CardMatch Tool — Find the Best Credit Card Offers for You [2024]

Key Takeaways

• The CardMatch tool lets you view targeted credit card offers from major banks like American Express and Chase, with prequalified offers also shown.
• CardMatch uses factors like your credit score, income, and preferred perks to match you with potential credit cards.
• It performs a soft credit pull, which doesn’t affect your score.

Targeted credit card offers are usually some of the best offers out there. They usually come with a higher welcome bonus than the publicly available offer and sometimes come with other perks like promotional 0% APR interest rates, waived annual fees, and more.

Finding these targeted offers can be tough. Sometimes you get them in the mail. Other times, you see them in social media ads or you can find them by using a preapproved offers form on a bank’s website.

With this in mind, finding targeted offers can be an incredibly confusing process, and you may even lose out on them in the process. Promotional mailers get lost in the mail, and checking dozens of bank websites regularly isn’t practical. That’s not to say you should give up on finding targeted offers, though. There’s a better way.

Enter the CardMatch tool. It’s been a favorite of many points-and-miles aficionados for years. In short, the website curates all of your targeted credit card offers into an easy-to-digest dashboard that lets you compare all of them in a single place.

But what exactly is CardMatch? And more importantly, how do you use it? In this article, we’ll look at the ins and outs of the CardMatch tool, including an in-depth explanation of what CardMatch does, how to use it, and an up-to-date list of CardMatch’s current offers.

In a hurry? Find personalized card offers using the CardMatch tool. Your credit will not be pulled when viewing these offers.

What Is CardMatch and Why Should You Use It?

CardMatch is a tool you can use to see all of your targeted credit card offers in a single place. Most of the larger U.S. banks publish their targeted offers to CardMatch, including American Express and Chase.

Since these offers are targeted, you may or may not have luck using the tool. We’ve found that the people most likely to be targeted for offers on CardMatch are those with relatively few new credit cards and a high credit score. However, even if you don’t meet this criterion, it’s still worth a look.

CardMatch also shows prequalified offers on its dashboard. These are cards that the bank will likely approve you for. While this decision isn’t guaranteed, the bank is more likely to approve you for the card than a standard person applying for the card through its website.

These offers don’t always have a welcome bonus attached, so tread lightly and read over the full terms of the offer before applying.

You do need to provide CardMatch with some personal information when using the tool, like your full name, address, and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. However, your credit will not get a hard pull when using CardMatch. This information is simply used to match you to an eligible offer.

How Does CardMatch Work?

CardMatch works by matching you with potential credit cards based on a variety of factors like your credit score, your income, what perks you’re looking for in a new credit card, and more.

While CardMatch does perform a soft pull on your credit to learn your score, this soft pull does not impact your credit score and helps the CardMatch algorithm determine what credit cards might be a good fit for you.

That said, while the CardMatch algorithm matches you up with cards that it thinks you are a match for, there’s no guarantee you’ll be approved for the credit cards it recommends.

How Will CardMatch Determine My Matches?

The CardMatch algorithm takes a variety of items into account when determining which cards to match you with. This includes things like your income and employment status, your credit score and credit history, your spending habits, why type of rewards you are interested in earning, and more.

Once CardMatch knows all of this information, it recommends a handful of card options to you that it deems both fit what you’re looking for and that you are most likely to be approved for.

When Should I Use CardMatch?

Using CardMatch will ensure you’re getting the best credit card bonus offer available. Even if you’ve already made up your mind on your next card, using CardMatch may give you a better offer than what you’d find on the bank’s website.

In other words: Search CardMatch before every new credit card application — you never know when you’ll find a better deal!

CardMatch Partner Banks and Products

What Card Issuers Do CardMatch Work With?

According to CardMatch, it features offers from the following issuers:

• American Express
• Bank of America
• Capital One
• Chase
• First Premier Bank
• Other smaller banks

Remember, though, you’ll only see offers from banks that have targeted you specifically. This means you may or may not see offers from all of these banks at once.

Can I Find Business Card Offers With the Tool?

Unfortunately, the CardMatch tool doesn’t show targeted business credit card offers.

If you need a new business credit card, you’ll only find targeted offers through the mail, direct email, or other types of targeted advertising.

Alternatively, check out our business credit card recommendations for some ideas and apply directly. You’ll still get a great offer, and don’t have to rely on the banks to target you.

How To Use CardMatch

Thankfully, you don’t need to create an account when checking CardMatch offers. All you need to do is input a few key bits of personal information into CardMatch’s secure form, including your full name, current street address, and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number.

This information is transmitted using 256-bit encryption, and CardMatch is a PCI Level 1 compliant organization. PCI Level 1 Compliance is the highest level of certification issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, which means your personal information is treated with the utmost security by a trusted company.

How To Use CardMatch: Step by Step

Step 1: Visit CardMatch

To find your CardMatch results, head over to the CardMatch website and fill out the form on its website. In order to receive your matches, you need to enter your name, address, employment status, annual income, monthly rent or mortgage payment, the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, and your email address.

Step 2: View Your Offers

After submitting the form, you’ll be brought to your list of targeted credit card offers. Under each card, you’ll see its respective benefits, bonus points, APR, and other important information. There’s also a Features sidebar you can use to filter cards based on type and bank.

Step 3: Apply (Optional)

If an offer strikes your fancy, click the blue Apply Now button on the right side of the card’s information box. You’ll be brought directly to the bank’s application page for the offer you’re targeted for. Note that you must go through this link in order to take advantage of the targeted offer.

A Word on Chase Cards and the 5/24 Rule

Chase’s 5/24 rule still applies to CardMatch offers. In short, this means that if you’ve opened 5 new credit cards in the past 24 months, you’ll automatically be denied for all-new Chase cards that you apply for. Unfortunately, you can’t appeal this decision, and it applies to both personal and business cards issued by Chase.

Check Your Account for These Valuable CardMatch Offers

For your convenience, we’ve curated an up-to-date list of the best targeted CardMatch offers below. We’ve split up the list into active offers and previous offers, giving you a good look at what’s possible on CardMatch. We’re keeping an eye on the CardMatch website for new offers, too, and will keep this list updated as we hear about both new and expiring offers.

Note that we’re only covering increased welcome bonus offers in our CardMatch tracker. We’re not tracking prequalified offers or offers that are the same as their publicly available bonus offers.

Let’s take a look at what’s possible with CardMatch!

Current CardMatch Offers

The Platinum Card^® From American Express

For those looking to snag the 150,000-point offer for the Amex Platinum card, it’s often helpful to try checking through the American Express website directly first, especially via the Pre-Qualify tool, as this is a great way to land increased welcome offers.

If the American Express website doesn’t work, select CardMatch users have been targeted to earn 100,000, 125,000, or even 150,000 Membership Rewards points for opening the Amex Platinum card and spending $6,000 on the card within the first 3 months of account opening.

All of these offers are excellent, but we recommend you check all of your options before submitting an application to ensure you’re earning as many points as possible.

And remember, the Amex Platinum card has a number of other awesome benefits, too. These include up to $200 annual in Uber Cash (up to $15 monthly with up to $35 in December), extensive airport lounge access, up to $200 annual airline credit, car rental benefits, and more — all for an annual fee of $695 (rates and fees).

Hot Tip:

Take a look at the full list of perks and benefits offered by the Amex Platinum card.

American Express^® Gold Card

Similarly, you’ll want to check the American Express website first to see if you can score a welcome bonus of up to 90,000 points for the Amex Gold card.

If you strike out with Amex, we’ve also seen offers for 75,000 or even 90,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $4,000 on the card in the first 3 months of account opening on CardMatch. This is at least 15,000 more points than the standard offer, making it an exceptionally good deal for those in the market for the Amex Gold card.

Other card benefits include 4 points per dollar spent on restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1x), and up to $10 in monthly dining credits. See our article on the benefits of the Amex Gold card for more information.

Previous CardMatch Offers

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card From American Express

In the past, we’ve seen an increased welcome bonus on the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card. The card normally earns $250 in bonus cash-back after spending $1,000 on the card in the first 3 months of account opening. However, CardMatch once offered a $300 bonus for the same amount of spend. We’ll let you know if this offer reappears in the future.

For more information about this card, check out our detailed guide to the benefits of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card.

Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card

CardMatch once offered increased welcome bonuses for the Delta Gold card, too. At the time, the standard welcome bonus was 35,000 Delta SkyMiles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. However, CardMatch offered 70,000 Delta SkyMiles and a $50 statement credit (after your first Delta purchase) for the same amount of spend.

Check out our full review of the card for more information and current offers.

A CardMatch Case Study

To further prove how valuable CardMatch can be, here’s a look at the offers I was personally matched with in August 2022.

While I currently have over 20 credit cards, I was still offered a set of different offers from Bank of America, Citibank, U.S. Bank, and more. Some offers are more exciting than others, but here’s a look at each of them.

Here’s a look at the offers on my CardMatch account, broken down by bank:

American Express

I wasn’t matched to any American Express CardMatch offers. This is likely because I already hold a variety of American Express cards, including the Amex Platinum card and the Amex Gold card. If you’ve never had an Amex before, though, your experience will likely be much different than mine.

Bank of America

I received offers for 4 Bank of America credit cards, all of which are pretty solid offerings, including the Bank of America^® Customized Cash Rewards credit card, Bank of America^® Travel Rewards Credit Card, Bank of America^® Premium Rewards^® credit card, and the Bank of America^® Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card.

Here’s a look at CardMatch’s offers back in 2022, though these were identical to the publicly available offers at the time.

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Card

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card is a great card that allows you to earn 3% cash-back in the top category of your choice. At that time the offer was presented, the welcome bonus was $200 in cash-back after spending $1,000 on the card within the first 90 days.

Bank of America Travel Rewards Card

When the offer was presented, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card had an offer of 25,000 points (worth $250) after spending at least $1,000 on the card.

Bank of America Premium Rewards Card

While this is the standard offer you can receive, the Bank of America Premium Rewards card is still a great option, especially for those who are Bank of America Preferred Rewards members.

Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Card

Lastly, the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card presented an offer of $200 back after spending $1,000 on the card within 90 days.

Capital One

Interestingly, I received no targeted offers from Capital One, despite not currently holding a Capital One credit card.

Chase

I also did not receive an offer for any Chase cards, though this was unsurprising, as I already have quite a few Chase cards in my wallet.

Citi

I received 3 offers on Citi cards, all pretty solid offers and all-around great cards, including the Citi^®/AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®, Citi Custom Cash^® Card, and Citi Strata Premier℠ Card.

Here are the offers, though they were identical to the publicly available offers at the time.

AAdvantage Executive World Elite Card

For American Airlines elite, the AAdvantage Executive World Elite card is a great option, as it comes with Admirals Club access and helps you earn Loyalty Points to reach higher levels of American elite status. Plus, it includes a great welcome bonus offer.

Citi Custom Cash Card

The Citi Custom Cash card has quickly become a fan favorite thanks to its ability to earn 5% cash-back on your top spend category with no annual fee.

Citi Strata Premier Card

By far the best offer I was targeted for was the Citi Strata Premier card, which offered a whopping 80,000 Citi ThankYou Points after completing the minimum spend requirement. If I were in the market for a new card, this certainly would be the offer I’d take advantage of, as we value 80,000 Citi ThankYou Points at $1,280.

U.S. Bank

For the last major issuer, U.S. Bank, I received 2 targeted offers for the U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards World Elite™ Mastercard^®, and the U.S. Bank Altitude^® Go Visa Signature^® Card. Again, these offers matched the publicly available offers at the time.

U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card

As far as cash-back cards go, the U.S. Bank Altitude Go card is an interesting one thanks to its 4x rewards on dining, and 2x rewards on streaming, groceries, gas, and charging stations, all with no annual fee.

U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Mastercard

While you might not be targeted for a business card depending on what employment status you select with CardMatch, these cards can have some great offers as well, like $500 in cash-back on the U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Mastercard.

Other Banks

I also was targeted for a variety of credit cards from other banks like Credit One and Synchrony, though many of these cards offer little to no rewards and are primarily for those looking to build their credit. Needless to say, we don’t recommend applying for these cards unless you fall into the latter category.

As you can see, I didn’t have the best experience with CardMatch. However, this is likely because I’m far from new to the credit card world. I have an established portfolio of points-earning credit cards, giving banks less reason to target me for special offers. So with that in mind, your experience will likely be much different than mine.

Will CardMatch Impact My Credit?

No, there is no impact to your credit whatsoever by using CardMatch. While you are required to input the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, CardMatch only uses this to perform a soft pull to your credit, which does not count as a formal credit inquiry and cannot cause any change to your credit score.

What Is the Difference Between CardMatch and a Regular Application?

CardMatch merely matches and recommends credit cards to you that CardMatch thinks would be a good fit for you based on your responses and that you’re likely to be approved for.

CardMatch is not the same as submitting an actual application for a specific credit card, nor do the CardMatch recommendations guarantee that you will be approved for any of the recommended cards, even if CardMatch says you are prequalified.

The only way to know for sure whether you will be approved for any of the CardMatch recommended cards is to submit an application with the issuer for the card you’d like to add to your wallet.

Should You Apply for a Credit Card?

If you’ll use the credit card responsibly by not spending beyond your means and paying the card off on time and in full each month, then yes, having a credit card can be a great tool.

This is because credit cards help you build your credit, offer greater consumer protections than debit cards, earn rewards that you can use for cash-back or travel, and can also offer perks to give you even more value.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we showed you the ins and outs of the CardMatch tool. Make sure to run a search on CardMatch before you apply for your next credit card, as you may walk away with a better offer than what’s publicly available, giving you more points and other special perks.

However, do keep in mind that CardMatch won’t always hook you up with a better credit card offer. Targeted offers come and go, and it’s up to the banks to target you for special offers. Regardless, though, it doesn’t hurt to check from time to time.