Card Calculator

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.

Updated

Most people pick a card at the checkout by habit, or by whichever one is on top in the wallet. A spending plan replaces that with one decision made in advance: for each kind of purchase, which card you use. It takes about half an hour, and you only have to redo it when your cards or your spending change.

The cards and numbers in this guide are illustrative. Card A, Card B and Card C are imaginary.

To follow along, download the card spending plan template. It’s an Excel file that also opens in Google Sheets and Numbers, and it’s pre-filled with this guide’s example. Replace the yellow cells with your own numbers.

Step 1: Estimate your spending by category

Pull the last few months of card and bank statements, or open your budgeting app, and add up your spending in a handful of categories. Don’t overthink it. Six to eight categories are plenty:

Turn each one into a yearly figure. If you looked at three months, multiply by four, then adjust for anything seasonal, like holidays or summer travel.

Step 2: List each card’s earn rates and caps

For every card you hold, or are seriously considering, write down from the issuer’s official terms:

Your card’s rewards terms, usually linked from the issuer’s website or app, are the source. Marketing pages often leave out the caps.

Step 3: Put points and cash back on one scale

You can’t compare 3 points with 2% cash back until both are in dollars. Give each points currency a conservative cash value per point: what you could reliably get, such as a statement credit or cash redemption, not the best possible flight. If a point is worth 1 cent to you, 3 points per dollar is a 3% return.

Using a lower value is safer. If the plan still favours the points card at the cautious value, it will favour it even more if you redeem well.

Step 4: Assign each category to a card

Now compare, category by category. Here’s a worked example for a household with three cards:

Category Yearly spend Card A Card B Card C Best card
Groceries $8,000 1% 3% (cap $6,000) 2% B up to the cap, then C
Dining $3,000 1% 3% 2% B
Gas $1,800 3% 1% 2% A
Travel $2,500 1% 2% 2% B or C
Everything else $12,000 1% 1% 2% C

Card B earns 3% on groceries, but only on the first $6,000 a year. After that, Card C’s 2% beats B’s base rate of 1%. The plan says: use B for groceries until you hit the cap, then switch to C.

Run the totals: B on the first $6,000 of groceries ($180), C on the remaining $2,000 ($40), B on dining ($90), A on gas ($54), B or C on travel ($50) and C on everything else ($240). That’s about $654 a year. Using Card C for everything would earn 2% of $27,300, or $546. The plan adds roughly $108 a year, before any annual fees.

Step 5: Make a one-page cheat sheet

Write the result somewhere you’ll see it: a note on your phone, or a small card in your wallet.

Some people set a default card in each digital wallet or app, such as a food-delivery app or a rideshare app, so the plan runs itself.

When to revisit the plan

Common questions

How many categories should my plan have? As few as make a difference. If two cards earn the same in a category, merge it into “everything else”.

What if two cards earn the same? Pick the one with better purchase protection or no foreign transaction fee, or just the simpler one.

Should I include annual fees in the plan? The plan tells you which card to use. Whether a card is worth its fee is a separate question: compare the extra rewards it earns in your plan with the fee.

How often should I update my spending plan? Once a year, plus whenever your cards or spending change.

Pay every card in full each month. Interest wipes out any rewards a plan can earn.

This guide is general education, not individual financial advice.