Question 1

What is Card Scout?

Accepted Answer

A free tool to find credit cards that fit your goals. Answer a few questions or type what you want — cashback, travel, signup bonus, whatever. We rank cards and show top picks with pros, cons, and estimated bonus value. No account needed.

Question 2

How does it work?

Accepted Answer

You tell us what you care about (annual fees, bonus spend, travel vs cashback, airline/hotel loyalty), and we score 100+ cards against that. You get ranked results, can refine with more questions, compare cards side-by-side, or use Strategy Lab to plan which cards to apply for if you have a spend budget.

Question 3

Is Card Scout free?

Accepted Answer

Yes — entirely. Recommendations, comparison, Strategy Lab, Signup Bonus Planner — all free. We may use affiliate links when you apply for a card; that doesn't change what we show or the order we rank cards.

Question 4

Do you store my answers or data?

Accepted Answer

Answers live in your browser (localStorage) so you can refine without redoing everything. No account is required and nothing is sent to our servers. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Question 5

What kind of cards can it handle?

Accepted Answer

Travel (bank points, airline miles, hotel points), cashback, and a mix of both. Personal and business cards. You can narrow by rewards type, annual fee, intro APR, and approval rules.

Question 6

How big is the card database?

Accepted Answer

100+ U.S. cards from the main issuers — Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Barclays, Wells Fargo, and more. We add and update over time.

Question 7

How do you rank cards?

Accepted Answer

Internal scoring based on your answers. We weight your priorities (cashback, travel, annual fee tolerance, spending habits) and score every card. Better matches rank higher. Refinement questions add more precision to the ranking.

Question 8

What questions matter most?

Accepted Answer

The most important: what you want the card best at (ranked priorities), how you feel about annual fees, and how much you can spend for a bonus. For travel we ask bank vs airline vs hotel preference, premium vs mid-tier, and approval rules (e.g. Chase 5/24).

Question 9

How are points and miles valued?

Accepted Answer

We use a cents-per-point (cpp) estimate. So 1.25 cpp = 1.25¢ per point → 80k points ≈ $1,000. These are ballpark numbers — your real value depends on how you redeem. The table below shows our current estimates.

Question 10

What is the Signup Bonus Planner?

Accepted Answer

You tell us how much you can spend (e.g. $20k) and how many cards you're open to (e.g. 5). We suggest a set of cards and an order to apply so you can hit each minimum spend and collect the most signup bonus value. Best for big purchases or planned spend.

Question 11

What is Strategy Lab?

Accepted Answer

Strategy Lab (formerly Advanced Strategy Engine) finds the optimal combination of cards for a given spend budget and card limit — useful for maximizing rewards over a 12-month window without applying for more cards than you want.

Question 12

What is the Credit Card Value Calculator?

Accepted Answer

Enter which benefits you actually use on a premium card (lounge access, travel credits, dining credits, etc.) and it calculates whether the card's annual fee is worth it for you specifically.

Frequently Asked Questions

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