Compare multiple credit cards side-by-side based on your spending habits. Calculate annual rewards, fees, interest costs, and net value.
| Metric | Card B | Card C | Card A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cashback | +$780 | +$420 | +$540 |
| Signup Bonus | +$750 | +$1000 | +$200 |
| Annual Fee | -$95 | -$550 | -$0 |
| Foreign Fees | -$0 | -$0 | -$90 |
| Net Value (Year 1) | +$1435 | +$870 | +$650 |
This tool runs 100% in your browser. All computation happens locally on your device — your input is never uploaded to any server. Results are for reference only.
The tool's Net Value is cashback + signup bonus − annual fee − foreign fees − interest. That is a year-one figure, so a large one-time bonus can lift a card that loses money on every later year. Plotting the running total shows the real ranking: the lines keep climbing only while annual rewards beat the annual fee.
Devon charges $2,000 a month of general spending and $500 a month in a bonus category, spends $3,000 a year overseas, and pays his balance in full. He is choosing between three cards.
Compare credit cards side by side: APR, annual fees, rewards rates, sign-up bonuses. Find the best card for your spending. Free, no signup.
This tool compares credit cards on the numbers that decide their actual value for your spending: APR, annual fee, rewards rates by category, sign-up bonus and its spending requirement, and benefits like credits and protections. Enter your monthly spending across categories — groceries, dining, gas, travel, everything else — and the tool computes each card's first-year value: rewards earned on your pattern, minus the fee, plus the bonus if you'd clear its threshold. Cards rank by your actual value, not their marketing, exposing the truth that the best card depends entirely on where your money goes.
Applicants choosing a first card or upgrading from a starter card see which rewards structure matches their real spending. Families weighing a fee card against no-fee alternatives learn whether the fee pays for itself at their volume — often it does not. Optimizers decide between a flat-rate card and a rotating-category card by running both against a year of actual spending. Balance carriers compare APRs and penalty terms, the numbers that matter more than rewards when revolving debt. Travelers compare transfer-partner valuations and credits against their airline and hotel habits.
(1) Enter monthly spending per category from your statements or estimates. (2) Add candidate cards — or select from the library — with their rewards rates, fees, and bonuses. (3) The engine computes annual rewards on your spending pattern, subtracts the annual fee, and adds the sign-up bonus where your spending clears the requirement. (4) Cards rank by net first-year value and ongoing-year value separately, since bonus economics distort year one; effective rewards rate as a percentage of your spend is shown for each.
Bonus math has three hidden variables. The spend threshold: a $700 bonus requiring $4,000 spend in three months only makes sense if you would spend that organically — manufactured spending to hit it converts bonus value into fees and risk. The valuation: points bonuses at 60,000 points are worth whatever your redemption yields — one cent each in cash-back equivalents, or more through transfer partners if your travel matches them; cash bonuses are simply dollars. The ongoing rate: a bonus never repeats, so year two is rewards rate minus fee, which is where flashy bonus cards with weak categories quietly lose to boring 2% flat-rate cards. Two structural rules keep the decision honest. First, rewards are worth zero against interest: carrying a balance at 22% APR to earn 2% back is a 20-point loss — rewards cards are for transactors only. Second, five new accounts can cost more than any bonus earns; open for fit, not for the chase. This tool separates year-one (bonus-inflated) from ongoing value so both truths are visible.
Net value is annual cashback rewards plus the signup bonus, minus the annual fee, foreign transaction fees on your spending profile, and interest cost on the average balance you carry. Because the result is a year-one figure, one-time signup bonuses are included — and the comparison chart also plots years two through four so you can see which card keeps winning after the bonus is spent.
A large one-time bonus can lift a card’s first-year net value above competitors, while its ongoing rewards fail to cover the annual fee in every later year. Plotting cumulative net value over time exposes this: the leading line keeps climbing only while annual rewards beat the annual fee, and cards that plateau or decline are losing money on every year you keep them.
Enter your average monthly balance carried (the interest engine uses this), plus rough monthly spending in the categories each card rewards. Cards without foreign travel spending should show zero foreign fees — the comparison separates these inputs so a travel-heavy profile and a domestic one produce different, honest rankings.
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