Douglas Elliman Partners with Bilt Rewards, Creating First Loyalty Program and Co-Brand Credit Card for Renters

In a first ever for real estate, this week New Valley Ventures , an investment vehicle managed by Douglas Elliman’s parent company, Vector Group (NYSE: VGR), announced a renter rewards program via strategic investment in Bilt Rewards , creating the first loyalty program and co-brand credit card for renters . The investment comes as Douglas Elliman officially joins the Bilt Rewards Alliance, a network of more than 2 million rental units across the country where renters can enroll in the loyalty program to earn points on rent with no fees. “We are proud to support and align ourselves with Bilt Rewards as its program fills a gap in the market to set renters up for financial success and encourage a path towards homeownership,” said Douglas Elliman CEO Scott Durkin . Through Bilt, renters can redeem points for travel across over 100 major airlines and hotels, fitness classes at the country’s top boutique studios, and can even use points towards rent credits or a future down payment on a home. “New Valley Ventures is dedicated to investing in innovative tech-driven solutions for the greater real estate community,” adds   Dan Sachar ,  Managing Director of New Valley Ventures and Vice President of Enterprise Innovation for Vector Group. The funding round, which also counts Mastercard, Wells Fargo and other leading real estate property owners including AvalonBay Communities, Equity Residential, GID, Lennar, The Moinian Group, Morgan Properties, Starwood Capital Group, and Related Group as investors, will propel Bilt Rewards to further expand its loyalty partner network, grow its organic distribution channels, and open the Bilt Rewards platform and Bilt Mastercard more widely to the public. Douglas Elliman residents will be among the first to receive an invitation for the Bilt Mastercard, the first credit card that allows users to pay their rent with no fee. With the card, Douglas Elliman residents can earn 1x points on every dollar of rent, 2x points on travel purchases, 3x points on dining, and 1x points on all other non-rent purchases, allowing them to maximize rewards potential, all with no annual fee. Launched this June by  Kairos HQ , Bilt Rewards is the first-ever loyalty program and co-brand credit card for renters, enabling the country’s 109 million renters to finally earn points on their largest monthly expense with no fees. By offering the Bilt Rewards program to tenants across Douglas Elliman’s rental portfolio including new development projects, residents can now earn points with every on-time rent payment. “Douglas Elliman is continuously looking for new ways to improve the renting experience and build long-lasting relationships with our residents,” says Matthew Villetto, Executive Vice President of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, on the investment and partnership. “Bilt is unique in that it offers a true win-win platform for renters and property managers where everyone can benefit.” Additionally, Douglas Elliman residents will be among the first to receive an invitation for the Bilt Mastercard, the first credit card that allows users to pay their rent with no fee. With the card, Douglas Elliman residents can earn 1x points on every dollar of rent, 2x points on travel purchases, 3x points on dining, and 1x points on all other non-rent purchases, allowing them to maximize rewards potential, all with no annual fee. Through Bilt, renters can redeem points for travel across over 100 major airlines and hotels, fitness classes at the country’s top boutique studios, and can even use points towards rent credits or a future down payment on a home. When paying rent through the Bilt Rewards app, members can also have their rent payments reported to the credit bureaus at no cost, which can help build credit history for millions of young renters. Bilt Rewards CEO and Founder  Ankur Jain said, “Our relationships with the country’s top real estate owners, property technology investors, property managers, and brokerages, now including New Valley Ventures and Douglas Elliman, has helped us to develop the best value proposition for everyone involved in the renting equation. We are excited to work hand-in-hand in building a program that will transform the renting experience as we know it for millions of people across the country.” New Valley Ventures continues to invest in promising, next-generation technologies in order to propel the real estate industry into the future and further benefit the agent, renter and buyer experience. In doing so, New Valley Ventures utilizes its deep industry knowledge through Douglas Elliman to advise on meaningful digital development, tech solutions and financial software. “We are excited to offer our residents access to this trailblazing program and to work with Bilt in growing this product,” explained Hal D. Gavzie , Executive Manager of Leasing at Douglas Elliman. “This partnership underscores Douglas Elliman’s commitment to fostering long-term relationships with our clientele, from renters to homeowners and landlords, in addition to generating creative solutions to ease the home seeking process.”