Play your cards right.
More rewards, a better score, and no money lost to fees or interest. Every card runs on numbers the bank already worked out. We work them out too, on screen, so you can see where the win is.
Who pays for rewards
Same $100 of groceries. One person gets $1.60 back.
The swipe fee is built into the price whether you pay with cash, debit or a card. Paying with cash doesn't skip the fee, it just skips the rebate. People with rewards cards earn about 1.6 cents per dollar on average.
What points are worth
30,000 points can buy $180 or $450
Same points, same card. The difference is which button you press. A penny a point is the floor, and a ten-second check tells you whether a redemption clears it.
Paying off a balance
$5,000 at 22%: about 15 years on the minimum. Under 5 with the same first payment.
The minimum shrinks as your balance does, so it never gets ahead of the interest. Keep paying the first month's amount and the same money finishes the job in a third of the time.
Your credit score
Your score reads one date, and it isn't the due date.
The bureaus see what you owed on statement day. Pay part of it before that date and a smaller balance gets reported, while autopay still covers the full statement by the due date.
What do you want to win?
Rewards & points
Credit score
Debt & interest
FeesQuick answers
All three
When will my credit card be paid off?
Your payoff date and the interest it costs, on the minimum and on a fixed payment.
Is my annual fee card worth it?
Keep it or cancel it, measured against a free 2% card on your own spending.
Is this points redemption a good deal?
What each point gets you on this redemption, and whether it beats a penny.
Get the points value cheat sheet
What every major card's points are worth, and the floor never to redeem below. Free, updated monthly, plus one email a month with the best of the channel.
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