Retention Offer Calculator
Know the smallest offer worth keeping your card for before you call, then check the one the rep makes against it.
1. Your card
The card the issuer wants you to keep.
Use the fee on your statement if it changed.
How the calculator decides
On the call you choose between keeping the card with the offer and switching, meaning a downgrade or closing the account. Everything is per year and measured as keep minus switch:
- Gain before any offer = what switching costs you − (this card's fee − the switch card's fee)
- Offer value = statement credit + bonus points × value per point − spending required × return you give up
- Gain from accepting = gain before any offer + offer value
Keeping wins when the gain is at least $10, switching wins at −$10 or lower, and anything between is a close call. That $10 band is the same tie threshold CardSavvy's card comparisons use. The walk-away number is the smallest offer that clears it.
Some things don't enter the math because both choices keep them: the account's age, its credit line, and points that stay protected either way. For example, any open AAdvantage card keeps American miles from expiring, so a no-fee AAdvantage card protects them as well as a $99 one does.
Questions
How do I decide whether to accept a retention offer?
Compare keeping the card with the offer against what you would do if you said no: downgrade or close it. Add up what switching would cost you (credits you would use, free checked bags, extra rewards), subtract the difference in annual fees, then add the offer. If keeping comes out at least $10 ahead, accept. If it comes out $10 or more behind, switch. Anything in between is a close call.
Is a fee waiver a good retention offer?
Only if the card gives you something a no-fee card does not. A full waiver makes the card free for a year, which ties with switching to a $0 card unless you would use the card's credits, bags or other perks.
How much are bonus points from a retention offer worth?
What you will redeem them for. The calculator starts from CardSavvy's value for the card's program. If you are spending a balance down or will not use the points, lower it.
What if the offer requires spending?
Moving spending onto the card costs the rewards your other card would have earned. The calculator multiplies the spending requirement by the difference between your other card's return and this card's base return. If you would put that spending on this card anyway, the cost is zero.
Learn more
Card fees, credits and point values come from the CardSavvy catalog and can change; use the numbers on your statement and the offer the issuer makes. Not financial advice.