Free tool · 98 cards in the database
Stack builder.
One card can’t have the best rate everywhere. Enter your monthly spend, pick 2–3 cards — or let the tool search every combination — and see which card each category belongs on, and whether the stack’s extra rewards actually clear its extra fees.
Your monthly spend
Your stack
Rewards math assumes you pay your balance in full every month — interest charges quickly exceed any rewards value.
| Category | Spend/mo | Put it on | At | Est. $/year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries | $500 | Amex Cobalt Card | 5x (Eats & drinks (groceries, restaurants, food delivery)) | ~$570 |
| Dining & delivery | $200 | Amex Cobalt Card | 5x (Eats & drinks (groceries, restaurants, food delivery)) | ~$228 |
| Travel | $100 | Amex Cobalt Card | 2x (Gas, transit, travel) | ~$46 |
| Gas & transit | $150 | Amex Cobalt Card | 2x (Gas, transit, travel) | ~$68 |
| Everything else | $400 | Amex Cobalt Card | 1x (Everything else) | ~$91 |
~$1,003/year in rewards − $191.88 in combined fees = $811.12/year net
Stack math is recurring-year math: your spend priced at each card’s published earn rates and our Points Standard Index valuations, minus every card’s annual fee. Welcome offers are deliberately left out — they land once, and belong to first-year decisions like the card finder. Estimates ignore category earn caps, and suggestions don’t filter by income requirements — check each card’s review for its published bar before applying. Rewards math assumes you pay every balance in full.
How to use this
Start with the suggestion buttons — they brute-force every 2- and 3-card combination in our database against your spend and return the one with the highest recurring net value. Then sanity-check it: the comparison line tells you whether the stack genuinely beats the best single card for your spending, and by how much per year. If the margin is thin, the simpler wallet usually wins. For the full story on any card in your stack, read its review, and for first-year math including welcome offers, take the card finder quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What is a card stack?
Two or three cards used deliberately together: groceries on the card with the best grocery rate, travel on the best travel earner, and a solid flat-rate card for everything else. A good stack out-earns any single card — but only when the extra rewards clear the extra annual fees, which is exactly the math this tool shows.
How does the allocation work?
For each spending category, we convert every card's published earn rate into Canadian dollars per dollar spent — points rates are priced at our Points Standard Index valuations — and assign the category to whichever card in your stack earns the most. The stack's net value is those rewards minus every card's annual fee.
Why are welcome bonuses left out?
A stack is a long-run setup, and welcome bonuses only land once. Including them would flatter fee-heavy stacks in year one and mislead you about every year after. For first-year math including bonuses, use the card finder quiz — it handles offer minimum-spend requirements and fee waivers properly.
Do the suggestions account for my income or approval odds?
No. Suggested stacks are pure earn math over the published card database — they don't filter by issuer income requirements, your credit profile, or how issuers judge applications. Check each suggested card's review for its published income bar and terms before applying.
Card terms, fees, and earn rates change frequently — always confirm current details on the issuer’s site before applying. See our methodology for how we score and value cards.