A single number cannot tell you which card is right for you, but it can help you narrow a long list. Our scores run from 1 to 10 and appear on the homepage ranking and in each card review. Each score is a weighted average of five sub-scores. The weights reflect what costs people money or causes problems most often.
The five weights
- 30%
- 20%
- 20%
- 15%
- 15%
Weights are the same for every card.
Fees (30%) carry the most weight because they hit every user on every transaction. We look at issuance and monthly fees, conversion spreads, FX fees, ATM charges and less visible costs such as inactivity or top-up fees. Our fees guide explains each type.
Availability (20%) measures how many people can actually get the card. A card open across several large regions scores higher than one limited to a single country. Custody and issuer quality (20%) asks who holds your money and who issues the card: a named, regulated issuer and clear custody terms score well. Limits (15%) covers spending, top-up and ATM caps, and whether they are published at all; see our limits guide. Features (15%) covers Apple Pay and Google Pay, virtual and physical cards, supported coins and rewards after caps.
How sub-scores are set
Each criterion gets a sub-score from 1 to 10, based on the card's published terms in its main regions. We compare cards against each other, not against an ideal card that does not exist. The final score is the weighted average, rounded to one decimal.
| Sub-score | What a 9–10 looks like | What a 5 or below looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | Low or no FX, small spread, free card | High FX, card fees, hidden charges |
| Availability | Several large regions | One country or unclear list |
| Custody & issuer | Named regulated issuer, clear terms | Issuer not disclosed |
| Limits | Published, generous caps | Low or unpublished caps |
| Features | Wallets, physical card, fair rewards | Virtual only, few coins |
Here is how the math works for a hypothetical card with sub-scores of 8 for fees, 9 for availability, 8 for limits, 8.5 for custody and issuer, and 9 for features. Fees give 2.4 points (8 × 30%), availability 1.8, limits 1.2, custody 1.7 and features 1.35. The total is 8.45, shown as 8.5.
Rewards are scored after caps, staking requirements and subscription costs. A 5% cashback rate that needs a large token stake and stops after a small monthly spend is worth less than an uncapped 1.5%. We explain this in our cashback cards guide.
What lowers a score
Some problems cost points across several criteria. The most common are:
- An issuer or card network that the provider does not name.
- Fees that are missing from official pages, so we cannot confirm them.
- Conflicting information on the provider's own pages.
- Inactivity fees, paid tiers needed for basic features, or rewards paid in a token you must stake.
- A recent shrink in the countries served, or a history of sudden card cancellations.
A card with status Limited keeps a score but loses availability points. Cards marked Paused or Closed get no score at all. You can read why on our about page.
In 2026 several card programs stopped overnight because a partner left. When that happens, fees and cashback stop mattering. What matters is whether your balance is safe and who you can claim it from. That is why issuer and custody quality carries as much weight as availability, and why "issuer not disclosed" always costs points.
Source hierarchy
We rank sources in a fixed order. First come the provider's own fee pages, help centers, cardholder terms and press releases. Next come regulators and public registers, such as FinCEN in the US or the FCA in the UK, and tax authorities for tax questions. Last come secondary sources, such as news reports and comparison sites. We use them to spot changes and fill gaps, and we label anything that rests only on them.
If we cannot confirm a figure from an official source, we say the provider does not publish it. We never estimate a fee to complete a table. For rules about card safety and issuers, see our safety guide.
Update cadence
We re-check fees, limits and availability for every tracked card on a regular schedule. Closures, pauses and major fee changes are applied as soon as we confirm them, and recorded on our news page. Every page shows the date its facts were last checked, and scores change when sub-scores change.
Frequently asked questions
How often are card scores updated?
Can a provider pay for a higher score?
Why does a closed card have no score?
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