Credit Card Rewards Calculator

What the calculator computes

For every card in the catalog, the calculator computes net annual value: total category-weighted rewards (with caps and exclusions applied), plus the realistic value of statement credits you tell us you'd redeem, minus the annual fee, minus a small complexity penalty for cards that require quarterly enrollment or active perk management.

Rewards are valued in dollars. Points and miles are converted using a per-currency valuation you can override on the results page (defaults are calibrated to typical transfer-partner redemptions).

13 spending categories

You'll be asked for monthly spend on dining, groceries, gas, travel, flights, hotels, rent, Amazon, Costco, streaming, drugstores, transit, and other. You can leave any category blank — only what you fill in is counted.

Splitting flights and hotels separately from "travel" matters because many cards bonus airline tickets purchased directly with the airline (or through their portal) at a higher rate than general travel. The calculator routes each dollar to the right multiplier.

Preferences that change the ranking

Beyond raw spend, the calculator asks about: cash back vs. travel preference, annual fee tolerance, willingness to manage rotating categories, and whether you value premium perks like lounges and elite status. These tilt the ranking without overriding the math — a card that wins on net value will still appear at the top, but a flagged premium card moves up if you've expressed appetite for premium perks.

You can also pick preferred airlines and hotels. CardPilot then boosts the value of bank-point currencies (Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou, Bilt) that transfer to your preferred partners, since those points are genuinely worth more to you than they are on average.

Multi-card combos

After the single-card ranking, the calculator computes the best 1, 2, 3, or 4-card combination. For each combo, it assigns each spending category to whichever card in the combo earns the most for that category — the same way an optimal household actually uses a wallet.

This is usually where the biggest improvements show up: a single card rarely wins everywhere, but a smart combo of two cards can return 50% to 100% more than the best single card alone.

Privacy

The calculator runs in your browser. We do not store your spending data, send it to a server, or share it with third parties. There is no login, no account, no email. See our privacy policy for details.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the calculator take?

About two minutes if you know your monthly spend by category. If you're not sure, ballpark numbers work fine — the ranking is robust to estimation error.

Does the calculator know about welcome bonuses?

We focus on ongoing annual value rather than one-time welcome bonuses, because welcome bonuses skew the math toward churn behavior. You can mentally add a welcome bonus to year-one value if you'd like.

Is CardPilot really free?

Yes. CardPilot is 100% free. There are no accounts, paywalls, or premium tiers. The full calculator and every recommendation is available to everyone.

Does CardPilot affect my credit score?

No. CardPilot only does math on your spending. We never request a credit pull or share your information with issuers. Applying for a card on the issuer's website is a separate action that may affect your score.

Is this financial advice?

No. CardPilot provides educational comparisons and estimates. It is not financial, legal, tax, credit, lending, or banking advice, and it does not guarantee approval. Always verify terms with the issuer before applying.