Credit Cards for RewardsHow we evaluate and compare cards
We don't give cards star ratings, overall scores or "best card" awards. Instead, we record the same set of plain facts for every card, use them to organize and compare cards, and let the Card Finder match cards to your answers with simple, qualitative rules. This page explains what those facts are and how each tool uses them.
What we record for every card
Each card's details are checked against the issuer's site (see our editorial policy). For every card we track:
- Issuer and network (Visa, Mastercard, Amex or Discover; some cards come on more than one network).
- Card type, one of eight: flat-rate cash back; category bonus (grocery, dining, gas and more); travel with transferable points; airline co-brand; hotel co-brand; 0% intro APR / balance transfer; business; and build credit (secured or student).
- Who it's for: personal, business or student.
- Annual fee band: $0, $1–$99, $100–$249 or $250+. Where a first-year offer or a recent change makes the band less clear-cut, the card page adds a note.
- Credit range typically targeted: excellent, good, fair or limited / building. This is a rough guide, not a prediction of approval.
- Rewards type: cash back, fixed-value points, transferable points or miles, co-brand miles or points, or not a rewards card.
- How it earns: a short summary of where the card earns more, in general terms.
- Foreign transaction fee: whether the card charges one.
- Bonus category caps: whether its bonus earn has spending caps.
- Features: tags such as groceries, dining, gas, travel, streaming, rotating categories, transferable points, lounge or premium perks, intro APR offer, secured deposit or student.
- Goals it's built for: earning cash back, earning travel rewards, paying down a balance or financing a purchase, building credit, or business spending.
- Pros, cons and what to watch out for, written in plain language.
- Availability (open or closed to new applicants) and the date last reviewed.
What we deliberately leave out
- Fast-changing terms. Welcome offers, APRs, intro APR lengths and dollar amounts of credits change often, so we don't store them. Card pages tell you to check the current offer on the issuer's site.
- Dollar estimates and point valuations. We don't estimate how much a card will earn you or assign a cents-per-point value. Your result depends on your spending and how you redeem.
- Scores and approval odds. There are no star ratings, numeric scores or approval odds anywhere on the site, and we never check your credit.
Browsing the catalog
The card catalog groups cards by type. Within each type, the default order lists lower annual fee bands first, then sorts by card name. This order is a way to browse, not a quality ranking. You can also sort by name, annual fee or issuer, and filter by card type, fee band, credit range, who the card is for, network, issuer, features and whether the card has a foreign transaction fee. Cards closed to new applicants are hidden unless you choose to show them.
Card pages and "Similar cards"
Each card page shows the facts above (a key-facts table plus the earn summary, features and goals), followed by pros, cons and what to watch out for. The "Similar cards" list shows up to four other cards that are open to new applicants. It starts with cards of the same type, taken in catalog order beginning after the current card, so different cards of a type link to different siblings. If a type has fewer than four other open cards, the remaining slots go to open cards of other types that share a Card Finder goal. A card closed to new applicants is clearly labeled, with the date and source, and links to an open alternative where one fits.
Comparing cards
The comparison tool places up to three cards side by side on the same rows: availability, issuer, network, card type, who it's for, fee band, credit range, rewards type, how it earns, foreign transaction fee, bonus caps, pros, cons, what to watch out for and the date last reviewed. Welcome offers and APRs are shown only as a reminder to check the issuer's site. A closed card can appear through an old link, for reference only, but it can't be added from the picker. Your picks are kept in your browser's storage and in the page address.
How the Card Finder matches cards
The Card Finder asks five questions: your main goal, how you'd describe your credit, how you feel about annual fees, where most of your money goes, and how you'd like to use rewards. Your answers are kept in the page address so you can bookmark or share your results; they aren't saved to an account, but like any web address they can appear in standard server logs when the page loads.
First, it sets aside cards that don't fit:
- Cards closed to new applicants are never suggested.
- Business cards appear only if your goal is business spending, and only business cards appear for that goal.
- Student cards appear only if your goal is building credit or you describe your credit as fair or limited.
- Cards above your annual fee limit are left out. If fewer than three cards remain, it may include cards one fee band higher and labels them.
- Cards aimed at a clearly different credit range from the one you chose are left out (if you're not sure, cards aimed only at excellent credit rank lower instead).
Then it looks at how well each remaining card fits:
- Goal fit: whether the card is built for the goal you picked. This is the largest single factor, though several matching spending categories together can count as much or more.
- Spending overlap: whether the card has bonus earn in the categories you chose.
- Redemption style: simple cash back, flexible transferable points, or miles or points with one airline or hotel chain.
- Fee comfort: no-fee cards get a small boost. If you're after travel rewards and are comfortable with a $250+ fee, premium travel perks count in a card's favor.
- Credit range: whether the card usually targets the range you described.
- Extras: no foreign transaction fee counts when travel matters to you, and earning some rewards counts when you're building credit. A card that isn't a rewards card counts against it when your goal is rewards.
The Finder usually shows 3 to 5 matches (fewer if very few cards fit your answers), each with plain-language reasons and cautions such as "Bonus categories have caps," "Fee only pays off if you use the perks and credits," "Needs a refundable deposit" or "Student eligibility required." When two cards fit equally well, the one with the lower fee band comes first. Commission data is not one of the Finder's inputs, and a match is not an offer or a prediction of approval.
Written card analysis
Where a card page includes written analysis (who the card is best for, how to get the most out of it, what to watch out for and how it compares), it is based only on the facts listed above and on the card's existing page. Comparisons name one or two of the closest alternatives from our own catalog.
Limits of this approach
Our data is deliberately simple. Fee bands, general earn descriptions and qualitative matching can't capture every detail of a card's terms. Treat our pages as a starting point, confirm current terms on the issuer's site, and remember that rewards only come out ahead if you pay in full every month.