Updated
Card Optimizer: Which Credit Card Should I Use for Each Purchase?
The card you swipe matters more than the card you have
Most people who collect rewards cards still leave points behind at the register. They pay for groceries with a travel card, book flights with a dining card, and put a big one-off purchase on whatever is in front of the wallet.
The difference is real money. A $600 month of dining earns 600 points on a 1x card and 2,400 points on a 4x card. At 2¢ a point, that's $12 versus $48, every month.
The Card Optimizer works out which of your cards earns the most for a monthly budget or a single big purchase, shows how much more the best card on the market would earn, and flags when a large expense is big enough to unlock a new card's welcome bonus.
How to use the Card Optimizer
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Sign in and add your cards. The optimizer uses the cards in your Credit Card Tracker. Use Add a Card to Your Wallet if you haven't added any yet.
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Choose a mode. Monthly Budget compares your cards across your regular spending. Big Expense compares them for one purchase in one category.
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Enter your spending. In Monthly Budget, enter a typical month for Dining, Groceries, Gas, Travel and Other. In Big Expense, pick the Category and enter the Amount.
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Read Use This Card. The Your Wallet panel shows which of your cards earns the most, with the points earned and their estimated dollar value.
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Compare to Highest Return Card. The Global Best panel shows the card in AwardHack's database that would earn the most for the same spending, and how much more it would earn than your best card.
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Check Signup Bonus Opportunities. When your monthly total or your big expense reaches $2,000, the optimizer lists cards whose welcome bonus your spending could unlock, ranked by Net Value.
Tip: If your card earns a bonus rate the database doesn't reflect, edit its multipliers in the Credit Card Tracker. The optimizer uses your custom rates for your cards.
How the optimizer values a purchase
Every result comes from one formula:
Value = spend × multiplier × value per point ÷ 100
The multiplier is the card's earning rate for that category, and the value per point is AwardHack's valuation of the card's currency (for example 2.05¢ for Chase Ultimate Rewards and 2.00¢ for Amex Membership Rewards). Cash back cards count at face value.
Valuing points this way matters. A card earning 3x Hilton points isn't beating a card earning 2x Ultimate Rewards: 3 × 0.59¢ is 1.77¢ per dollar, while 2 × 2.05¢ is 4.1¢ per dollar.
Worked example: a three-card wallet
Say you carry an Amex Gold, a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Chase Freedom Unlimited, and a typical month looks like this: $600 dining, $500 groceries, $150 gas and $1,000 on everything else.
Here's what each card would earn on that budget, using the rates and valuations in AwardHack's data:
| Category | Spend | Amex Gold | Sapphire Preferred | Freedom Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | $600 | $48.00 | $36.90 | $36.90 |
| Groceries | $500 | $40.00 | $30.75 | $15.38 |
| Gas | $150 | $3.00 | $9.23 | $4.61 |
| Other | $1,000 | $20.00 | $20.50 | $30.75 |
| Whole budget | $111.00 | $97.38 | $87.64 |
In Monthly Budget mode, the optimizer answers "if I could only use one card for all of this, which one?" Here that's the Amex Gold, at $111.00 a month.
But look at the bold numbers. Use the Gold for dining and groceries, the Sapphire Preferred for gas and the Freedom Unlimited for everything else, and the same budget earns $127.98 a month. That's about $204 more a year from the same three cards, just by swiping the right one.
To get that per-category answer, switch to Big Expense, pick a category, and enter the monthly amount. The optimizer will name the best card for that category alone.
Note: The optimizer doesn't model spending caps, and a card's top "travel" rate is often only for bookings made through the issuer's travel portal. Check your card's terms for the fine print on each category.
When a big purchase should go on a new card
Big expenses (a new laptop, a tuition payment, a home repair, a wedding deposit) are the easiest way to earn a welcome bonus. Most bonuses need a few thousand dollars of spending in three months, and one large purchase can cover it.
When your spending reaches $2,000, the Signup Bonus Opportunities panel appears. In Big Expense mode it compares your purchase amount to each card's minimum spend. In Monthly Budget mode it multiplies your monthly total by three, since most bonuses give you about three months.
Net Value = welcome bonus value + points earned on the spending − annual fee
For example, a $5,000 purchase on a $95 card offering 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points after $5,000 of spending works out to:
- Bonus: 75,000 × 2.05¢ = $1,537.50
- Points on the purchase: 5,000 × 1x × 2.05¢ = $102.50
- Minus the fee: −$95
- Net Value: $1,545
Compare that to putting the same $5,000 on a 2% cash back card: $100.
How many bonuses can one purchase unlock? In AwardHack's data, about 78 US personal cards have a minimum spend of $3,000 or less, and about 104 have a minimum spend of $5,000 or less.
Filtering and ranking
- Requirements Met (on by default) shows only cards your spending fully covers. Turn it off to see cards you'd need to add more spending to, with a progress bar showing how close you are.
- Include Business adds business cards.
- Issuer narrows to Chase, Amex, Citi or Capital One.
Cards are grouped by how much of the requirement your spending covers (75% or more first, then 25% to 75%, then the rest), and sorted by Net Value within each group.
Before you apply, check the card in the Card Recommender to make sure issuer rules like Chase 5/24 won't block the bonus.
Free vs Pro
Free accounts get the full calculation: your best card, the highest return card in the database, and the Net Value of each signup bonus opportunity. On the free plan, the wallet comparison covers the two cards your free plan tracks. Pro includes every card in your wallet and reveals the names of the cards in Signup Bonus Opportunities.
Tips for getting the most from every swipe
- Learn your top two categories. For most households, dining and groceries are the biggest bonus categories. Know which card wins each.
- Give "everything else" its own card. A card earning 1.5x to 2x on all purchases beats a 1x card on everything that isn't a bonus category.
- Time big purchases with new cards. If you know a large expense is coming, open the right card a few weeks before it.
- Don't overspend for points. No multiplier is worth buying something you didn't need.
To see what your growing points balance is worth, use the Points Valuator, and to decide whether to redeem points or pay cash for a trip, use the Points vs Cash calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Which credit card should I use for each purchase?
Use the card that earns the most value in that category: its multiplier times the value of its points. The Card Optimizer compares your cards for a monthly budget or a single purchase and shows which one wins.
What's the difference between Monthly Budget and Big Expense?
Monthly Budget finds the single card that earns the most across your whole monthly spending. Big Expense compares your cards for one purchase in one category, which is also the way to find the best card for each category on its own.
How does the optimizer value points?
It multiplies the points earned by AwardHack's value per point for each currency, for example 2.05¢ for Chase Ultimate Rewards, 2.00¢ for Amex Membership Rewards and 0.59¢ for Hilton Honors. Cash back is counted at face value.
When should I open a new card for a big purchase?
When the purchase is large enough to meet a card's minimum spend. The Signup Bonus Opportunities panel appears once your spending reaches $2,000 and ranks cards by Net Value: bonus value plus points earned, minus the annual fee.
What is Net Value?
Net Value is the welcome bonus value plus the value of points earned on the spending, minus the card's annual fee. It estimates how much a new card is worth to you for that spending in the first year.
Do I need an account to use the Card Optimizer?
Yes. The optimizer compares the cards in your wallet, so you need to sign in and add your cards. Free accounts see the full calculation, and Pro covers every card in your wallet and reveals the card names for signup bonus opportunities.
Does the optimizer account for spending caps and rotating categories?
No. It uses each card's standard multipliers. If a category is capped or only applies through a travel portal, factor that in yourself, or edit the card's multipliers in the Credit Card Tracker.
The bottom line
Your wallet already has a best card for every purchase. Most people just don't know which one it is. Enter a typical month, check each category, and set a simple rule for yourself: this card for dining, that one for groceries, this one for everything else. Then let the next big purchase earn you a welcome bonus instead of 1% back.