Check what your card rewards are really worth
Estimate rewards on your planned spending, after fees and limits.
Spending more to earn rewards can leave you worse off.
Spending and rewards in the first year
Net value
How we calculate this
Rewards per category = monthly spend × cashback %, or whole points: ⌊spend ÷ ₹X⌋ × points
Categories that earn nothing are left out.
Caps apply to the card's total rewards for the month, then for the year (not per category).
Points → ₹ at the value you enter (never ₹1 each by default).
Points below the redemption minimum stay "not yet redeemable" and carry to the next year.
Year 2 includes any points carried from year 1, so it can differ from later years.
Net value = redeemable rewards + welcome bonus (first year only, if the spend is reached)
− yearly fee − tax on the fee (unless the waiver spend is reached) − redemption fee
Effective reward rate = net value ÷ total spendCalculation version 0.6. We assume the same monthly spending all year and one redemption a year. Not covered: interest on unpaid balances, lounge access, insurance, milestone gifts, and rounding per transaction (we round points per category per month).
Carrying a balance? Check your repayment plan.
Card interest on an unpaid balance is usually far larger than any reward. Map your debts and plan payoff or see the cost of a loan in the EMI calculator.
How to read your card rewards estimate
This tool works out what a credit card’s rewards are worth on spending you already plan, after fees and limits. We keep no list of cards. You type the terms from your own card’s documents.
What you type in
Start with your monthly card spending by category. Count each purchase once.
Cashback is money back: a share of what you spend, such as 1%. Reward points are units you collect and later swap for money, vouchers or goods. That swap is called redemption. For points, enter how many you earn per ₹X spent and what one point is worth when redeemed. We never assume ₹1 a point; if the value is empty, the tool asks for it.
Tick the categories that earn nothing on your card. Their spending counts in your total but brings no reward.
Caps, fees and redemption
A cap is the most reward a card pays in a period. The tool applies the monthly cap to the card’s total rewards for the month, then the yearly cap to the year’s total. It never caps each category on its own.
The annual fee is what the card charges each year. Enter it and the tax on it as the rupee amounts on your bill. A fee waiver cancels the fee once you spend a set amount in a year. Only spending in categories that earn rewards counts towards it.
Some cards set a minimum before you can redeem. Points below it show as “not yet redeemable” and carry to the next year. They are not money yet. The tool assumes one redemption a year and takes off the redemption fee you enter.
A welcome bonus is an extra reward for a new card. It counts in the first year only, and only if your usual monthly spending reaches the target within the months you enter.
Net value is redeemable rewards plus any welcome bonus, minus the fee, the tax on it and the redemption fee. The effective reward rate is net value divided by your total spend: what the card gives back after costs.
Worked example
Meera, a fictional office manager in Pune, puts ₹25,000 a month on her card: groceries ₹8,000, dining ₹3,000, fuel ₹2,000, online ₹4,000, bills ₹3,000 and other ₹5,000. These are the page’s starting values. Both cards are made-up examples.
| Per year | Card A | Card B |
|---|---|---|
| Spend | ₹3,00,000 | ₹3,00,000 |
| Cashback rate | 1% | 1.5% |
| Rewards | ₹3,000 | ₹4,500 |
| Fee | ₹500 | ₹1,000 |
| Net value | ₹2,500 | ₹3,500 |
| Effective reward rate | 0.83% | 1.17% |
Both cards get the same budget. Card B costs more but leaves Meera ₹1,000 ahead. Now give Card A a ₹200 monthly cap. Meera earns ₹250 a month but receives ₹200, so her net value falls to ₹1,900. No single category earns ₹200, so a cap per category would cut nothing.
A points card shows the carry-over. Example terms: 2 points per ₹100, worth ₹0.25 each, fuel earns nothing. Redemption needs 10,000 points and costs ₹100. The ₹500 fee is waived at ₹2,80,000. Meera earns 5,520 points a year, below the minimum, so her first-year net value is −₹500. The fee stays: without fuel, her earning spend is ₹2,76,000. In year two she holds 11,040 points, worth ₹2,760, and keeps ₹2,160 after both fees. Year three would start again from zero carried points, so a card like this pays out only every other year.
What this tool doesn’t do
It leaves out interest on unpaid balances, lounge access, insurance and milestone gifts. It assumes the same spending every month. It rounds points per category per month; some cards round per purchase, so your real points may differ a little.
Buying extra things to earn a reward or reach a target can leave you with less money, not more. If you carry a balance, the interest is usually far larger than any reward. Map your debts and plan payoff, or see what borrowing costs in the EMI calculator.
Read next
Frequently asked questions
Why do I have to enter what one point is worth?
Because a point has no fixed value. Your card's terms say what it is worth, and the value may change with what you redeem it for. We never treat a point as ₹1. Take 6,000 points: at ₹0.25 each they are worth ₹1,500, but counted at ₹1 they would look like ₹6,000. Enter the value for the redemption you would really use.
Why are some of my points "not yet redeemable"?
Your points are below the card's minimum for redemption (swapping points for money or goods). Until you reach it, they are not money you can use, so the tool leaves them out of net value. It carries them to the next year. In our example, 5,520 points sit below a 10,000-point minimum in year one. In year two the balance reaches 11,040 points and can be redeemed.
How does a cap work when I spend in several categories?
A cap is the most reward the card pays in a month or a year. The tool adds up rewards from all your categories first, then applies the monthly cap, then the yearly one. Take ₹10,000 a month at 1% cashback with a ₹500 fee. Without a cap the net value is ₹700. With a ₹50 monthly cap you get ₹600 a year, so the net value drops to ₹100.
Should I spend more to get the welcome bonus or the fee waiver?
Only if you were going to buy those things anyway. Extra spending usually costs more than the reward it brings. The tool tests your normal monthly budget. Take a made-up welcome bonus worth ₹1,000 for spending ₹1,00,000 in 3 months. At ₹25,000 a month you reach ₹75,000, so the tool counts no bonus. It also counts a bonus in the first year only.
Where do I find the fee and the tax on it?
Look in your card's fee schedule or on the statement where the fee was charged. Type the yearly fee and the tax as the rupee amounts shown there. We don't work out the tax for you. If you leave the tax box empty, the tool counts no tax, so your net value may look a little higher than it is.
What does the tool leave out?
It doesn't count interest on unpaid balances, lounge access, insurance or milestone gifts. It also assumes the same spending every month. If you don't pay your full bill each month, the interest is usually far larger than any reward. In that case, map your debts and plan payoff or see what borrowing costs in the EMI calculator.