When discussing credit card rewards, it is difficult to determine the amount of credit card rewards a consumer will earn as it varies heavily with their monthly spending. In order to determine the value of credit card rewards earned, we determined estimated spending in each category that we believe accurately represents our readers. We use the below amounts of monthly spending to determine the reward value of different credit cards. Even if this doesn't perfectly match up with your spending, we hope it can serve as a reasonable metric to compare credit cards.
| Monthly Spending to Determine Credit Card Rewards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Spending Category | Monthly Spending | ||
| Grocery | $250 | ||
| Eating Out | $200 | ||
| Daily Transit/Gas | $150 | ||
| Drug Store | $50 | ||
| Entertainment | $50 | ||
| Travel | $150 | ||
| Bills | $150 | ||
| Other | $400 | ||
| Total Monthly Spending | $1400 | ||
It is important also to note to compare high-income and luxury cards we use the following table instead, as we feel it better represents the spending of those that qualify for these cards (i.e. those making over $200,000).
| Monthly Spending for High Income Cards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Spending Category | Monthly Spending | ||
| Grocery | $350 | ||
| Eating Out | $400 | ||
| Daily Transit/Gas | $200 | ||
| Drug Store | $100 | ||
| Entertainment | $150 | ||
| Travel | $450 | ||
| Bills | $350 | ||
| Other | $800 | ||
| Total Monthly Spending | $2800 | ||