Free tool · 110 cards in the database
Stack builder.
One card can’t have the best rate everywhere. Enter your monthly spend, pick up to three cards, and see the best whole-category allocation among them, or test the best next card to add, with structured earn caps, every annual fee, and a responsible-complexity threshold included.
Your monthly spend
Your stack
Cards are listed A–Z. Type a card name or issuer to narrow the choices.
Rewards math assumes you pay your balance in full every month — interest charges quickly exceed any rewards value.
Tests every unselected card for incremental recurring value after its fee. Eligibility and acceptance are not assessed.
| Category | Spend/mo | Put it on | At | Est. $/year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries | $500 | Amex Platinum Card (Canada) | 1x (Everything else) | ~$114 |
| Dining & delivery | $200 | Amex Platinum Card (Canada) | 2x (Dining and food delivery) | ~$91 |
| Travel | $100 | Amex Platinum Card (Canada) | 2x (Travel) | ~$46 |
| Gas & transit | $150 | Amex Platinum Card (Canada) | 1x (Everything else) | ~$34 |
| Everything else | $400 | Amex Platinum Card (Canada) | 1x (Everything else) | ~$91 |
~$376/year in rewards − $799 in combined fees = -$423/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. Where a card makes you choose one reward plan at application, the table prices a single plan across every category (the one that earns most on your spending), because a cardholder can only hold one. Welcome offers are deliberately left out; they land once, and belong to first-year decisions like the card finder. Structured earn caps are applied. The tool assigns each broad category to one card for the full year, so it may understate a more complex strategy that switches cards after a cap. It does not assess income or approval requirements or merchant acceptance; check each review before applying. The next-card suggestion is endorsed only when it adds at least $100/year after fees; smaller gains usually do not justify another account. Rewards math assumes you pay every balance in full.
How to use this
Choose the cards you already carry or are seriously considering. The tool tests their possible whole-category assignments and returns the highest recurring net value. Compare the result with each card on its own; if the improvement 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?
We test every whole-category assignment across the cards you choose, price each card through our cap-aware rewards engine, and keep the highest-value allocation. Points rates use our Points Standard Index valuations, and the stack's net value subtracts every 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.
Does this prove the stack is optimal?
No. It finds the best whole-category allocation among the cards you select. It applies structured caps, but it does not split a category between cards after a cap or assess eligibility, acceptance, credit, or the effort of managing more accounts.
How does the next-card suggestion work?
It adds each unselected card to your current wallet one at a time, reruns the full cap-aware allocation, subtracts the added fee, and compares the result with your current stack. We only endorse the addition when it improves recurring value by at least $100 a year; smaller gains usually do not justify another account.
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.