The CardSavvy Philosophy: Math Over Marketing

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by credit card rewards, you’re not alone. The industry is designed to be confusing.

There are thousands of cards, hundreds of "points guys" on Instagram, and endless spreadsheets trying to calculate if 3x on dining is better than 2% cash back.

At CardSavvy, we believe there’s a better way. We built this tool because we were tired of the guessing game. Our philosophy is simple: Math over Marketing.

Here is how we think about credit card optimization—and why most people (even the "experts") get it wrong.

1. Net Value is King

The most common mistake people make is focusing on the "earning rate" (e.g., "This card earns 4x points!") while ignoring the Annual Fee.

A card that earns $500 in rewards but costs $695 a year has a Net Value of -$195. You are literally paying the bank to use their card.

Our Rule: We always calculate Net Value = Total Rewards Value - Annual Fee.
If the Net Value isn't positive (and higher than a free card), it doesn't belong in your wallet.

2. Your "Effective" Annual Fee

Many premium cards come with "credits" (e.g., $300 travel credit, $200 Uber cash). Marketing brochures tell you to subtract these from the fee:

$695 fee - $300 travel - $200 Uber = Effective Fee of $195! What a deal!

But is it? This math only works if you were already going to spend that money. If you buy a $200 Uber pass just to use a credit, you haven't saved money—you've just prepurchased rides you might not have taken.

Our Rule: We treat credits skeptically. In our advanced settings, you can toggle exactly how much you value these credits. If you don't use Uber, that credit is worth $0 to you.

3. Be Honest About Your Spending

Internet advice is often generic: "Everyone needs the Gold Card!"

But if you spend $30,000 a year on non-category expenses (like tuition, insurance, or contractors) and only $2,000 on dining, a 4x dining card is useless to you. You'd be far better off with a flat 2% catch-all card.

Our Rule: Optimization must be personalized. We run your actual historical spending through our algorithms to find the card that fits your life, not the one that pays the highest affiliate commission.

4. Opportunity Cost (The Hidden Killer)

This is for the nerds. 🤓

Every time you swipe a card that earns 1%, you are losing money. Why? Because you could have swiped a card that earns 2%. That 1% difference is your Opportunity Cost.

It doesn't sound like much, but over a year of spending, it adds up to hundreds of dollars.

Our Rule: We calculate the "Uplift" of a new card by comparing it against your existing wallet. We don't just show you raw rewards; we show you how much more you'll earn compared to doing nothing.

Final Thoughts

You shouldn't need a PhD in finance to maximize your rewards. You just need better tools.

CardSavvy automates the complex math so you can stop stressing and start earning. We don't care about the color of the card or the weight of the metal. We care about one thing:

Putting more money back in your pocket.

Ready to see the math for yourself? Check your Wallet Health now.