Optimal Spending App – Maximize your Credit Card Rewards

Determine which of your credit cards to use in each spending category. Our app recommends the best strategy so your spending per card is sufficient to reach signup bonuses, to maximize rewards on bonus categories, while keeping spending limits in check.

Determine which card to use by spending category

Our algorithm-based optimizer app gives you the best spending strategy to maximize your credit card rewards. You will know exactly which card to use for groceries, gas, etc… while ensuring you still earn your bonuses.

Identify low cash back categories in your current setup

The detailed view from the optimizer results shows how much you earn for each category. Easily identify the categories where your current card mix could earn more.

Find cards you could or should close

Owning multiple credit cards creates redundancy in cash back categories. The tool will show you if a card is useful in your current set up. It might be time to say goodbye to a card if it has annual fees, and contributes little to your overall rewards.

Discover the optimal way to spend with your credit cards to maximize rewards in our app
Sample result of Optimal Spending tool

How To Use the Maximize Credit Card Rewards app

What is the goal of Optimal Spend?

The goal is to earn the maximum amount of rewards, without adding new cards to your wallet and without spending more money! This is the best tool out there to maximize the value of a credit card portfolio.

How is this computed?

We built a powerful algorithm that relies on mathematics to maximize your rewards, based on all the card parameters and your spending. 

Should I include signup bonus?

The default is no. It is likely that you have passed the signup bonus period already, since you are comparing cards that you own. If that is not the case, you can include the bonuses.

What do columns represent in the results?

the app shows strategies to maximize  credit card rewards

Each column is a strategy to use your card. “Optimal” guarantees the maximum rewards. “Simple” is easy to implement, but not optimal. “Random” is a (bad) baseline to compare with.

How should I use my cards to get maximum rewards?

icon to deep dive into maximizing  credit card rewards

Click the brain icon. It shows which card to use for each category.

Why is the card name showing a parenthesis?

Some cards let you choose which categories gets bonus cashback (ex: Bank Of America CashRewards pays 3% cashback in the category of your choice), or offer different signup bonuses. The algorithm determines which of these you should choose/activate. This is shown in the parenthesis. 

Why are there multiple cards on the same category for Optimal Use?

Multiple cards indicate that the money spent in this category should be split between cards:

  • – Because of thresholds (ex: Citi Custom Cash pays 5% cashback on the first $500, and 1% after, so it might be better to use another card after $500 spent)
  • – Based on time period (ex: Discover Cashback pays 5% on Groceries for the first quarter of the year, and 1% after, so it might be better to switch to another card after the first quarter)

What are Insights?

Insight are general information about the cards.