How We Rate & Verify Cards

The rarity tiers

Each card gets a tier to help you place it at a glance: Legendary (premium flagship cards), Elite (strong high-value cards), Mainstream (solid everyday cards), Starter (first cards and student cards) and Rebuild (secured and credit-building cards). Tiers reflect overall positioning, not a promise that a card is right for you.

What the Verified badge means

A 'Verified' badge with a date means we checked that card's annual fee, regular APR range and foreign-transaction fee against the issuer's own information on that date. Because these terms can change, the date tells you how fresh the check is.

Why bonuses are 'illustrative'

Welcome offers move constantly and are often personalized, so we present them as typical, illustrative values rather than a guaranteed live offer. Treat the bonus figures as a guide and confirm the exact current offer on the issuer's site.

Our sources

We rely on issuers' official pages first, supported by reputable current sources. When sources conflict on a value, we prefer the issuer's own disclosure.

Not financial advice

We are an independent information site, not a bank, broker or licensed advisor. Everything here is for general information only. Your approval odds, rates and rewards depend on your personal situation — read each card's terms before applying.