How CardIQ works
CardIQ is a rating out of 100 that measures how good a card is for a specific purpose. Scoring is entirely algorithmic, with no human input or override. Here's exactly how it's calculated.
CardIQ measures how good a card is for a specific purpose: earning frequent flyer points, doing a balance transfer, keeping costs low, and so on. Cards are scored within their category, not against all cards on the market.
Scoring is entirely algorithmic. Each category has a fixed set of weighted dimensions drawn from publicly available product data. Each dimension is scored on a 0–1 scale using benchmarks derived from our dataset, multiplied by its weight, and the results are summed and scaled to 0–100. There is no human editorial input or override in the ranking: every card is treated identically by the same formula.
Scores use these standard assumptions unless otherwise stated: S$20,000 annual spend, S$5,000 balance transfer balance, S$5,000 carried balance, and a comparison rate of 20% p.a. (the assumed rate on the card being transferred away from).
Scores are recalculated whenever product data is updated. They are a guide only and not financial advice.
How each category is scored
No annual fee scoring
Scored on four dimensions:
- Annual fee (35%): normalised against dataset maximum. A S$0 fee scores 1.0.
- Purchase rate (30%): lower is better; many no-fee cards still carry meaningful rates.
- Foreign transaction fee (20%): 0% scores 1.0; important for travellers.
- Interest-free days (15%): normalised against the dataset maximum of 110 days.
Rewards scoring
Scored on four dimensions:
- Earn rate (30%): points per S$1 on everyday spend.
- Est. annual rewards value (30%): dollar value of points at S$20,000 spend.
- Annual fee (25%): long-run fee normalised against dataset maximum.
- Sign-up bonus value (15%): estimated dollar value of the bonus.
Cashback scoring
Scored on three dimensions:
- Cashback value (55%): estimated gross first-year cashback, including any sign-up offer, capped at S$450.
- Annual fee (25%): long-run fee, normalised against the dataset maximum.
- Interest-free days (20%): normalised against the dataset maximum.
Airport lounge scoring
Lounge-carrying cards tend to charge a real annual fee, so the fee is weighted higher here than on the general frequent-flyer pages. Scored on five dimensions:
- Annual fee (30%): long-run fee, normalised against the dataset maximum.
- Earn rate (25%): points per S$1 on everyday spend.
- Est. annual rewards value (20%): earn rate × annual spend × point value.
- Foreign transaction fee (15%): 0% scores 1.0.
- Sign-up bonus value (10%): estimated dollar value of the bonus, capped at S$1,000.
CardIQ scores are calculated from publicly available product information using standard assumptions. They are a guide only and not financial advice. Always read the product disclosure statement before applying. See cards ranked by category for the highest-scoring cards in each category.