The Points Guy Review Methodology
The Points Guy has been a leading voice in the travel industry for more than 13 years, and our team of travel and credit cards experts has over 400 years of combined experience in the travel and financial spaces. Altogether, we've flown a total of over 50 million lifetime miles and spend over 1,500 combined nights in hotels each year.
What goes into our card ratings and reviews?
TPG's team of industry experts determines each credit card's overall value and gives it a score between 1 and 5 to help you decide the cards that are best for you.
4.5 or higher: Excellent This is one of our favorite cards that we highly recommend. It provides significant value and perks that easily justify its annual fee.
3.5 to 4.0: Very good We like and often recommend this card for the value it brings to a wide range of cardholders.
3.0: Good This card provides decent value for its annual fee and is a good fit for the right circumstances.
Under 3.0: Average This card can provide value under specific circumstances.
To determine each score, we consider the following factors:
Earning potential:
We evaluate the card's earning rates, welcome offer and potential for targeted discounts or bonuses.
Rewards redemptions:
We analyze the value of the card's rewards based on TPG's valuations as well as the ease and flexibility of redemption options.
Perks:
We calculate the value of a card's benefits, such as statement credits, airport lounge access and insurance protections. For airline and hotel credit cards, this includes perks like free checked bags, companion certificates, complimentary hotel nights and automatic elite status.
Authorized user cards:
We consider the cost and benefits of adding an authorized user to the card account.
User experience:
We look at the overall customer experience, including customer service as well as how easy it is to navigate the card's web portal and mobile app.
Annual fee:
We determine whether the card's above features easily justify its annual fee for a large number of cardholders.
Since there's such a wide variety of cards on the market, we also consider specific criteria based on the card's type:
Travel rewards cards:
We most heavily weigh the card's earning rates and travel-related perks such as airport lounge access and travel statement credits. We also look carefully at the travel protections the card offers, including trip cancellation/interruption coverage, trip delay protection and baggage delay insurance.
Airline credit cards:
We determine the value of the card's airline benefits, like airport lounge access, companion certificates, free checked bags and automatic status (or shortcuts to status) with the airline. We also evaluate any bonus categories that can accelerate your progress toward free flights.
Hotel credit cards:
We consider the value of the card's perks, specifically looking for free night certificates, on-property perks or discounts, and automatic elite status with the given hotel program to help make your stays more rewarding and comfortable. We also look at bonus earning rates to identify how quickly you can rack up free nights based on your everyday spending.
Cash-back cards:
We primarily take into account the card's earning rates across bonus categories and everyday spending relative to its annual fee. We also consider the ease and flexibility of redeeming rewards, including any opportunities to combine them with other cards to increase their value.
Business cards:
We analyze the value of bonus categories tailored specifically for small businesses, and we also consider perks that can save companies money (like statement credits for business services or free employee cards) and time (like included expense-reporting software).
0% APR and balance transfer cards:
We look for cards that have an introductory 0% annual percentage rate on purchases and balance transfers — and then identify how long these promotional offers are available, what fees they incur and whether the cards offer other benefits beyond the 0% rate.
Why you can trust us
We're passionate about credit cards because of the travel and lifestyle they make possible — and we're living that passion every single day. The average member of our editorial team has 20 credit cards and travels at least once a month. We know whether a card is worth getting because we've tested its benefits.
When we recommend a credit card to you, it's not theoretical, nor is it simply repeating what a card issuer's website says. It's because we've experienced its value firsthand. Whether it's utilizing automatic elite status perks, working from airport lounges, saving money on checked bag fees, booking luxury hotels with free night certificates, redeeming rewards for a bucket list adventure or simply using cash-back rewards to buy holiday presents, we've put these credit cards through their paces to better serve you, our readers.
We're dedicated to making credit card information accessible and exciting by providing cutting-edge resources, top-notch content and firsthand stories to help you choose the best credit cards for your lifestyle and goals. Our card ratings go hand in hand with our more detailed card reviews, card comparisons, benefit guides, educational content and first-person experiences to support beginners and experts alike along their credit card journeys.
While TPG may receive a commission when you apply for a card through our site, these card ratings are decided by our independent editorial team and not influenced by any of our partners.