How we calculate
Last updated October 5, 2026 by the MaxPoints.ai Team
MaxPoints turns the monthly spending you enter into a yearly dollar value for each card, then looks for the combination of cards that earns the most. This page explains each step so you can judge the numbers for yourself.
1. Your spending
Each category you enter (rent, dining, groceries, gas, travel, and so on) is a monthly amount. We multiply by 12 to get a yearly total. If you enter purchases abroad, they are modeled separately so cards that charge a foreign transaction fee lose that fee on them.
2. Rewards earned
Every card in our catalog has an earning rate per category, such as 4x on dining. Your spending in a category times that rate gives points or cash back. Where a card caps a bonus category, spending up to the cap earns the higher rate and the rest earns the lower rate. When two cards are used together, each category goes to whichever card earns more on it.
3. Turning points into dollars
Cash back counts at face value. Points and miles are converted at a cents-per-point value for that currency. The values used for your results are listed under them as assumptions, because the value of a point depends on how you redeem it. If you redeem for less than our figure, the real value will be lower.
4. Statement credits
Credits such as dining, travel or rideshare credits only count if you would really use them. By default we count the ones a typical cardholder is likely to use, and you can turn any credit on or off and watch the numbers change. A perk shared across cards, like Priority Pass lounge access, is counted once for the whole wallet.
5. Annual fees and the net value
A card's net value is the rewards value plus the credits you use, minus the annual fee. We search combinations of cards for the highest total net value, rather than simply picking each category's best card, because a card's fee is only worth paying if its rewards cover it.
6. Year one and year two onward
Cards are ranked by their ongoing yearly value, from year two onward. Welcome bonuses are added to the first-year figure only, and you can switch the view between the two. This keeps a one-time bonus from making an expensive card look like a good long-term pick.
7. The dollar gap
The headline gap compares the recommended cards with a plain 1% cash back card, with no annual fee, on the same spending. If you tell us which cards you already hold, those are used instead as the starting point. It is an estimate for the spending you entered.
8. Eligibility filters
You can tell the calculator about the cards you own, cards you never want to see, whether you are at Chase 5/24, and whether to show business cards. Recommendations respect those choices.
9. Where the card data comes from
Card terms come from the issuers' own pages and are updated when they change. Issuers change fees, credits and bonuses without notice, so confirm the current terms before you apply.
What the numbers are not
The results are a model of the spending you enter. They do not know your credit profile, whether you will be approved, or how you will redeem points, and they are not financial advice. See our Terms and the FAQ.
Who is behind this
MaxPoints.ai is operated by CC Technologies LLC. Articles are published by the MaxPoints.ai Team. Read more on the About page, or try the calculator.