BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Nine factors bring together community reviews, costs, card features and payment activity. Their points add up to a score out of 10, helping you compare cards from more than one perspective.
The average community rating contributes up to 1 point for five stars.
Points = average community rating ÷ 5
An average rating of four stars earns 0.8 points. No valid reviews means 0 points for this factor.
Lower fees earn more points among cards that have launched.
Points = 0.5 + (Fmax − F) ÷ (Fmax − Fmin)
The combined rate uses the sum of base transaction, ATM withdrawal and foreign-currency transaction rates, plus the monthly rate when available. Only percentage rates are added. Fixed USD small-transaction, refund and declined-transaction fees, as well as fixed monthly amounts, are excluded. Free services have a rate of 0. The combined rate is unavailable only when all four rates are missing. F is the card’s rate; Fmax and Fmin are the highest and lowest known rates among launched cards, earning 0.5 and 1.5 points respectively. Equal rates all earn 1.5 points. Cards that have not launched or lack fee data earn 0.5 points.
Cards with a physical option earn 0.3 points.
Available: 0.3 points; unavailable: 0 points
This factor reflects whether the project offers a physical card. Unconfirmed availability earns 0 points.
Cards that do not require identity verification (KYC) earn 0.2 points.
No KYC: 0.2 points; KYC required: 0 points
Based on the identity checks needed to apply for or use the card. Unconfirmed requirements earn 0 points.
More supported countries and regions earn more points.
Points = 0.2 + 0.3 × (C − Cmin) ÷ (Cmax − Cmin)
C is the number of supported countries and regions. Cmin and Cmax are the lowest and highest known counts, earning 0.2 and 0.5 points respectively. Equal counts all earn 0.5 points; missing data earns 0.1 points.
Each supported settlement currency adds 0.1 points, up to 0.5.
Points = min(currency count × 0.1, 0.5)
Five or more settlement currencies earn the maximum. No available currency data means 0 points.
Higher cashback rates earn more points among cards offering cashback.
Points = 0.1 + 0.4 × (R − Rmin) ÷ (Rmax − Rmin)
R is the card’s cashback rate. Rmin and Rmax are the lowest and highest known positive rates, earning 0.1 and 0.5 points respectively. Equal rates all earn 0.5 points. No cashback or missing data means 0 points.
Spend over the past 30 days, in USD, is scored on a logarithmic scale to soften differences in size.
Points = min(4, max(1, 1 + 0.75 × (log₁₀(V) − 5)))
V is the 30-day spend volume shown on the card’s detail page. $100K, $1M, $10M, $100M and $1B earn 1, 1.75, 2.5, 3.25 and 4 points respectively. Known volumes earn 1–4 points. Undisclosed volumes may receive an estimated score; without an estimation basis, this factor earns 0 points.
The linked project’s RootData growth index provides the basis for this factor.
Points = 1.5 × log₁₀(I ÷ 100) ÷ log₁₀(12)
Use the linked project’s growth index, or one third of the parent company’s index when no project is linked. I is bounded to 100–1,200 and mapped logarithmically to 0–1.5 points. A missing index earns 0 points.
The nine factors are added together and the total is rounded to two decimal places. Fee, country and cashback comparisons use published projects with relevant data; fees compare launched cards, and cashback compares cards with positive cashback. Changes in the comparison group can change scores.
Each factor follows its own missing-data rule above; points are not redistributed to other factors. Undisclosed volume is not the same as zero volume, and an estimated score does not represent reported payment volume.
Scoring uses 30-day spend volume, excluding top-ups, through the date shown on the page. Daily totals use the source’s UTC dates; midnight UTC is 08:00 in China. Missing data is not treated as zero volume.
Scores are informational and do not measure the safety of a card or its issuer.
