Every loyalty program is built to confuse you.
Here's what your spend is really worth.
Estimates, not guarantees. Not a licensed financial advisor. The fine print
Around $25K a month on cards, the $550 fee starts to make sense, est.
- vs the fee
- $550
- a month, flat
- Covers the fee
- 1.5×
- +$300 a month left
✓Clears the fee.
A quick estimate, est.: this spend spread over your industry's typical mix, set under Go advanced, on the same cards inside the same yearly caps, so both give the same answer.
- ✓One slider. One answer, in dollars a month.
- ✓Set against the $550 a month fee, side by side.
- ✓Fits, close call or not a fit, shown plainly.
Move the slider to what your business puts on cards each month. You see what your desk finds, est., next to its flat fee. Want every line of your spend? Go advanced below.
Every loyalty program. One desk to rule them all.Every figure is an estimate, not a guarantee. An educational tool, not a licensed financial advisor. Illustrative examples: owners and conversations are fictional. Not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by any bank, airline or hotel program. Program names and logos are trademarks of their owners, shown for identification only. US businesses only. The fine print · Important information
Every line of your spend.
Every card, every point.
Start from your industry's typical mix, then put in your own numbers, line by line, with how each one is paid today. Each line goes to the card in the stack that typically earns most on it, inside that card's yearly cap, and the answer moves as you type.
Before you startEstimates, not guarantees. Not a licensed financial advisor.
- Estimates
- Every figure here is an estimate, not a promise. Nobody can guarantee savings, rewards, card approvals or award seats, so we don't.
- Not advice
- This is an educational tool. First Officer isn't a licensed financial advisor, and nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice.
- Point value
- Points are priced at First Officer's valuation, a range from a plain cash out to a well-planned trip. What yours are worth depends on how and when you use them.
- Card terms
- Issuers set their own earn rates, categories, caps and fees, and they change them. These are the terms as we understand them in October 2026, est. Check each issuer's current terms.
- Coding
- The merchant and the issuer decide how a purchase codes. Each line shows how that kind of purchase typically codes, not how yours will.
- Who decides
- Card approval is the issuer's credit decision. First Officer advises; you decide and act. The desk is read-only: it never applies for cards, moves money or buys anything.
- Affiliate-free
- No card issuer pays First Officer, and nothing here earns a referral fee. For US businesses only.
- Your numbers
- What you type stays in your browser. The calculator doesn't save it or send it anywhere. The fine print ↓
Cents a point, est., at First Officer's valuation. The floor is a plain cash out. The top is a level a well-planned booking can reach again and again, not a one-off.
Before about $39 a month in card annual fees, est.
- Left each month
- +$180
- +$0 to +$360, est.
- Covers the fee
- 1.3×
- 1.0× to 1.7×, est.
- Extra points
- +70k
- a month; we count them all
✓Clears the fee.
Estimates, not guarantees. Not a licensed financial advisor. The fine print
Where each line goes with the desk.
Each card's earn rate, its condition and how much of its yearly cap this mix uses. Card names and terms as we understand them in October 2026; issuers change them, so check their current terms.
Every line, a month, est.Today, with the desk, and the extra points
Points a month. Rates are per $1, est. "Typically codes as" is a pattern, not a promise: the merchant and the issuer decide.
The math, in plain words.
Four steps, no magic.
The same four steps run on your Found Money Call, from your real statements. Every figure here is an estimate.
Each line goes to its best card
Inside each card's yearly cap: Amex Business Gold 4x on its top two categories, Ink Business Cash 5x on office supply and internet, cable and phone, Ink Business Preferred 3x on travel, shipping, phone and search and social ads, Blue Business Plus 2x on the rest. Past the caps, Capital One Venture Business at 2x when it covers its fee.
Only the new points count
Your points today are not counted at all, only the extra.
Valued at how you will use them
A cash out is the floor, about 1¢ a point. Planned trips run higher, to about 2¢. The answer counts about 1.6¢, and the range is shown.
Then the $550 comes off
What your desk finds, before card annual fees, against $550 a month, flat, and how many times it covers the fee. Under ~$25K a month on cards, it says not a fit yet.
Every assumption, line by line
- Basic
- One spend figure, spread over your industry's typical mix (the one picked under Go advanced; Other until you pick), then run through the same card stack and yearly caps as Advanced. The same industry and spend give the same answer in both.
- Advanced
- 39 lines in 10 groups, each with its own amount and how it is paid today. "Your cards today" can set every line to one flat card at once. Lines marked not on a card are not counted on either side.
- Card stack
- Amex Business Gold: 4x on the 2 categories it is used for most each month, from 6 eligible (advertising; electronics, software and cloud; restaurants; gas stations; transit, parking and tolls; wireless phone service), up to $150K a year combined, then 1x, $375 a year. Ink Business Preferred: 3x on travel, shipping, internet, cable and phone, and search and social ads, up to $150K a year combined, then 1x, $95 a year. Ink Business Cash: 5x at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone, up to $25K a year combined, and 2x at gas stations and restaurants, up to $25K a year combined, then 1x, no annual fee; counted as points alongside Ink Business Preferred. Blue Business Plus: 2x on everyday business purchases up to $50K a year, then 1x, no annual fee. Capital One Venture Business: 2x on every purchase with no yearly cap, $95 a year; used only for spend past the caps above. As we understand them in October 2026, est.
- Routing
- Each line fills the highest rate it qualifies for first, inside the shared yearly caps. Lines with no other bonus go first where caps are shared. Business Gold's two categories are the pair that finds the most for your mix. Spend past every cap goes to Capital One Venture Business at 2x, or stays on the card it is on today when that earns as much. A card is left out when its points would not cover its annual fee.
- Card fees
- The annual fees of the cards the mix uses are not taken off what your desk finds, in Basic or Advanced. They still decide whether a card is used.
- Cents a point
- Mixed 1.0¢ to 2.0¢, about 1.6¢ in the middle, cash out 1.0¢, economy 1.0¢ to 1.4¢, top hotels 1.2¢ to 2.0¢, business class 1.5¢ to 2.0¢. Estimates, not results from past bookings. We count low on purpose: a premium cabin can price a point at 5¢ to 12¢, est.
- Verdict
- Clears the fee when even the floor beats $550 a month. Close call when only the top does. Under ~$25K a month on cards, not a fit yet.
Points prices move by date and program. Your desk checks live prices with you and books only after you approve.
The fine print you should read.
Not because the lawyers said so.
Because each line changes what your number means. The short version: estimates, not guarantees, and First Officer isn't a licensed financial advisor.
All twelve, line by lineEstimates, credit, coding, travel, who decides and who pays us.
- Estimates
- Every number here is an estimate from our model, not a promise and not a forecast. Nobody can guarantee savings, rewards, card approvals, award seats or hotel rooms, so we don't.
- Point value
- We price points at First Officer's valuation: 1¢ to 2¢ for a mixed use, about 1.6¢ in the middle, and the range is always shown. Only new points count; what your cards earn today comes off first. Card annual fees aren't taken off. What a point is really worth depends on how and when you use it.
- Card terms
- The rates, caps and fees are the issuers', as we understand them in October 2026, est. Every one is listed in Every assumption, line by line. Caps reset on each card's own year. Issuers change their terms, so check the current ones before you apply.
- Coding
- The merchant and the issuer decide how each purchase codes, not us. We show how that kind of purchase typically codes, not how yours will. One that codes outside a bonus category earns the card's base rate.
- Credit
- Every approval is the issuer's credit decision, and applying can affect your credit. The math assumes you pay every card in full each month. Interest or a late fee would wipe out the rewards.
- Not on a card
- Anything marked not on a card isn't counted. Paying rent, taxes, permits or loans by card usually costs a fee bigger than the points.
- Award travel
- Award trips still carry taxes, fees and surcharges, and those aren't in these numbers. Seats and rooms depend on what's open, and programs can change prices, partners and rules at any time.
- Who decides
- First Officer advises. You decide, and you act. The desk is read-only: it never applies for a card, moves money, books or buys anything without your yes.
- Affiliate-free
- No card issuer pays First Officer, and nothing on this page earns a referral fee.
- Not advice
- An educational tool. First Officer isn't a licensed financial advisor, and nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice. For US businesses only. The industry mixes and owners on this site are fictional examples, not clients.
- Trademarks
- First Officer isn't affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by American Express, Chase or any bank, airline or hotel program. Their names and logos are their trademarks, shown only so you know which card or program we mean.
- Your numbers
- What you type stays in your browser. The calculator doesn't save it or send it anywhere. If you book a call, the industry you picked and the spend you typed ride along in the link to the Book page, so you don't type them twice.
The long version lives in Important information.