Card Stack Optimizer
Every card needs a job: credit card rewards, worked out in dollars
Card Stack Optimizer shows what credit cards return in dollars. It is written for adults with good credit who already pay their cards in full each month and want a clear system for the spending they already do. Each guide works through the math, names its sources, and says what it costs to get the rewards.
Earner01
Why this site exists
Most card advice ranks cards. This site starts from your spending. A household that puts $5,100 a month on one flat 1.5% card earns about $918 a year. The same spending spread across three cards chosen for the job earns about $2,410 a year before fees, at a conservative point value. The spending does not change. Only the card does.
Every card here has one job: a Category Earner, a Travel Earner, or a Catch-All. The guides show how to pick each one, what each costs after the credits you would actually use, and the order to apply in.
Start here
- Credit card rewards strategy: the framework on one page.
- The 3-card stack: a full worked example, line by line.
- Best credit card for each spending category: the master list, with a no-fee pick in every category.
- Credit card mistakes: five costly habits, priced in dollars.
- The free rewards calculator: see what your own cards earn.
The guides, by pillar
Optimal card portfolio
- The 3-card stack: a worked example
- Best credit card for each spending category
- Amex Gold vs Chase Sapphire Preferred on food
- Credit card mistakes, priced in dollars
Sign-up bonuses
- How to maximize sign-up bonuses without churning
- The Chase 5/24 rule and the order to apply in
- Credit card churning: how it works and the risks
- Manufactured spending: the rules and the risks
- How to track bonuses, credits, and fees
Annual fee math
- Which cards are worth the annual fee
- Is the Amex Platinum worth $895?
- Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Reserve
- Capital One Venture X: does the fee pay off?
Points and travel
- What a credit card point is worth
- How transfer partners work
- Chase Ultimate Rewards vs Amex Membership Rewards
- Hotel points vs airline miles
- Travel hacking with credit cards: a beginner's guide
- Best no-annual-fee travel credit cards
- Business class to Japan with points: a worked example
Score and rewards
- What credit score rewards cards need
- What issuers check before approving premium cards
- Credit card utilization when you use cards for everything
Business spending
How the numbers are sourced
Every earning rate, fee, and credit comes from the issuer's own published terms, linked at the bottom of each guide. Point values come from The Points Guy's monthly valuations, named and dated. Base math uses a more conservative 1.8 cents per point. Examples use labeled sample households, never personal results. Card terms and welcome offers change often, so each guide shows when its terms were last checked. See how the numbers are made.
Nothing here promises an approval, a credit limit, a welcome bonus, or a result. The strategies only work when every balance is paid in full every month.
Free calculator
The free rewards calculator takes your monthly spending in seven categories and the cards you use now. It shows what your cards earn today, the best two- or three-card stack for that spending, and the dollar gap between them.