Rewards Maximizer
Enter your monthly spend across dining, grocery, gas, travel, and everyday purchases. Madeen ranks every catalog card per category using cap-aware effective-rate math — bonus rates up to spend caps, then base earn — and shows how much you would earn all year.
Fine categories map into the five spend buckets and boost matching cards from catalog data.
Top card per category at median U.S. spend
| Category | Best card | Issuer | Effective rate | Est. annual rewards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | Credit One Bank Wander® American Express® | Credit One | 5% | $300 |
| Grocery | Aven Rewards Visa® | Coastal Community Bank | 6% | $432 |
| Gas | AAA Travel Advantage Visa Signature® | Comenity | 5% | $120 |
| Travel | U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® | U.S. Bank | 5% | $180 |
| Everyday | Blue Cash Preferred® | American Express | 6% | $1,080 |
Median profile: dining $500/mo, grocery $600, gas $200, travel $300, everyday $1,500. Interactive results update after the catalog loads.
Assumes bonus categories are active and caps reset as listed; combined caps and rotating categories may differ — see each card page.
Enter your monthly spend above to see which cards maximize rewards in each category.
Want this for the cards you already own?
Get per-wallet, payment-time picks in the Madeen app — no bank login.
Rewards Maximizer FAQ
How does the Madeen Rewards Maximizer work?
Enter your monthly spend across dining, grocery, gas, travel, and everyday purchases. Madeen ranks every catalog card per category using cap-aware effective-rate math — bonus rates up to their spend limits, then base earn — and shows which card wins each segment and how much you would earn per year.
Does the calculator account for spend caps?
Yes. When a card earns a higher rate only up to a dollar limit per month, quarter, or year, Madeen models rewards inside and above that cap using each card's base earn rate. Combined caps across categories are flagged when catalog data indicates a shared limit.
Is this personalized to cards I already own?
This web tool optimizes across the full Madeen catalog. The Madeen iPhone app picks the best card from your own wallet at checkout — download the app for personalized, payment-time recommendations without bank login.
How does Madeen value points and miles?
Madeen uses a standard cash-equivalent cents-per-point for each rewards program in the catalog snapshot, multiplied by the category earn rate. See our effective-rate methodology for the full formula.
Are welcome bonuses included?
Welcome bonuses are included by default when your total annual spend meets each recommended card's minimum spend requirement within the issuer's stated window. Toggle them off in Filters to see ongoing rewards only.