Compare
Who pays the app that picks your card?
Most card sites and apps are paid by the bank when you are approved for a card they suggest. CardReply is not. Here is how 10 popular card tools compare, in their own words.
9 of 10card tools we checked are paid by the banks whose cards they suggest. By their own disclosures.
Checked September 24, 2026. Sources at the end of the page.
At a glance
Four questions that decide whether you can take a card tool at its word.
| Tool | Paid by the bank when you get a card? | Can that money change what you see? | Needs your bank login? | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CardReplyCard app | Never | No | No | Free tools, $9 a month |
| Credit Card MaxCard bot | Not stated | Not stated | No | Free bot |
| Credit KarmaCard app | Yes | Not ruled out | Credit reports | Free |
| Experian in ChatGPTChatGPT app | Yes | Yes, order too | Experian account | Free |
| NerdWalletCard site | Yes | Placement, yes | Optional | Free |
| The Points GuyCard site | Yes | Yes, order too | No | Free |
| Bankrate and CreditCards.comCard site | Yes | Yes, order too | Soft credit pull | Free |
| WalletHubCard site | Yes | Yes, order too | SSN for reports | Free |
| MaxRewardsCard app | Yes | Yes | Yes, stored | Free, or $108 a year |
| CardPointersCard app | Yes | Not stated | Kept on your phone | Free, or $89.99 a year |
| KudosBrowser extension | Yes | Yes | Uses your logins | Free, or $53.99+ a year |
Side by side
Pick a tool. Every answer has the sentence behind it, and a numbered source.
| Question | CardReplyIndependent | Credit Card MaxCard bot, Grok Bot Marketplace | Credit KarmaCard app, Intuit | Experian in ChatGPTChatGPT app, Experian | NerdWalletCard site, NerdWallet | The Points GuyCard site, Red Ventures | Bankrate and CreditCards.comCard site, Red Ventures | WalletHubCard site, Evolution Finance | MaxRewardsCard app, MaxRewards | CardPointersCard app, CardPointers | KudosBrowser extension, Kudos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid by the bank when you get a card? | NeverNo commissions or referral fees. No card issuer or AI company pays us. | Not statedThe listing has no pay or affiliate wording, and the bot is free.1 | YesWhen you are approved, "the bank or lender typically pays us a small commission," it says.1 | YesPartners "may compensate" Experian when you click, are approved or open an account.2 | YesIt "may receive payment if you apply for and receive" a partner card. Nearly all its revenue is partner fees.1 | YesIt "may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened."1 | YesBankrate earns "a fixed fee from the issuer you select when your application is approved or account is opened."1 | Yes"Advertisers compensate WalletHub when you click on a link, or your application is approved, or your account is opened."1 | YesIts card pages say it "may receive a commission from card issuers."1 | YesWhen you apply through its links, "we receive compensation from the credit card company that issues the card."1 | Yes"Kudos, CardRatings, and Red Ventures may receive a commission from card issuers."1 |
| Can that money change what you see? | NoNobody pays for a place in an answer, so keeping your cards is often the answer. | Not statedIt only picks among the cards you tell it about.1 | Not ruled outIt says pay does not affect its editors' opinions, but its terms keep full discretion over which offers it highlights.2 | Yes, order tooIts disclosure: pay "may impact how, where, and in what order the products appear."2 | Placement, yesPay "may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear)." It says ratings are not affected.2 | Yes, order tooPay "may impact the location and visibility of these products," including their order. It says ratings are independent.1 | Yes, order tooThat fee "may affect how, where, and in what order products appear." It says ratings are not influenced.1 | Yes, order too"Advertising impacts how and where offers appear on this site," including their order. It says picks and ratings are not affected.1 | YesAdvertised offers "may impact how and where card products appear."1 | Not statedIt discloses referral fees but does not say whether they change the order.1 | YesAdvertised offers "may impact how and where card products appear."1 |
| Needs your bank login? | NoNo bank login, card numbers or passwords. | NoThe template connects no apps; it works from what you tell it.1 | Credit reportsIt uses your Equifax and TransUnion reports; its card optimizer needs your cards linked.1 | Experian accountLittle input in chat; matched offers use your Experian credit profile.1 | OptionalReading is free; linking accounts through Plaid is optional.3 | NoNothing to link: it is a website. | Soft credit pullBrowsing needs nothing; CardMatch runs a soft credit pull.3 | SSN for reportsBrowsing needs nothing; its free credit report asks for your Social Security number.3 | Yes, storedIt keeps your issuer logins, encrypted, on its own servers to add offers.2 | Kept on your phoneIt adds offers with your logins stored on your device, not its servers.2 | Uses your loginsIt uses your issuer logins or sessions, plus Plaid and Spinwheel on Premium.2 |
| Works from the cards you hold? | In the pilotThe paid version works from your own cards. The website uses a sample wallet. | YesIt picks among the cards you hold.1 | Yes, linkedLink your cards to track spending and benefits.3 | NoIt shows new card offers, not the cards you hold.1 | None foundWe found no tool that works from the cards you hold. | NoIt reviews cards in general, not the ones you hold. | NoIt ranks cards in general; CardMatch shows partner offers.3 | NoCardAdvisor matches offers from its partners to your credit profile.2 | YesIt connects to your card accounts.3 | YesIt tracks the cards you add, from more than 5,000.2 | YesIt works from the cards you add.2 |
| Which card to use for a purchase | YesA free calculator, and the chat weighs an open bonus too. | YesIts main job: the best of your cards for a purchase.1 | After the factIt shows which card could have earned more, once you have paid.3 | NoNot part of the app as described.1 | None foundNo card picker for a purchase on the pages we read. | None foundNo card picker for a purchase on the pages we read. | None foundNo card picker for a purchase on the pages we read. | None foundNo card picker for a purchase on the pages we read. | YesIt shows the best card for each purchase.3 | YesIt suggests the card to use by category and store.2 | YesIt suggests a card at checkout, and by location on Premium.2 |
| Welcome bonus tracking | YesA free tracker counts returns and your pace to the deadline. | NoWelcome bonuses are not mentioned.1 | None foundNo welcome bonus tracking on the pages we read. | NoNot part of the app as described.1 | None foundNo welcome bonus tracking on the pages we read. | None foundNo welcome bonus tracking on the pages we read. | None foundNo welcome bonus tracking on the pages we read. | None foundNo welcome bonus tracking on the pages we read. | YesIt tracks welcome and retention bonuses.3 | YesIt tracks welcome bonuses.2 | Yes, PremiumWelcome bonus tracking is a Premium feature.2 |
| Amex and Chase offers | Being builtLined up on the card that earns most. You add Amex offers yourself, never a bot. | Benefits onlyIt tracks card benefits and unused credits, not merchant offers.1 | Perks onlyIt tells you when card benefits are about to expire.3 | NoNot part of the app as described.1 | None foundNo card offer tracking on the pages we read. | None foundNo card offer tracking on the pages we read. | None foundNo card offer tracking on the pages we read. | None foundNo card offer tracking on the pages we read. | Adds themGold adds offers for you, Amex included. The Amex terms bar automated tools it has not authorized, and the pages we read do not say whether it has.4 | Adds themIt adds offers for you, Amex included. The Amex terms bar automated tools it has not authorized, and the pages we read do not say whether it has.3 | Adds themIt activates offers for you, Amex included. The Amex terms bar automated tools it has not authorized, and the pages we read do not say whether it has.4 |
| Shows the math behind an answer? | YesEvery figure comes from a calculator for your purchase, and is checked before the answer is sent. | Not shownA short explanation; no sources or point values are described.1 | Not shownIt shows approval odds; no calculation or point values on the pages we read.4 | Not shownIt compares fees, bonuses and rates; no method is described.1 | PartlyIt publishes point values; its rating method page would not load for us.4 | Published valuesMonthly points values and rating factors, not a calculation for your purchase.2 | Sample spendIt scores cards on a sample spend of about $22,500 a year, not yours.2 | Published weightsIt publishes its rating weights, with spending assumptions from government data.4 | YesIts calculators explain "How the math works," with the point values used.5 | PartlyIt notes how it values points; we found no full method.1 | Not shownIts terms say "we may not always find you the best deal"; we found no method for its pick.2 |
| Orders from regulators | NoneA new company, with no orders or suits. | None found | FTC ordersIn 2023 the FTC said its "pre-approved" labels misled people, and it paid $3 million. A 2014 order covers app security.5 | FTC, 2023The FTC charged its consumer unit over marketing emails with no opt-out; the proposed penalty was $650,000.3 | None found | None found | None found | None found | None found | None found | None found |
| Price | Free tools, $9 a monthMembership planned at $9 a month or $79 a year, in a 20-place pilot. | Free botGrok Bot itself needs a SuperGrok or eligible Cursor plan.2 | FreeA paid Plus tier is rolling out, with no price published.6 | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free, or $108 a yearGold is $108 a year and Platinum $240, and it also earns card commissions.6 | Free, or $89.99 a yearCardPointers+ is $89.99 a year, reported to rise to $99.99 on Oct 1, and it also earns card commissions.4 | Free, or $53.99+ a yearPremium is $53.99 to $91.99 a year, and it also earns card commissions and merchant fees.3 |
Three questions to ask any card site
Find the advertiser disclosure
Most card sites say, near the top or the bottom of the page, that banks pay them. Read it before you read the ranking.
Ask whether every card is there
Many sites only list cards from companies that pay them, and say so in small print. A best card from a short list is not the best card.
Ask for the math
A card is only the best card for how you spend. Ask for the numbers behind the answer, and whether keeping what you have would do as well.
Where others are ahead today
A fair comparison says this part too.
More cards covered
CardPointers tracks more than 5,000 cards, and Bankrate says it covers over 90% of US card accounts. Our answers start from the cards you hold.
Offers added for you, today
MaxRewards, CardPointers and Kudos add card offers now. Ours is being built, and leaves Amex offers for you to add.
Live inside assistants now
Credit Karma and Experian are in ChatGPT, and Credit Card Max is in Grok Bot. Our Muse and Grok Bot connectors are in development.
Sources
Each tool's own pages, terms and disclosures, and regulators where they have spoken, opened on September 24, 2026. Where a tool does not say, we write that it does not say. No links on this page earn us anything.
Credit Card Max
Credit Karma
- 1Credit Karma, How it works
- 2Credit Karma, Terms (May 4, 2026)
- 3Credit Karma, Cards Optimizer
- 4Credit Karma, Credit cards (August 31, 2026)
- 5FTC, Credit Karma order (January 23, 2023)
- 6Intuit Credit Karma on the App Store
- 7FTC, Credit Karma app security order (August 19, 2014)
- 8Intuit, apps in ChatGPT (March 5, 2026)
Experian in ChatGPT
NerdWallet
The Points Guy
Bankrate and CreditCards.com
WalletHub
MaxRewards
CardPointers
Kudos
The pilot
20 spots. $9. One month.
Help shape a card companion around the decisions you actually make.
- Found money first: offers and deals that can cover the membership
- Bonus pace, cheat sheet and renewal plan
- Details agreed by email before any charge