Madeen Card Rules Index
The Madeen Card Rules Index is a public reference for the reward-rule catalog behind Madeen's educational articles and iPhone recommendation logic. It is designed to make Madeen's original analysis easier for readers, crawlers, and answer engines to verify and cite.
Catalog Coverage
Category Rule Coverage
Category rules describe when a card earns more than its base rate, such as dining, gas, groceries, travel, or all other purchases. Counts can change as issuers adjust products and Madeen refreshes the catalog.
| Category | Cards | Rules | Capped rules | Highest modeled multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dining | 882 | 885 | 0 | 7x |
| groceries | 612 | 614 | 0 | 6x |
| gas | 1,008 | 1,012 | 0 | 6x |
| travel | 290 | 315 | 0 | 7x |
| other | 451 | 468 | 0 | 6x |
Reward Currency Mix
Madeen compares cash back, points, and miles by converting rewards into estimated cash-equivalent value. Those estimates are practical comparison assumptions, not guarantees of redemption value.
- 2,767 cards use cash back as the primary reward currency.
- 1,097 cards use points as the primary reward currency.
- 87 cards use miles as the primary reward currency.
Annual Fee Distribution
- 3,086 cards have a $0 annual fee in the catalog snapshot.
- 557 cards have an annual fee above $0 and below $100.
- 61 cards have an annual fee from $100 to $299.
- 247 cards have an annual fee of $300 or more.
Read when an annual fee is worth it and Madeen's annual fee distribution analysis across the catalog.
How To Use This Reference
Use this page as a catalog-level source for Madeen analysis. For current card terms, use issuer pages. For methodology, including how Madeen separates issuer facts from catalog analysis, read Madeen's editorial methodology.
Encyclopedia
Madeen's credit-card encyclopedia adds program, benefit, transfer, network, and glossary pages linked from card detail pages and blog posts.
- Encyclopedia home
- Rewards programs
- Card benefits
- Transfer partners
- Glossary
- Spend categories
- Card networks
- Network tiers
- Redemption options
- APR by issuer
- Credit card APR ranges
Comparisons & merchants
- Card comparisons — side-by-side effective-rate, fee, and bonus analysis for catalog pairings
- Merchant guides — best card to use at specific stores and services
Reference Assets
- Credit card finder — browse every card in the Madeen catalog
- Citi Double Cash card page — flat 2% cash-back benchmark for effective-rate comparisons
- Chase Freedom Unlimited vs Citi Double Cash — programmatic pairing
- Credit card category caps reference
- How credit card reward caps and limits work
- How to compare cash back, points, and miles
- What is the best gas credit card?
- What is the best credit card for groceries?
- Which card should I use for dining rewards?
- Best credit card optimizer without bank login
- Best credit card optimizer app compared
- CardPointers alternatives
- MaxRewards vs Kudos — optimizer comparison
- Capital One Venture vs Venture X