Most “best credit card” pages rank cards for a fictional average spender. Put in your monthly spending and MaxPoints ranks the cards that earn the most on that mix, after annual fees. Free, no signup.
1. Capital One Venture X Best fit for how you spend, led by Airfare at 5x and Hotels at 10x. $1,244 /yr
2. Bilt Obsidian Card (Grocery) Adds extra value mainly on Rent at 1.2x and Groceries at 3x after your top card. $1,113 /yr
3. Citi Strata Premier Adds extra value mainly on Dining at 3x and Gas at 3x after your top card. $415 /yrMonthly spend by category: dining, groceries, gas, travel, rent and the rest. Rough numbers are fine.
That mix is run against current earn rates, caps, fees and, where relevant, welcome bonuses.
See which cards fit your wallet, why, and what each adds on top of the others.
Every card gets one number: a year of rewards in dollars, after the annual fee.
Yearly value = spend × earn rate × cents per point, plus credits you’d actually use, minus the annual fee.
Say you spend $600 a month at U.S. supermarkets on a card that earns 4×. That’s 28,800 points a year. At 2¢, The Points Guy’s value for Amex Membership Rewards, it’s worth $576. At 1¢ it’s $288. Where a bonus category has a cap, spending past it earns the lower rate. With two cards, each category goes to the card that earns more on it.
The full calculator, like every tool on MaxPoints, converts each card’s points at The Points Guy’s monthly valuation for its program, listed in the table below. Set “Rewards you want” to Cash back and it uses cash value instead: 1¢ for Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Fidelity and Bank of America points. Cards without a reasonable cash option drop out of that view, including Amex Membership Rewards (0.6¢ as a statement credit), Capital One miles (0.5¢ as cash), and airline, hotel and Bilt points.
No-fee cards such as Freedom Unlimited, Double Cash and Savor earn points worth 1¢ alone and their program’s value next to a card that unlocks transfers, like a Sapphire Preferred, Strata Premier or Venture. The calculator pools them whenever your wallet, or the one it recommends, has that card, and the result says so.
Cards are ranked by ongoing value from year two. Welcome bonuses count in the first-year figure only. How we calculate walks through every step.
A point has two prices: what it’s worth when you use it well, and what it’s worth as cash. Every MaxPoints tool, from this calculator to the compare pages, category calculators and worth-it reviews, uses the first, from The Points Guy’s monthly valuations.
| Program | Value we use | As cash | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amex Membership Rewards | Value we use: 2¢ | As cash: 0.6¢ statement credit. Left out of cash back view | Why: Transfers to Delta, Air France-KLM, ANA and others. Cash is poor. |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | Value we use: 2.05¢ (Sapphire, Ink Preferred). Freedom, Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited: 1¢ alone, 2.05¢ with a Sapphire or Ink Preferred | As cash: 1¢ | Why: Transfers 1:1 to United, Southwest and others. Hyatt is 4:3 on Sapphire Preferred. Freedom and Ink Cash points transfer only when pooled with a Sapphire or Ink Preferred, and the calculator pools them when your wallet has one. |
| Citi ThankYou | Value we use: 1.9¢ (Strata Premier, Strata Elite). No-fee Strata, Double Cash and Custom Cash: 1¢ alone, 1.9¢ with a Strata Premier or Strata Elite | As cash: 1¢ | Why: No-fee Strata points transfer at 1,000:700 unless pooled with a Strata Premier or Elite. |
| Capital One miles | Value we use: 1.85¢ (Venture cards). Savor and Spark Cash: 1¢ alone, 1.85¢ with a Venture, Venture X or VentureOne | As cash: 0.5¢. Left out of cash back view | Why: Worth the most transferred or used on travel. Savor and Spark Cash rewards become miles, 1¢ per mile, when you also hold a Venture card. |
| Bilt Points | Value we use: 2.2¢ | As cash: Left out of cash back view | Why: Transfers to Hyatt, United, American and others. |
| Wells Fargo Rewards | Value we use: 1.75¢ (Autograph cards). Active Cash: 1¢ alone, 1.75¢ with an Autograph or Autograph Journey | As cash: 1¢ | Why: Autograph cards can transfer to airline partners such as Air France-KLM and British Airways. Active Cash rewards transfer only when pooled with an Autograph card. |
| Delta SkyMiles | Value we use: 1.2¢ | As cash: None | Why: Delta miles only. No transfers out. |
| United MileagePlus | Value we use: 1.2¢ | As cash: None | Why: United miles only. No transfers out. |
| American AAdvantage | Value we use: 1.45¢ | As cash: None | Why: American miles only. No transfers out. |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | Value we use: 1.25¢ | As cash: None | Why: Southwest points only. No transfers out. |
| Atmos Rewards (Alaska, Hawaiian) | Value we use: 1.55¢ | As cash: None | Why: Alaska and Hawaiian miles only. No transfers out. |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | Value we use: 1.35¢ | As cash: None | Why: JetBlue points only. No transfers out. |
| Hilton Honors | Value we use: 0.4¢ | As cash: None | Why: High earn rates, low value per point. |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Value we use: 0.75¢ | As cash: None | Why: 6× at Marriott is closer to 4.5¢ back per dollar. |
| IHG One Rewards | Value we use: 0.6¢ | As cash: None | Why: High earn rates, low value per point. |
| World of Hyatt | Value we use: 1.65¢ | As cash: None | Why: The highest-value hotel points we track. |
| Cash back | Value we use: 1¢ | As cash: 1¢ | Why: The Points Guy doesn’t value cash back, Disney Rewards Dollars, or Bank of America, Fidelity, U.S. Bank or Lufthansa Miles & More points, so they count at 1¢. |
Point values from The Points Guy’s October 2026 valuations.
These are planning values, not guarantees. They assume you transfer points to an airline or hotel and book a good award. Redeem for gift cards or a weak award and you can get 1¢ or less. If you won’t transfer, set “Rewards you want” to Cash back.
Groceries only, after the annual fee, points at The Points Guy’s values: Amex at 2¢ and Citi at 1.9¢.
On groceries alone, Blue Cash Preferred wins unless you’d use the credits, and credits only count if you’d spend that money anyway. Add $400 a month at restaurants and the order flips: Gold $539 ($779 with its credits), Strata Premier $521, Blue Cash Preferred $313. That’s why the calculator asks for your whole budget. More in the best credit cards for groceries guide.
These are the same values the full calculator uses, so it ranks these cards the same way.
Same points, $600 to $1,230 or more, depending on how you redeem. Spend them on gift cards or a poor award and they can be worth less than 1¢. See Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners and Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it?
The best card still depends on your mix. Each guide has its own quick calculator and a shortlist.
Choosing between cards that do the same job? See similar cards compared side by side, like the best cards for dining and groceries. Only looking at Amex? Use the Amex points calculator.
Looking at one card? The Amex points calculator turns Membership Rewards into dollars at 1¢ and 2¢. Each worth-it review has a break-even calculator for that card’s fee, including the Amex Platinum, Amex Gold and Chase Sapphire Preferred. Choosing between two cards? The head-to-head compare pages show which wins on your spend and where the break-even sits. Each takes a minute and needs no signup.
Check a flagship annual fee against the credits you’d actually use.
Moving points to a partner? See active transfer bonuses before you transfer.
Head-to-head calculators: enter your spend and see which card wins and where the break-even is.
Applying for Chase? Check Chase’s 5/24 rule first.
In-depth, regularly updated guides to the cards people ask about most.
Stop optimizing for someone else’s budget. Plug in your categories, compare cards on real value, and pick the next card—or the next tweak to your wallet—with less guesswork.
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