How we rate credit cards — methodology (United States)

How we rate credit cards in United States

Every card is ranked by one number: its estimated net annual value to you — the rewards a representative shopper would earn, minus the annual fee. Here is exactly how that number is computed, straight from the code that computes it.

The ranking rubric, step by step

Reward on each category. For a cashback card we apply the card's published rate for a spend category to a sample monthly spend. Spend in a category the card doesn't boost earns a base rate of 0.5%.
Reward on points & miles. For a miles, points or rewards card we multiply spend by the card's earn multiplier (its category bonus, or its headline rate, or a base of 1×) and value each point at 0.02 USD — about 2% of spend. The same rate is used everywhere on the site.
Annual reward. The category rewards are summed across a full year of the sample spend.
Net value. We subtract the card's annual fee. Net value can be negative — where a high-earning card's fee outweighs its rewards, we say so rather than hide it.
Eligibility filter, then sort. Cards whose minimum-income requirement you can't meet are removed; the rest are sorted by net value, highest first. Ties keep their listed order.

You can run the exact same math on your own spend in the rewards calculator, or find the best card for a single purchase in the per-purchase tool.

Where the numbers come from

Card terms — fees, rates, eligibility — are taken from the issuer's official documentation and entered by a human. AI may draft review prose but is never allowed to invent a fee, rate or eligibility figure; a quality gate blocks any page whose numbers don't match the verified record.
High-stakes pages (credit scores, debt, eligibility, a bank's specific legal terms) are reviewed by a person before publishing and are never auto-published.
Reward and welcome-bonus figures shown here are transparent estimates for comparison, not issuer guarantees — your real return depends on how you spend and redeem.

Editorial independence

Rankings are computed from published card terms and are not influenced by commission. We may earn a commission when you're approved through some links — it funds the research and never moves a card up or down, and we never strip or override another publisher's affiliate attribution. Advertiser disclosure: we may be compensated for links to card and finance products. Terms apply; see the issuer for Reg Z / CARD Act disclosures.

How often this updates

Card terms are re-checked against issuer documentation on a rolling basis and whenever an issuer announces a change; ranked pages are regenerated at least monthly so the net-value order reflects the current fees and rates. See our sitewide editorial methodology for the full standards.

How we rate credit cards in United States

The ranking rubric, step by step

Reward on each category. For a cashback card we apply the card's published rate for a spend category to a sample monthly spend. Spend in a category the card doesn't boost earns a base rate of 0.5%.
Reward on points & miles. For a miles, points or rewards card we multiply spend by the card's earn multiplier (its category bonus, or its headline rate, or a base of 1×) and value each point at 0.02 USD — about 2% of spend. The same rate is used everywhere on the site.
Annual reward. The category rewards are summed across a full year of the sample spend.
Net value. We subtract the card's annual fee. Net value can be negative — where a high-earning card's fee outweighs its rewards, we say so rather than hide it.
Eligibility filter, then sort. Cards whose minimum-income requirement you can't meet are removed; the rest are sorted by net value, highest first. Ties keep their listed order.

You can run the exact same math on your own spend in the rewards calculator, or find the best card for a single purchase in the per-purchase tool.

Where the numbers come from

Card terms — fees, rates, eligibility — are taken from the issuer's official documentation and entered by a human. AI may draft review prose but is never allowed to invent a fee, rate or eligibility figure; a quality gate blocks any page whose numbers don't match the verified record.
High-stakes pages (credit scores, debt, eligibility, a bank's specific legal terms) are reviewed by a person before publishing and are never auto-published.
Reward and welcome-bonus figures shown here are transparent estimates for comparison, not issuer guarantees — your real return depends on how you spend and redeem.