Two things on our site get called a rating. The ranking in the compare tool is a dollar figure worked out on your spending. The star rating on a card is our team's overall view. This guide explains both. Our methodology page has the full write-up.
The ranking: one equation, no weights
There are no percentage weights to learn. The methodology page describes a made of three numbers:
- Rewards earned: each category's earn rate on your actual spending, with every cap, accelerator and qualifying-merchant rule applied as the issuer wrote it.
- Welcome bonus: counted only when your spending reaches the minimum the offer asks for in its time window. If it doesn't, the tool tells you instead of assuming the bonus.
- Annual fee: taken off, unless the first year is waived or a waiver you chose applies.
In the compare tool, the First Year Value also adds the Finly rebate when a card has one (money we pay you, not a commission) and subtracts foreign transaction fees when you have foreign spending. A commission paid to us is not an input to the figure.
Rewards earned in a year
$600
Welcome bonus (requirement met)
$200
Annual fee
$120
Rewards
$600
Welcome bonus
+ $200
Annual fee
Waived in year one
$0
First-year value
600 + 200 - 0
$800
Made-up round numbers. The methodology page says the headline ranking uses first-year value and the card page also shows the steady-state figure after a waiver ends.
Why caps matter
A cap such as “4% on groceries up to $500 a month” is applied in pieces: the higher rate on the first $500, the base rate on the rest. It is not averaged. This is the main reason our numbers can differ from an issuer's ad for someone who spends a lot.
Grocery earn rate
4% up to $500 a month
1% on anything above
Your grocery spending
$700 a month
First $500 at 4%
$20
Remaining $200 at 1%
$2
Each month
$22
Each year
22 x 12
$264
Made-up round numbers for an Example card.
What else goes into the numbers
- Your spending: a card's value depends on the person reading the page. Until you enter yours, the tools use a typical Canadian spending mix.
- Which stores count: many cards leave warehouse stores out of their grocery rate, so qualifying merchants are tracked card by card.
- What a point is worth: each rewards program has its own value per point, and the compare tool lets you choose Cash Value or Best Redemption. See Cash Value or Best Redemption?.
- Eligibility: minimum income, recommended credit score and province decide whether a card is shown to you at all.
The star rating
Each card also has a rating from 0 to 5. It is our team's overall view of the card, shown with who it suits, our take, pros and cons. It is set by people, not calculated by the equation above, and it does not change when you enter your own spending. Use the dollar figures to compare cards on how you spend, and the rating as a general guide.
See the numbers on your spending
Open the compare tool, enter what you spend and click the info icon on a card's First Year Value.