How We Rate Credit Cards
This page sets out the method used to score credit cards on this site. It applies to ratings published from September 2026 onward. It has not been applied retrospectively, and the reason is explained below rather than hidden.
Why the earlier scores were removed
Until September 2026 the card reviews on this site carried a numeric score out of five. Those scores were not produced under a documented, repeatable method, and no record of the criteria or weights used to generate them exists.
An audit in September 2026 also found that every score fell between 4.0 and 4.7, with 63 of 69 cards inside a band just 0.4 wide. A scale presented out of five that in practice never went below “very good” gave a reader nothing to act on.
Those scores have therefore been removed rather than justified after the fact. Reconstructing criteria to fit numbers that were already published would have been a rationalisation, not a methodology. The written verdict, the fees, the reward rates, the pros and cons and the “who should get this card” assessment on each review are unchanged — only the number is gone.
Cards are not being re-scored automatically. A card will carry a numeric rating again only once it has been assessed against the method below.
What the score is meant to answer
A single number cannot say whether a card is right for you, because that depends on where you spend. What it can say is how well a card delivers on its own stated purpose relative to the fee it charges. So the score answers one question: for the person this card is designed for, is it worth holding?
A lifetime-free entry card and a ₹50,000-fee super-premium card can both score well, because each is judged against what it claims to be. A high score is not a recommendation to apply.
The criteria
| Criterion | Weight | What is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Reward value in its own category | 30% | The effective return where the card is strongest, computed at realistic redemption value rather than the headline points rate. Points that are only worth their face value through one narrow channel are marked down. |
| Fee against benefit | 25% | The joining and annual fee measured against what the card actually returns at a realistic spend, and how achievable the fee-waiver threshold is for the income band the card targets. |
| Breadth of usable benefit | 20% | Lounge access, forex markup, insurance, milestone benefits — counted only where they are usable without unusual conditions. A benefit with a spend gate most holders will not reach is discounted. |
| Redemption friction | 15% | How easily rewards convert to value: expiry, minimum redemption thresholds, portal-only redemption, transfer ratios, and how often the terms have changed. |
| Access and transparency | 10% | Whether eligibility is realistic for the stated target, whether exclusions (rent, fuel, wallet loads, government payments) are clearly disclosed, and whether the schedule of charges is easy to find. |
The scale
| 4.5–5.0 | Best in its category. Hard to beat for the spender it targets. |
| 4.0–4.4 | Strong. Worth holding if your spending matches it. |
| 3.0–3.9 | Competent but beaten on at least one important dimension by a card in the same band. |
| 2.0–2.9 | Weak for the fee, or the benefits carry conditions most holders will not meet. |
| Below 2.0 | Not worth applying for at its current terms. |
The full range is usable, and is intended to be used. If a card is mediocre it will be scored as mediocre.
How ratings are maintained
- Every review states the date on which its fees and features were verified against the issuer’s own published material.
- A rating is revisited when an issuer changes the fee, the reward structure, the waiver threshold or a headline benefit.
- Where a card’s terms have changed and the page has not yet been re-verified, the verification date on the page says so. Read the date, not just the score.
Independence
Card pages on this site carry “Apply” links to the issuer’s own official website. No issuer pays for coverage, for a score, or for placement, and no issuer sees a review before it is published. Scores are not adjusted for commercial reasons.
Where any link on this site is an affiliate or referral link it is marked as such and disclosed. Our full affiliate disclosure and editorial policy set out the arrangements in detail.
Scope. This method governs numeric ratings published on this site from 2 September 2026. It has deliberately not been applied to earlier reviews. Card reviews remain general educational information, not financial advice, and not a recommendation to apply for any product. Fees, reward rates and benefits are set by the issuer and change without notice — always confirm current terms on the issuer’s own site.