CardPointers Review: Here’s How I Maximize This Useful App

CardPointers is a mobile and desktop app that makes it easy to keep track of your credit cards and the bonus categories and rewards that accompany them. But is it right for you?

I’m a newish user to CardPointers. I started hearing people talk about the app this past summer and was curious to see how it could help me better utilize my cards and save money. The app claims to save users approximately $750 a year (maybe even more), which intrigued me.

I’m also the kind of person who sometimes freezes when shopping in person, especially if there’s a long line of people behind me. I open my Apple Wallet and often tap the wrong card because I don’t have enough time to think carefully about which card I should use to get the most points. CardPointers helps me by recommending the right card to use for each purchase so that I won’t continue to make mistakes when checking out at the supermarket, the takeout counter, the gas station, or the mall.

After downloading the app, buying the upgraded version (I got a discount with the Upgraded Points referral link, and you can too, but more on that below), and testing the app, I can see how I could — and will — save a lot of money (and earn more bonus points) with its help.

How To Sign Up for CardPointers

I started using CardPointers on my phone. To start, I downloaded the mobile app, created a login, and entered my card data to complete my profile. I was a little worried about entering my card numbers, but you don’t actually have to do that. Instead, you just need to enter the card’s name and the date it was approved. The service works with more than 5,000 cards and 900 banks throughout 258 countries, and I had no issues finding my cards.

However, when I first downloaded the app, I was at the beach and had to come back to set things up later because I didn’t have my wallet or easy access to specific card data, such as when my cards were first approved (this is so the app can track when your annual fee hits). It took a bit of time to organize all my information in the app.

Once I entered all my information and cards, my homepage showed an account summary, which included my cards, what I’m paying in annual fees, card offers, card renewals, and card pointers to help me keep track of fees, renewals, and offers.

After I set up the app, I added the browser extension for Google Chrome on my desktop.

5 Things To Know About CardPointers

Knowing these things can help you get the most out of your CardPointers experience.

1. It Requires User Participation

As I previously mentioned, you have to enter all of your data manually in order to get a view of your personalized, complete dashboard. This took time, and I also had to access some of my accounts to figure out when I got approved for cards I’ve held for several years. This is for when I want to call for any retention offers, cancel a card, or just be aware of when an annual fee will be charged.

Hot Tip:

I recommend downloading the CardPointers app in a quiet space when you have enough time to complete a proper setup. It might be useful to have easy access to your online credit cards and your email in case you need to look up when you were approved for a card or other key information.

2. It Tracks Annual Fees, Spend Bonuses, and Statement Credits — But You Have To Keep Updating It

Once you begin using the app, you have to continue updating your progress. Plan to manually enter where you are on meeting spend thresholds for a welcome bonuses and using statement credits. The app can do a lot for you by showing you your progress for all your credit cards in a single place, but you also need to work with it to maximize your experience.

3. It’s Secure

I was concerned about the app having access to my cards, but the good news is that you don’t enter your credit card numbers, so it’s very secure. With so much credit card and point fraud happening, it’s a relief not to have to worry about that with CardPointers.

4. If Offers a Pro Upgraded Version

The free version allows you to add and track your credit cards, but you’re limited to 1 card of each type. Meanwhile, the paid version, CardPointers+, has features such as:

• Annual fee reminders
• Tracking 5/24 status
• Tracking offer usage to the dollar
• Automatic reminder when you’re on a website where one of your cards has a bonus
• Automatically add every Amex, Chase, Bank of America, and Citi Offer across all of your cards (with reminders and ability to snooze offers)
• A map of all of the offers nearest to you
• Ask Siri which card to use for any store by name (iPhone and iPad).
• See the best offers and cards by pointing your camera at a store (iPhone and iPad).
• Location reminders (iPhone and iPad)

5. It’s Most Helpful If You Have Several Cards

If you have just a card or two, CardPointers probably isn’t the right app for you. But I currently hold 8 rewards credit cards (and some Upgraded Points staff members and points enthusiasts I know have cards in the double digits), so for me, having CardPointers+ guide me on the best cards to use, on maximizing my offers, and on keeping track of all my cards benefits, fees, credits, and bonuses is extremely helpful — and necessary in order for me to get the most out of each card and the annual fees I pay, which total $1,615.

Bottom Line:

A CardPointers+ subscription can save you a lot of money and time by organizing your credit card perks and offers. You can 30% off an annual or lifetime subscription using our link.

My Favorite CardPointers Benefits

I’ve already discussed how CardPointers works and how it can help elevate your credit card strategy. However, I’d like to explain a couple of specific CardPointers benefits that I think are super helpful, though they do require additional work and maintenance on my end.

Automatically Adding Credit Card Offers and Showing You Which Offer To Use

CardPointers+ automatically adds all of your credit card offers if you log in to your credit card issuer and click “Auto-Add offers.” You should only need to click the auto-add button the first time you do this. Going forward, new offers should automatically be added whenever you log in.

Credit card offers can be extremely valuable, though as they’ve grown in popularity, I found myself sifting through hundreds of offers weekly on each of my cards and manually adding ones that seem like the right fit. I’m sure I missed out on savings at one point or another, and the manual process was tedious and time-consuming.

But CardPointers+ automatically adds all of my Chase, Citi, Capital One, Bank of America, and Amex offers to my cards. All I have to do is log in to my credit card issuers (I usually do this weekly on Mondays, when new offers tend to come out). For example, today I logged in to Chase, where I hold 3 different credit cards. Within a minute, CardPointers+ automatically updated any new offers, and all I had to do was log in to my main Chase credit card overview page.

Then, as I shop or browse vendors online, the CardPointers+ desktop extension shows me pop-ups for the best cards and offers, with the option to open up the widget to show me all the available offers.

I don’t have the time to go through hundreds of offers and manually add them to my credit cards, so this CardPointers+ feature is the most innovative and valuable part of the service for me. It can really save me money.

Hot Tip:

Credit card offers such as Amex Offers or Chase Offers can save you a lot of money or reward you with additional points and miles. Make sure to add them to your card or have CardPointers+ do it for you with the browser extension.

Nearby Pointers and Pointers Features

I already mentioned my tendency to panic under pressure and not pay with the right card when checking out at a shop or business, especially if a long line of people is waiting behind me. The Nearby Pointers feature helps with this, showing me a map of nearby businesses and which cards to use at each. I try to check the app before getting in line so I’m ready with the right card when it’s time to pay.

The regular Pointers feature is also helpful as a general reminder of my card’s perk and the offers that I’ve already automatically added to it. I live in a large city and don’t drive regularly, so when I recently had to put gas in a rental car, I had no idea what card to use. I didn’t know if any of my cards offered additional points at gas stations, because this hasn’t been an essential or useful category to me in the past, and I was at a loss for which card to use.

Luckily, using the Pointers feature, I realized that my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card earns 5 points per $1 spent at gas stations, so I was ready with this card when I got to the gas station. Before having CardPointers, I probably would have put this purchase on my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which offers 2x miles on all purchases. I would have lost out on those additional points, but thanks to CardPointers, I’m always in the know.

How To Get the Most Out of CardPointers

As I previously mentioned, taking the time to set up and organize your profile in CardPointers accurately is the first step to getting the most out of the service. Make sure to download the browser extension and log in to your card accounts weekly so your offers are automatically added, saving you money every time you shop online.

Check your CardPointers app and its notifications before making in-person purchases so you’ll always know what card to use. I also recommend going into your profile weekly to update things, like how you’re using statement credits or spending toward welcome bonuses.

Take a look at any emails from CardPointers. These can alert you to new offers for your cards.

Finally, get the CardPointers+ version to save you the most money. Saving hundreds of dollars and getting bonus points for using the right cards in the right categories easily outweighs the cost of the pro service, which I’ll dig into below.

CardPointers+ Cost

CardPointers+ costs $72 a year (and includes a free 7-day trial to test things out), but if you purchase through our link, you can save 30% on the paid subscription, which takes the cost down to $50 annually.

If you plan to use CardPointers+ for more than a year, a lifetime subscription may be the best value. Lifetime subscriptions cost $240, but using our link, you pay just $168.

Final Thoughts

I’m really happy with my CardPointers+ subscription, which allows me to keep better track of the perks, welcome bonuses, credits, spend bonus categories, and offers for my 8 travel rewards credit cards. The app is secure, and I love that the browser extension automatically adds hundreds of offers to my cards when I log into my credit card accounts each week.

That said, it does take time to set up and maintain your profile within the app, but for me, it’s worth it. I think the Pro version, CardPointers+, adds a lot of value to the experience. If you’re thinking of signing up either for a year or forever, use this link to save 30% — you’ll never pay for a purchase with the wrong card again.