don't know exactly how that value's going to turn out.

Um, of course it gets the 4% back in, in built cash and for the dining or groceries, whatever you choose, it's capped at $25,000 per year. So once you get that, then it'll just go to a default one X. Um, but yeah, just make sure that if you are approved and you wanted to go for this card, it's defaulted. Buy dining, and if you're, if you want the three x on dining, that's fine.

That's just leave it as is. But if you want it on groceries, you'd have to switch it over. Now this card also gets two x on travel and also has a hundred dollars built travel hotel credit. The, the problem with this, and I, I spoke about it [00:11:00] in my last episode when I was going over cards that I was thinking about, and I ha I had already seen the news about Bill.

There are some things and some wording that I just didn't like about the cards that came out, and this is one of those. Kind of things that Bill came out with that threw me off a little bit because I didn't really like how they have this set up. So the a hundred dollars of hotel credit is actually split in two.

So you get $50 between January and June, and then you get another $50 from July to December, so that $50 doesn't roll over. So if it's, if you passed June and you didn't use the $50, then that's gone, but. what kind of bugs me is there's a two night minimum stay requirement. So not only do you not get this like full $100 hotel credit that some other premium travel cards, they give you the credit and you can use the credit as you like.

This one split into two [00:12:00] and you have to stay a minimum of two nights, if you know you're staying at some hotels and you could save 50 bucks. But you have to stay two night minimum. I, it's up to you. Um, you can kind of determine if this is worth it or not, but yeah, that's the wording with built about their travel, hotel credit, and yeah,

this card's interesting because of the three X that I can get on like Hyatt or you know, Japan Airlines, which are targets for me, for myself of course Built, has so many other partners that you can look at and, and decide if you wanted to travel anywhere else in the world and use your points anywhere else.

But those are targets for myself especially, and I know those are popular, um, options for a lot of people. But. My interest is more with the next card that we'll be talking about, and that is the built Palladium card. Now, this card has a $495 annual fee.

It is their. [00:13:00] You know, top tier premium card. So you'll see, , with a lot of premium cards, there's a high annual fee, but there's also a lot of credits and ways to earn that back. So let's get into into the Palladium card, because this is the card that interests me the most, and I actually applied.

For the Palladium right before I recorded this episode and I was denied, so that's a bit of a bummer. Um, I, I sent them an email to see if they may be reconsidered, but I don't think that's a thing that Build is doing right now. I think what they'll probably do is send me an email saying. Just reapplying 45 days and leave it at that.

So we'll see. We'll, I'll, I'll keep you updated on how that goes, but it's kind of unfortunate because this card has things that made sense for myself and I could see a lot of value, but. The value that I see with this card is keeping it for one year and then downgrading it to the no annual fee card. So [00:14:00] let's get into the information about what the built Palladium card is.

So this is the $495 annual fee card, the signup bonus, which is something that intrigued me right off the bat. 50,000 bill points after spending $4,000 in-housing purchases. So no mortgage, no rent is. Going towards the spend in the first three months. So when you, when you hit that 4,000, in the first three months, you get 50,000 built points, which are valuable because of the transfer partners they have on top of getting built gold status, which you earn for this year and the rest of next year.

So it'd be good all the way until 2028, . You also get $300 in built cash upon approval. But of course they denied me. So no, no bonuses for me. . Off the bat, this is not a bad deal because of the valuable points and transfer partners built has.

[00:15:00] So having those benefits right there are intriguing. Definitely. So the way this works for everyday spend, it earns two x on everyday spend, just like the. The Capital One, venture X, which is, you know, a catchall card. Basically just put all of your everyday spend on this card. You're earning two points per dollar spent.

You're also earning 4% back in Bill Cash. You're earning one, times on a mortgage and rent, and , you get a $400 built hotel credit, so just like the obsidian, which gave you a hundred dollars, this one's a $400, but it has the same wording.

The only thing with this with $400. It's split into two. So you have $200 between January and June, $200 between July and December. You know, two night minimum stay required is also in the rules, but you can do more with this amount. Like you can actually stay. At a place [00:16:00] and then just cover the difference.

So this is more intriguing because I do have trips planned in both of those areas or like those timeframes and the $200, you know, I would, that's something I would personally use and I could, you know, save some points on Hyatts just used as credit instead, and it'll save me some points so I don't have to use Hyatts at every single place we travel to this year.

Also with this card, it comes with Priority Pass. Now, priority Pass is something that I currently have with the The Capital One Venture X, but on February 1st, only card holders are. , Able to access priority pass.

So my wife, if she's traveling with me, which is most likely she is, she wouldn't be able to go into lounge. I'd have to pay a fee for her to come in. So, you know, priority pass with the palladium was, you know, something that definitely interested in me because we love our lounges when we travel. It's a good [00:17:00] way to escape the chaos of like the airport, get some food in us, drink some coffee, you know, replenish, and then get on our next flight.

So honestly, ever since I got into the hobby of points and miles and I've been using. These like premium travel cards for lounge access. It's really changed the way we travel. We love our lounges and we just love that we are, we're able to just grab some food in between connections. 'cause normally, you know.

Uh, we do get hungry and we don't want to pay those airport prices. They're ex extremely expensive. So having the priority pass to not only relax but eat and just have a place to just reset before we travel again. It's really nice and it sucks that the Venture X is changing it's ways with Priority Pass and their Capital One lounges, but it makes sense because.

Those lounges were really starting to get packed and there were a lot of people trying to get in. So that would make [00:18:00] larger wait times. And you know, whenever I travel and, um, usually I go to the Capital One lounge in Denver. Whenever I land, I'd actually go on the Capital One app and I'll go ahead and put myself on the list.

And that way, by the time I get to the lounge. It's usually my turn, which is around 40 minutes, 30 to 45 minutes. Um, and that's where it's gotten to because the lounges and, you know, these cards that come with lounge access have become so popular. So now there's wait times and ways to reduce the wait times and the large crowds is by putting in rules like the one Venture X went with.

So, yeah. With the palladium, I'm allowed two people to come in with me. So that's why this card was very intriguing because you know, I can then go to priority pass lounges. Of course, it wouldn't be as nice as the Capital One lounge. But yeah, I mean for me the priority pass was a big reason I wanted to get to Palladium along with [00:19:00] the signup bonus and getting those built points.

'cause they're valuable. Now an option I was thinking about is just getting my wife, the Venture X, right? Like if she gets the Venture X, she can also use priority pass and lounges. The only thing is she's already had the card a few years ago. She ended up canceling it, which she probably, it was, it was me that canceled it for her.

But thinking back, I probably should have downgraded it for her because Capital One can be a bit tricky to get approvals with. But I was also looking at our sheet of all of the cards we opened and she actually hit that signup bonus. Um, I'm not sure the year, but I know she hit the signup bonus and once you hit the signup bonus for the Venture X.

You'd have to wait four years before applying again to get the signup bonus again, and she wouldn't be available for that until like May or March of 2027. So I think [00:20:00] we're just gonna wait for her to apply for the Venture X until next year. And then that's why I wanted to get the palladium this year, so at least we have some kind of lounge access.

And in the following year she would get the Venture X and that way we both have Priority pass, you know, with the Capital One lounges. But yeah, unfortunately I was denied for the built Palladium. We'll see what email I get back from them. Hopefully it's good news, but, um, I, I have my doubts and I don't think anything's gonna change from like, their normal response of like 45 days until you can reapply again.

So to kind of wrap it up for the palladium card, some other benefits that come with the card are like the cellular protection, the auto rental collision, the trip cancellation flight delay. Trip delay reimbursement, baggage delay insurance. There's other benefits that this card has that most of the higher premium high annual fee cards have [00:21:00] these protections.

It also has no four inches transaction fees, like all the other cards. So yeah, this card overall. I think what's a really great card for me to get this year, and maybe I will reapply for it in 45 days that if that's the email they give me. So now that we talked all about the three built cards that are coming on February 7th, let's get into the mortgage and rent and built cash. What, what are these things, right? So let's get into it. So if you were to pay with all three cards, just your mortgage or rent.

you're not gonna earn points By default. So there are no like fees to pay your rent or mortgage with these cards, you're not gonna earn any points by just putting the mortgage or rent on the card right off the bat. It's not like the original way anymore. The way you're going to earn points on your mortgage and rent is by using built [00:22:00] cash.

This is separate from your built points. This is like the cash back earned for the built ecosystem, just to make it clear. So built cash is its own thing, and that's why all these cards earn 4% back on. Built cash because this is how you're going to earn points on your mortgage and rent. So for every $30 of built cash, it'll unlock 1000 points towards that.

Amount that you spend on your mortgage and rent. Now, there's no cap on how much you can spend on mortgage and rent. So if you have multiple properties or you're paying, you know, your child's rent or something, you can use the card. There's no cap on how much you can spend in this category. There's just going to be the way you use built cash to unlock the points that you can gain from spending in those two categories of either mortgage or rent.

So, I'll give you an example here. Say your mortgage is [00:23:00] $2,000. So for $2,000, if I paid a. With a bill card on my mortgage,. The way I would earn 2000 bill points would be using $60 in built cash. The way you earn built cash is by spending on the cards, by getting that 4% back and.

In the signup bonus, you also get built cash coming in. So there's like, I think with the built blue, it's a hundred dollars for the signup. A built cash, the obsidian was something like $200 for the signup bonus for. Built cash. And let me just double check that. Yeah, it's $200 for the signup bonus in built cash.

So that's why they put those in the signup bonuses for those two cards. And with the palladium, it was $300 in built cash upon approval. So that's the one way of getting built cash is through the signup bonuses, but the way you're going to earn them is by spending on the card.

So going back to the example [00:24:00] of a $2,000 mortgage. The way to cover and get the full 2000 points for spending on your mortgage. With built cash, it would come out to $60, because remember, $30 of built cash covers 1000 points unlocked. So $60 in built cash would unlock 2000 points . So how much would you have to spend?

In everyday spend to get to that full amount that you're covering or you're paying for your mortgage or rent. So you would have to pay 75% of what your mortgage is. So if the mortgage is $2,000, you would have to put an additional everyday spend of $1,500 to get

the full 2000 built points for paying your mortgage. You see, this is where it gets complicated, so I hope you were able to keep up there. I tried to break it down as simple as [00:25:00] possible, but it, for me, it took, it took me a minute. I had to listen to other podcasts and watch videos and read articles because this was just.

Not a system that anyone's used to hearing. This is very new for everyone. Um, so I, I'm sorry if this is still confusing, but this is how Bill presented it to us and yeah, they got a lot of feedback once this news came out. So they actually. After the news, and I think after a day or two bill came out with another way of earning those points on either mortgage or rent with spending.

So know that to get built cash other than to sign up bonuses, you. They want you to put spend on these cards. Like you're gonna have to put spend, if you want to get those points that, that you spent on your mortgage or your rent, like if you wanna get the full amount, you're gonna have to put spend. And the thing is, this doesn't work for a lot of people because there are people [00:26:00] who live in areas where rent and mortgage is so high that you would have to pay 75% of that amount.

In everyday spend to get the full amount of points that you're paying for your mortgage and rent. So a lot of people were giving feedback like this, this system isn't great. Like this doesn't work. So, so what built came out with a day or two later is they came out with a way of earning points. It's like another option, and I believe you can change between option two , which I just spoke about, and this option one, that I'm going to talk about now.

So let's keep the example of your mortgage or rent being $2,000 a month. Now, depending on how much you spend on normal everyday expenses each month, like groceries, gas, bills, dining, whatever, you unlock higher earning rates. So if you spend at least $500. In that month, which is 25% of your [00:27:00] rent or mortgage, you earn 0.5 points.

Now, if you spend 1000. Or like half your rent, that bumps it up to 0.75 points. Now, if you spend 1,500, which is 75% of your rent, you're earning one x points. And if you're. Everyday spending matches like the amount of rent or mortgage you're paying, which is , $2,000 or more. You unlock the top tier, which is 1.25 times points.

So this doesn't include any of the built cash we spoke about earlier. You don't have to worry about your built cash being part of ways of unlocking the way you get your mortgage or your rent points. This just, this just goes off of how much you spend by percentage during the month that you're paying your mortgage or rent, which is every month.

So. This is the second option they just came out with, uh, two days after [00:28:00] they made like the announcement of the built 2.0. It sounds a little bit more straightforward. It's not as confusing as built cash because with built cash, we don't know. There are ways built said there are ways of using built cash.

Is, you know, beyond just using it on your mortgage or rent to unlock those points from spend. But we don't know what it is and we don't know the true value of what built cash is, and we won't find out until it comes out on February 7th or until they give us more updates. So. I'm sorry, this was so confusing.

Bill definitely didn't make it easy for us to understand this portion of it. Uh, that's why I, I separated the two because honestly, it's easier not to think about the mortgage or rent side unless you really want those points because it's, it's a headache to learn or like to wrap your head around and, you know, I, I want points and miles [00:29:00] to be.

Simple and a little bit more straightforward, and I think this is why the Capital One Venture X is such a good travel premium card with a $395 annual fee, you just get a $300 travel credit that you can use within the Capital One portal. You get lounge access, you get 10,000 points on your anniversary.

And yeah, like, you know, they keep it simple. They keep it. Nice that you can use your $300 travel credit. It's not split and it doesn't come with a requirement of spending multiple nights, so that's why I still would recommend the Venture X over. The built cards. But of course the, the nice thing with Built is that they have great transfer partners and you can, you can use it for mortgage or rent if you want, but that's why I'm separating the two ideas and how I would personally look at this is just [00:30:00] looking at the cards and especially the palladium with the signup bonus of built points.

And I'm not even really considering the cash because I don't know how I'm going to use that built cash. They haven't explained other options than just unlocking your built cash to get points for your mortgage and rent. It's nice that it comes with a priority pass that allows you to bring other companions along with you.

Of course, that $400 hotel credit that split into two, $200 credits, it's still manageable. There's a, there's ways to use that amount on a minimum of two nights stay. So you see, I would still consider that as being a benefit. So yeah, you can get the , $495 annual fee you can get. Value out of that amount with between the sign a bonus, a priority pass, the hotel credit, the two x on everyday spend, which, you know, the Venture X is the go-to and catchall for a lot of people.[00:31:00] 

And the palladium could be a catchall for a lot of people. Now like it now it kind of competes, um, because of the really great value of the transfer partners. But of course. It comes with the complication if you wanted to try to do mortgage and rent, you know, putting that aside, I think this card, it definitely made sense for me.

It suck, it sucks that I got denied for it, but it is what it is and we'll see what email I get and I'll just reapply maybe in 45 days or I'll just move on to another card. You know, not worry too much about lounge access this year and we'll get it for 2027 moving forward. So overall, I think, bill, this will be disappointing for a lot of people that had their original bill and that we're using it to gain points on rent of course.

Um, yeah, that's a, that's a big bummer and it's a loss for a lot of people that were taking advantage of that. But of course, bill opens up mortgages, [00:32:00] which opens up. You know, a, a new pool of people to come into the program. So with the feedback they heard, and of course they made changes, I mean, that's good to hear and we'll see if they make any other changes going forward.

'cause these cards don't come out until February 7th. But I, I wouldn't worry too much about, you know, the mortgage. In rent part, if that feels too complicated for you. Um, just focus on the, the simpler things with these cards. Of course, you know, the signup bonus with the palladium's really nice. I, I value those points.

You know, I value bill points a little bit more than Capital One points. So that's why with the Palladium, you getting those two times points for on everyday spend, it's really nice. Plus you get the gold status with the palladium that you know on rent day, or maybe it'll be changed. To be called built day.

Since mortgages are now part of it, um, you get the higher transfer bonuses, you get priority access to [00:33:00] like event day events for what was called rent day, maybe built day coming up. Um, so it's nice to have that status not only for 2026, but all of 2027. So you know, also earning with the obsidian, the three x if you were really valuing.

Hyatt points, you can look at that for groceries, earning three x on that, only paying a $95 annual fee. So you, you'd have to really research it and make sure that, you know, these cards make sense for you. And if they don't, they don't. And you just move on to other cards 'cause there's so many cards out there.

So, you know, whatever aligns with your goals. Um, the palladium aligned with mine and that's why I was going for it. But you do what aligns with you. Remember that. Don't worry about, because I know everyone's talking about the Bill 2.0 because it's a program that's so unique and and different bringing in, you know, being able to earn on [00:34:00] one of your highest expenses, which was rent, and now it's mortgage and rent.

With the complexities of that, but don't worry about it too much if, if it just doesn't align with you. And, you know, there are so many other cards to chase after that are just, just as good and have the really great transfer partners for maybe trips that you were planning in the future. So overall, those were my initial thoughts.

Um, I'll keep you updated on what Built says to me and if I end up getting the palladium, which I, I highly doubt. But, uh, yeah, I'll keep you guys updated. I'll let you know if anything changes and if there are any other updates from built because I, it seems like they're a company that is a little bit forward thinking and will make changes based on feedback, which is nice to see.

So, yeah, I hope you were able to understand the, the complicated part of the mortgage and rent. Situation and how to earn points on those. Hopefully I was able to track and cover everything that, [00:35:00] you know, I, I learned throughout the past few days about the Build 2.0. I apologize if I missed something or I misspoke about something.

'cause I'm still learning about this, this whole situation built, uh, presented out to us. But, um, I, I do appreciate you guys listening. Uh. Truly. If you have any questions and, and you wanna reach out, I'd love to help answer anything or any questions you might have. You know, either on just a bill or anything, just travel related credit cards.

You wanna learn a little bit more about Japan or you have a trip coming up, just reach out. I'd love to help you out with that. But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you got some really good value out of it, and I'll keep you updated on anything that happens. I'll go ahead and see you on the next episode.

See [00:36:00] ya.