Build a Card Spending Plan in 30 Minutes
List your monthly spending by category, list your cards' earn rates, and assign each category to a card. A worked example and template included.
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Which card to use for every purchase, worked out
Map your real monthly spending to the cards you hold or are considering, and see what each card actually returns, category by category.
Topics
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Dining and Takeout: Match Restaurant Spend to the Right Card
What counts as dining for card rewards, from delivery apps to cafes inside other stores, and how much the dining category is worth on your real spend.
Flat-Rate or Category Cards for Everything Else Spend
Find the break-even between one simple flat-rate card and juggling bonus categories, using your own spending rather than a rule of thumb.
Gas and EV Charging: Category Rules That Catch People Out
Pay-at-the-pump versus inside the store, warehouse-club gas and EV charging networks: why fuel purchases don't always earn the gas bonus.
Merchant Category Codes: Why a Purchase Didn't Earn the Bonus
Every purchase carries a merchant category code that decides which bonus it earns. How codes work, why purchases miss the bonus, and how to check first.
One, Two or Three Cards: How Many Your Spending Needs
Find the point where another card stops adding enough value, worked from your own spending plan. Most households need fewer cards than they think.
Paying Rent, Taxes and Big Bills by Card: When the Fee Beats the Reward
Compare a payment's processing fee with what the card earns, including the welcome-bonus case, with one fixed rule: never carry a balance.
Rotating 5% Categories: Worth Tracking for Your Spend?
Activation, quarterly caps and changing categories: what a rotating 5% card really earns at your spending level, and when it isn't worth the effort.
Travel Purchases: Earning Most vs Being Protected Most
When you book travel, the card with the best earn rate may not be the one with the best protection. How to weigh trip delay, rental and baggage cover.
Which Card for Groceries? Run Your Real Grocery Spend
Compare grocery earn rates against your actual grocery spend, annual caps included, and check which stores count as groceries before you rely on the bonus.