wealthgeist
Starting with your spending
You can enter estimates or use statement files. Purchases count toward spending and refunds reduce it; payments, transfers and confirmed duplicates are excluded. If your files cover less than a year, you choose whether to estimate missing spending. The annual fee, after any supported waiver, applies to the full comparison year.
Manual annual amounts are spread evenly across twelve months unless you add a month pattern for each card. A pattern can improve an estimate when seasonal spending meets a monthly reward cap, but it applies to every spending category on that card. Dated statement files preserve the months in which you actually spent.
We apply the supported reward rates, spending limits and point values to that spending. Card combinations count each purchase once and include each card's fees. We also check recorded payment-network limits. For example, Canadian Costco warehouses and gas stations accept Mastercard credit cards, while Costco.ca also accepts Visa.
A card's fee can depend on your circumstances. If you tell us how many months you expect to qualify for a recorded waiver, we reduce that fee by the supported monthly amount. An unanswered waiver leaves the published fee in the estimate. Income ranges and required memberships help screen recommendations; only the issuer can decide whether you qualify.
A free pass is valuable only if you would use it and otherwise pay for it. You can enter planned lounge visits or eligible PC Express orders and the amount you would avoid paying. We cap this at the card's recorded allowance and count overlapping lounge visits once across a card setup. Other perks are listed without adding an assumed dollar value.
Reading the result
Ongoing / year shows estimated yearly value without welcome offers. Year 1 adds eligible welcome offers; 3 years adds two more ongoing years. Those later years repeat the same spending pattern and current card terms, so they aren't a forecast of future changes.
Welcome offers count once and assume a new eligible account. Each credit or bonus uses its own spending threshold and deadline. Without an opening date, we use the start of your spending profile. An estimate does not confirm that you qualify.
When interest estimates are on, they reduce the displayed value and can outweigh rewards. We use interest charges from your files or a balance you enter, together with assumed card rates. Actual costs depend on payment timing and issuer terms; this is not a payoff forecast or balance-transfer plan.
Results reflect your spending, preferences and selected time period. Filters affect which cards appear. Affiliate commissions do not change calculations or rankings.
Before you act on an estimate
We cover a selection of cards, not the whole market. Actual rewards can differ because of how a store is classified, how you pay, how you redeem points and the offer terms. Availability does not guarantee approval; issuers decide eligibility. Comparisons are educational, not personal financial advice.
Card pages link to issuer sources and show when terms were checked. We don't receive every change as it happens, so check the issuer's current terms before applying. If you spot a difference, send us the page link and source so we can review it.