Earn bonus points: Bilt Rewards expands into health care with new Walgreens partnership

27.08.2024 - 18:00 / thepointsguy.com / Brian Kelly / Richard Kerr

TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.

Bilt Rewards, the program known for helping members earn points on rent payments, just announced its latest venture: a partnership with major drugstore chain Walgreens. Thanks to this new relationship, Bilt members will have an easier time using their Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account benefits, and they can earn extra rewards on Walgreens purchases and prescriptions — even if they don't pay with the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees).

Let's take a closer look at the new benefits Bilt is offering.

Related: A Q&A with Richard Kerr, VP of travel at Bilt Rewards, on recent changes — and what the future may hold

The first part of Bilt's Walgreens partnership is designed to help members take advantage of their FSA and HSA benefits. When you shop at Walgreens with any debit or credit card linked to your Bilt account (it doesn't have to be the Bilt card), Bilt's new system will automatically identify FSA- or HSA-eligible items in your purchase. You'll be notified which items from your Walgreens shopping trip are eligible, and you can easily apply a credit to your original form of payment from your FSA or HSA card.

According to Bilt's press release, "Currently, $4 billion in FSA funds are lost because of the complexities in knowing what items qualify for these funds and the requirement to carry a separate, dedicated payment card." With its newest feature, Bilt hopes to simplify health care shopping and make FSA and HSA funds easier to use.

If this feature — which Bilt touts as a "one-click solution to apply benefits" — is as simple as it sounds, this could be a big win for Bilt members. You can earn a lot of points and miles by using a rewards card on health care purchases and then reimbursing yourself from your FSA or HSA, but the hassle involved often discourages people from doing so. Bilt's new system could make it much easier for points and miles enthusiasts to earn rewards on their FSA- and HSA-eligible purchases and get closer to their next free trip.

Related: Bilt travel portal: How to redeem and transfer points for flights, hotels and more

The other benefit of Bilt's new partnership is that Bilt Rewards members can earn extra Bilt Points on Walgreens purchases — no matter what credit card they use. As long as you link your card to your Bilt account before using it at Walgreens, you'll earn 1 point per dollar spent on all Walgreens purchases, 2 points per dollar spent on Walgreens-branded items, and 100 points per prescription refill (subject to certain exclusions), in addition to your usual credit card rewards.

So, for example, if you use the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card to pay for your Walgreens purchase,