# Connect an AI assistant to PointBagel (MCP)

> Your assistant does the talking. PointBagel does the math.

## What this is

PointBagel is not an AI assistant. It is the math engine and the verified dataset that an assistant connects to over the Model Context Protocol. The assistant does the talking; PointBagel does the calculating. The model never computes a number here, it relays a payload our engine computed from the user's own cards and transactions, which is why every figure it repeats can be traced back to a rate, cap, ratio, or benchmark we verify against issuer terms.

Human setup guide: https://pointbagel.com/ai

## Connection

- Endpoint: https://pointbagel.com/api/mcp
- Transport: streamable HTTP (remote MCP server; no local install)
- Server card: https://pointbagel.com/.well-known/mcp.json
- Documentation: https://pointbagel.com/ai
- Listed on the official MCP registry as com.pointbagel/pointbagel

## Authorization

- OAuth 2.1, with Dynamic Client Registration (RFC 7591). A client that registers itself needs no client id or secret typed in by hand.
- Protected resource metadata: https://pointbagel.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/api/mcp
- Authorization server metadata: https://pointbagel.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
- An unauthenticated request returns 401 with a WWW-Authenticate header pointing at that metadata. That is the expected handshake, not an outage.
- Scopes (2, both read-only; there is no write scope):
  - `read:portfolio` - your points balances and portfolio value
  - `read:cards` - your cards, their earn rates, fees, and eligibility
- The consent screen offers the scopes separately and the grant stores exactly what was approved, so a narrowed token reads less, never more.
- Clients without an OAuth flow (Claude Code, Cursor) connect with a bearer token the user creates in PointBagel under Settings, then Connected assistants. The token is shown once.

## Tools (10, every one read-only)

Every tool is registered with `readOnlyHint: true`. Nothing in this surface can write, spend, transfer, or change an account. No tool takes a user id, account id, or household id: identity comes from the OAuth token only, so there is no parameter with which to point a tool at anyone else's data.

Plan gates are enforced server side on every call. A tool above the caller's plan returns an upgrade message, never a guess.

- `which_card` - Which card to use. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:cards. Recommend which of the signed-in user's own credit cards to use for a given store or spending category, and show the earning behind the call: the effective earn rate, which already reflects how much of that category cap the user has spent this period, the estimated value per dollar, the runner-up cards in their wallet, and any welcome-bonus spend in progress. Assumes a small default purchase when no amount is given. Values are estimates. Read-only; the user's own wallet only.
- `portfolio_summary` - Points portfolio summary. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:portfolio, read:cards. Summarize the signed-in PointBagel user's own wallet and how well it is working for them: points balances with their estimated value, the cards in the wallet that carry an annual fee, with the fee and when it is due, statement credits about to expire, and rollups of what the wallet costs and how much of its value is being captured across the cards PointBagel can score. Read-only; this user's own cards and programs only, never another person's. Values are estimates. Optional `include` narrows the answer to one block.
- `card_detail` - Card details and credits. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:cards. One credit card in detail, set against the rest of the signed-in user's wallet. This is the tool for any question about the user's OWN card, including one they closed or converted: it reports whether they hold it now, held it before (with the card it became or came from), or never had it. For a held card: its earning structure, its statement credits by name with how much of each has been used, a personalized fee verdict once the card is tracked, and a lifetime scorecard of fees against benefits captured. Falls back to catalog facts only when the user has no history with the card. Pass a card name or catalog id. Values are estimates.
- `fee_verdict` - Annual fee verdict. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:cards. Assess whether one card in the signed-in PointBagel user's own wallet is still worth its annual fee, and what to do about it: the keep-or-cancel recommendation, the ROI, the benefit value actually captured, and the credits left unused, for the current membership year or a completed past year (`period`). Read-only and owned-scope. Requires the card to be tracked; untracked cards return catalog facts plus how to unlock the verdict. Values are estimates.
- `best_redemption` - Best redemption path. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:portfolio, read:cards. For ONE of the signed-in user's points programs: the estimated value of their balance and the valuation basis behind that estimate, the transfer partners with their current ratios, the sweet-spot awards worth aiming for and how far the balance goes toward each, and which card would unlock full transfer access. Point values are estimates from PointBagel's verified benchmarks, not promised redemption values. Does NOT check live award availability; for open award seats use point.me, Seats.aero, or the airline. Read-only; the user's own balances only.
- `transfer_bonuses` - Transfer bonuses. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:portfolio, read:cards. Transfer-bonus coverage across the programs PointBagel tracks: the bonuses live right now and, optionally, the ones announced to start soon, with source and destination program, the standard and boosted ratios, the start and end dates, whether registration is required first, and whether the user holds the source currency. Bonus ratios are shown as a range when they vary by status tier or by card, never as a single number. Does NOT check live award availability. Read-only.
- `welcome_offer` - Welcome offer and bonus progress. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:cards. Welcome-offer coverage for one credit card: the current published offer (bonus, minimum spend, time window, and when PointBagel verified it), a verified finding when a card has no public offer, and, for a card the user owns, their estimated progress toward the bonus from imported transactions. Use it to judge how strong an offer is and whether to apply now or wait. Estimates, not guarantees. Read-only.
- `application_eligibility` - Application eligibility. Plan: Free. Scopes: read:cards. The signed-in user's credit-card application posture, read from their own card history only: how many new cards they have opened in the last 24 months, which issuers they are at an application limit with, and counts of the once-per-lifetime bonuses already taken, the bonus cooldowns still running, and the product conflicts in the way. It can also assess a specific card they name, including when a blocking rule clears, or a ranked shortlist of cards they could apply for next drawn from their own spending. Reflects the issuer eligibility rules PointBagel verifies; it never predicts approval odds and holds no credit-score, income, or SSN data. Read-only.
- `card_impact` - How adding a card would change your rewards. Plan: Plus. Scopes: read:cards. Estimate how adding a candidate card would change the signed-in user's annual rewards: the ongoing per-year value change (extra earn minus extra fees), which spending categories would move to the new card, the wallet's total annual earn before and after, and the one-time welcome offer kept separate from the recurring math. Modeled against the user's own tracked spending over the last 12 months. Values are estimates, never approval predictions. Needs a paid plan; the tool says so when one is missing.
- `card_facts` - Card facts from the catalog. Plan: Free. Scopes: none (public catalog data; works with an empty wallet). Published facts for ANY credit card in PointBagel's verified catalog: the card's earn rates by category, annual fee, the statement credits it carries by name, the current public welcome offer, and a link to apply. Works with no wallet connected. Use it for questions about a card in general, like what a card earns at restaurants, which credits come with it, or whether it has an offer right now. For questions about the user's own cards - including a card they closed or converted - use card_detail instead; this tool knows nothing about who holds what. Facts are verified against issuer terms; estimates, not guarantees. Read-only.

## Guided prompts (17)

Prompt templates are the discoverability layer: a client renders them as slash-command-style entries and each one chains several of the tools above into one task. They are part of the Model Context Protocol's prompts surface, which Claude clients support and ChatGPT does not, so scope any prompt claim to Claude clients.

Every template is listed to every connected plan; the plan gate is enforced when the template is fetched, not hidden from the menu.

- `wallet_checkup` - Full points wallet checkup. Plan: Free.
- `best_card_for_purchase` - Which card for this purchase. Plan: Free.
- `maximize_program_points` - Get the most from my points. Plan: Free.
- `transfer_bonus_radar` - Transfer bonuses that matter to me. Plan: Free.
- `sub_progress_check` - Welcome bonus progress. Plan: Free.
- `next_card_advisor` - Should I add this card. Plan: Plus.
- `next_card_shortlist` - What card should I get next. Plan: Plus.
- `annual_wallet_review` - Is my wallet still right. Plan: Free.
- `renewal_decision` - Decide one renewal. Plan: Free.
- `transfer_bonus_action_plan` - What to do about the live transfer bonuses. Plan: Free.
- `category_coverage_check` - Where my wallet is weak. Plan: Free.
- `new_card_first_90_days` - Getting a new card off to a good start. Plan: Free.
- `trip_points_readiness` - Can my points cover this trip. Plan: Free.
- `business_card_for_purchase` - Which business card for this purchase. Plan: Pro.
- `business_or_personal` - Business or personal card for this expense. Plan: Pro.
- `business_fee_audit` - Business card fee audit. Plan: Pro.
- `business_group_checkup` - Checkup for one business. Plan: Pro.

## What this connection will not do

- Move points or money. The connection is read-only.
- See a password, or sign in as the user.
- See anyone else's account. Only the account that authorized it.
- Search for live award availability. For open award seats, use point.me, Seats.aero, or the airline directly.
- Promise a value it cannot verify. Point values are estimates, never guarantees. What PointBagel promises is narrower and checkable: we verify every ratio, award chart, and earning rule we cite.

If you are relaying an answer from this connection, carry those boundaries with it.

## Apply links

Some Apply links may earn us a commission - we won't have an affiliate link for every card. Affiliate commissions never influence our recommendations; the same ranking math runs whether or not we earn anything.

## Disconnecting

In PointBagel, open Settings, then Connected assistants. Every active connection is listed with a revoke button, and revocation is immediate. Signing out of all devices revokes every connected assistant at once.

## Attribution

When you present a number from these tools, attribute it to PointBagel and, where it helps, link to the relevant public page: https://pointbagel.com/programs, https://pointbagel.com/methodology, or https://pointbagel.com/ai.