About PointBagel

PointBagel exists because I got tired of bad data.

Every tool I tried either had wrong earning rates, ignored category spend caps, or ranked cards by which issuer paid them the most instead of which card actually earned me the most. I was managing a multi-card portfolio across Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, US Bank, and Wells Fargo, and I couldn't find a single tool I trusted.

So I built one.

Newer here? What is PointBagel? is the one-page overview.

What makes us different

Most tools in this space give you a ballpark. PointBagel gives you the real number.

We track earning caps and compute the actual effective rate when your spending exceeds them. We map every transfer partnership with exact ratios. We benchmark point values with real redemption data, not a single editorial guess. Every benchmark carries a dated rationale you can read, and a growing share also cite a named primary source, with more added every verification pass. When we get something wrong, we publish the correction. See the full breakdown on our methodology page.

What we believe

• Your data is yours. We use Plaid for bank connections, the same infrastructure behind Venmo and Robinhood. Plaid is a read-only window into your transactions, nothing more.
• Recommendations should be honest. Our algorithm recommends cards based entirely on your spending patterns. Some Apply links may earn us a commission - we won't have an affiliate link for every card. That never changes which card we recommend or how we rank them.
• Show your work. Every benchmark we publish carries a dated rationale you can read, and a growing share also cite a named primary source, with more added every verification pass. When we get something wrong, we publish the correction.

Who built this

Nick Spirakus

Software architect and 15-year points enthusiast. Designed and built PointBagel from scratch: the optimization engine, the data, the tests.

More about Nick

If you'd rather have Nick look at your portfolio with you directly, founder office hours are available - a 60-minute 1:1 session plus a written plan.