☀️ Good morning y’all and welcome back to another Daily Drop,

We’re playing a little musical chairs here at Daily Drop today.

I’m your host, Katie; Sam’s writing the Roadtripper; April’s doing some editing; and well… Mike didn’t have a chair and is off somewhere cold, maybe being chased by a polar bear he erroneously tried to pet… or something.

Anywhoo, let’s start the music and see what happens!

• 💳 Bilt is being Bilt

• ✈️ Citi adds Copa Airlines as a new transfer partner

• ❄️ Winter travel Tetris solved

💳 Bilt is being Bilt

Bilt, in true Bilt fashion, released new program updates yesterday, because why not? 🤷‍♀️

They’re honestly a little vague at this point with promises of more announcements and details to come, but here’s what we know so far:

Daily rewards

Starting January 15, 2027, you can earn daily rewards for on-time monthly rent or mortgage payments, plus one daily activity with a Bilt neighborhood partner (think a meal, class, or ride).

Each Daily Reward reveals two rewards, and then you pick one. They can be instant rewards, like Bilt Cash or Bilt Points, or a collectible reward that builds toward a chance for a bigger prize. Like I said, vaaaague.

But they did share that some of the bigger prizes include:

• $1 million toward buying a home

• 10 million Bilt Points

• A year of rent or mortgage payments

• A year of Lyft rides

• A dream getaway

This is in addition to any points Bilt cardholders earn on the same purchases, so it could be a lucrative double dip, but we need more info to know how well it works. They’ve promised more updates, so stay tuned to see how this pans out.

Bilt Cash benefits

Bilt also announced changes to the expiration dates of their Bilt Cash, which have historically been a pain point for some. 

Instead of expiring at the end of the calendar year, with only $100 rolling over, the new policy extends the expiration date 12 months from the month you earn the Bilt Cash.

So you won’t have to panic at the end of the year trying to burn all your Bilt Cash before it expires. This update went into effect yesterday, so breathe a little easier, my Bilt friends!

More updates

• Starting January 1st, Bilt Cash redemptions for hotel bookings will be limited to twice a year, instead of monthly. (Boo, this is one of the negative changes.)

• Gold and Platinum members can use Bilt Points for luxury Home Away from Home redemptions.

• Elite members (Silver, Gold, Platinum) can unlock rental car status matches with Sixt and Hertz based on their tier level.

• Everyone will earn up to 1.25x on housing now, with Flexible Bilt Cash mode being retired (the ability to earn 4% back on everyday purchases) – you’ll have to opt out of the new benefits before your card anniversary to keep it. (Positive or negative depending on how you view it.)

• Some of the Bilt Cash or Bilt Hotel cardholder credits are being combined or restructured – read here for more details on all the program changes.

My thoughts

It feels like a lot, but it isn’t really.

One of the biggest differences is the simplification of how you earn, which should be a positive for most. Everyone will earn up to 1.25x on housing. No more spreadsheets to decide whether Housing Mode or Flexible Bilt Cash Mode is better.

There may be more between now and the new year, so we’ll see how it all shakes out.

If you can master their carnival games, you could win some nice prizes. But for the average user, earning regular Bilt Points and redeeming them with travel partners is still the most straightforward way to get decent value.

✈️ Citi adds Copa Airlines as a transfer partner

Citi has also been making lots of moves lately with new partners, transfer bonuses, and card credits — the latest is adding Copa Airlines as a transfer partner.

If you’ve never flown Copa Airlines, it’s a Star Alliance member based in Panama City that, until now, was only accessible by transferring points from Rove Miles or Marriott Bonvoy.

Now, though, if you hold a Citi annual-fee card, you can transfer ThankYou points to Copa Airlines at a 1:1 ratio, and if you hold a no-annual-fee card, at a 1:0.7 ratio.

Why should you care about Copa Airlines?

Well, they still use what’s known as a fixed award chart – meaning their award rates won’t fluctuate with the cash rate. 

Their award charts publish two different rates: significantly cheaper Saver rates and Standard rates, tiered based on the regions they connect to.

Here’s the business class award chart for Copa flights:

And here’s the economy award chart:

Saver award pricing can offer some good deals — for example, this 6.5-hour flight from Panama to Santiago, Chile, for as few as 40,000 Copa miles in lie-flat business class.👇

The key, though, is finding that Saver award availability… and honestly, this girl struck out a LOT. And I think that’s because there’s just a really limited amount of Saver seats.

If our resident travel wizard survives his Arctic Adventure intact and has any insights on finding more Copa deals, though, I’ll see if he can loop us all in.

Star Alliance redemptions

As a Star Alliance member, you can often book partner flights through Copa… when seats are available. (Noticing a theme?)

United, though, gives Copa enhanced access to their award flights, and they’re often available for fewer miles than what United charges.

Take this flight from San Francisco to Newark in United Polaris business class, which costs 55,000 Copa miles:

That’s still a lot for a domestic flight… but look at what United is charging for the same nonstop flight on the same day. Basically double the price! 🤯

While Copa won’t always be a steal, it often has more availability and can be cheaper than using United miles.

Theoretical Emirates redemptions

Historically, Copa has also been a sweet spot for Emirates business-class redemptions because Copa doesn't pass on high fuel surcharges like Emirates does.

Recently, though, Emirates has released very few seats to partners, making outsized redemptions rare.

Bottom line

While the sweet spots and redemption availability may be hit or miss, it’s always a good day when previously hard-to-get points and miles become easier to obtain, and Copa joining Citi is a nice addition.

But personally, I’d wait and see if a future transfer bonus comes around to make some of these sweet spots really sweet.  

Whew, those were two hefty updates, thanks for sticking with me!

Mike should be back tomorrow with his usual travel razzle-dazzle. ✨

Catch y’all later! 👋

29.7633° N, -95.3633° W

With contributions by Sam Anthony and April Wilson. Godspeed, Mike, 🏃‍♂️💨 🐻‍❄️

Cardless Inc. is the servicer of the Bilt Cards. Cardless is a financial technology company, not a bank. Bilt Cards are issued by Column N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to license from Mastercard International Incorporated.