One of the biggest challenges with premium credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum is making sure you actually take advantage of their perks and benefits to justify those steep annual fees. The responsibility is entirely on us as cardholders to understand and use these perks—some of which are provided annually, while others are meted out monthly or semi-annually, each with their own fine print and restrictions.
CardPointers, an app for iPhones, Android phones, and the iPad (as well as browser extensions), is an exceptionally clever software application that tracks your credit card benefits and reminds you to use them before they expire. For an app, it’s unusually rich in features and capabilities, yet has a very intuitive interface that makes it easy to use.
Getting started is simple: you enter your credit card’s name, the issue date, and the annual fee. From there, CardPointers taps into its extensive, up-to-date database of more than 5,000 card issuers in the U.S. and Canada to display all the benefits you’re entitled to.
But CardPointers goes far beyond simply listing your benefits. It keeps tabs on rotating quarterly and semi-annual perks, limited-time offers like Amex Offers and Chase Offers, and important statement credits, making sure you never forget to use airline, dining, or hotel credits before they expire. The app is also privacy-conscious. It doesn’t connect to your bank account or require your credit card numbers. You just tell it which cards you have, and it does the rest by matching known card benefits, while you enter the benefits as you use them.
The app also puts at your fingertips a list of all of the card benefits, avoiding the need to go back and find your agreement or go to your bank’s website to understand what you are entitled to.
While CardPointers is outstanding for tracking benefits on a single expensive card, it truly shines for those of us juggling multiple credit cards. It doesn’t just track perks; it actively advises you which card to use to earn the most rewards—whether that’s points, miles, or cash back—based on what you’re buying and where you’re shopping.
For example, it might tell you to use your Chase Sapphire Reserve at restaurants, your Amex Gold at grocery stores, and your Citi Custom Cash at gas stations. In my own wallet, I carry a Sapphire Reserve card, a Costco card, a Chase Ink card, and an Amazon Prime card. At Whole Foods it recommended the Amazon card (5% rebate), at Costco the Sapphire card, and at Costco Gas, the Costco card.
The app removes the guesswork of figuring out which card to hand over at the register or which to save for specific spending categories. You don’t have to remember if your drugstore purchases are best with the Ink card or your hardware store with the Sapphire—CardPointers tells you on the spot based on the current benefits. It also continuously monitors for new offers from your card issuers, so you never miss an opportunity to add new rewards or claim extra discounts.
What truly sets CardPointers apart is how intelligently it processes and presents the complex web of rewards structures and fleeting promotions, all with the goal of maximizing your earnings. Its focus is to make sure you’re always making the best decision at the point of purchase, steering you toward the card that will deliver the greatest return, whether that’s in valuable travel points, airline miles, or simple cash back.
When you’re out shopping, CardPointers even offers real-time recommendations. With its clever augmented reality feature, you can point your phone’s camera at a store sign and it will instantly tell you which of your cards to use there, based on your personal benefits.
CardPointers comes in both a free and paid version. The free version is sufficient if all you need is help figuring out which card to use where, keeping track of your rewards categories, and organizing your various perks. But for around $60 a year, the Pro version is a smart investment if you want personalized reminders, automatic tracking of your card-linked offers, and deeper multi-year analytics to ensure you never miss out on credits and can confidently decide whether to keep or cancel premium cards. If you have multiple premium cards with lots of credits, use targeted offers heavily, or want push reminders before credits expire so you never waste perks, the Pro version may pay for itself. A free 7-day trial is offered for the Pro version.