What is CCVI?
CCVI is a dollar-based score that estimates a card’s annualized value to a typical cardholder. We convert each component into comparable dollars— Acquisition (intro/bonus value), Rewards (ongoing earn), Fees & costs (treated as negative, if necessary), and Benefits (credits, protections, access) —then sum them. There is no arbitrary weighting or normalization; a card with roughly twice the value gets roughly twice the CCVI.
CCVI vs. CCVI+
CCVI+ is a relative index used primarily for business cards. It rescales a card’s absolute score against the current cross-card average:
CCVI+ = (card CCVI / average CCVI) × 100
Examples:
120 → ~20% above the average card
100 → average
80 → ~20% below averageScoring at a glance
A card’s CCVI is the sum of harmonized dollar inputs. Fees & costs are negative by construction:
CCVI = Acquisition + Rewards + Fees & costs + Benefits
• Acquisition: upfront/intro value (e.g., bonuses), time-boxed & versioned
• Rewards: ongoing earn value across base & category rates
• Fees & costs: annual fee, FX fee, balance transfer fee, interest (treated as negative, if applicable)
• Benefits: credits, protections, lounge/device/business tools, etc.Rules are versioned monthly; see release notes for any methodology updates.
Inputs
- Acquisition: public sign-up bonuses, intro/0% periods (purchases/BT), and other time-boxed, eligibility-based offers.
- Rewards: ongoing earn rates, category multipliers, caps, quarterly/rotating promos, and redemption value assumptions.
- Fees & costs (negative): annual fee (incl. $0 cases), FX, balance transfer, cash advance, minimum interest, and broadly usable offsets.
- Benefits: protections and services (travel, purchase, device, lounge, business tools), network-level perks, and recurring statement credits.
How to read CCVI vs. CCVI+
CCVI is headline value in dollars (two-year horizon), summed from harmonized components: Acquisition + Rewards − Fees & costs + Benefits. There are no fixed weights and no normalization.
CCVI+ is a relative lens primarily for business cards: it rescales a card’s CCVI against the current cross-card average (“OPS+ style”).100 = average, 120 ≈ 20% above average, 80 ≈ 20% below.
Data sources
- Issuer pages & applications (rates, fees, terms, “Schumer” boxes).
- Benefits guides and program docs for co-brands & transfer partners.
- Issuer announcements for changes and limited-time offers.
How we standardize
- Cash vs. points: cash valued at face; points/miles priced via a conservative cents-per-point table. Transfer options credited when broadly accessible.
- Caps & tiers: tiered/rotating categories modeled across a representative annual spend mix (see Business Cohorts).
- Limited-time offers: scored while active; removed or decayed after expiry per versioned rules.
- Terminology: issuer fields mapped to a standard schema to avoid double-counting or omissions.
Acquisition
Acquisition captures the value a new cardholder receives up front. We convert each element into comparable CCVI units, then add them together. Exact scaling and caps are versioned and proprietary, but the inputs are straightforward:
- Sign-up bonus / welcome offer. Cash bonuses and points/miles are converted using our internal valuation table so different currencies compare apples-to-apples. (E.g., airline/hotel points rarely value at 1:1.)
- Introductory APR offers. 0% APR periods on purchases and/or balance transfers are translated to CCVI units based on duration and type.
- Other acquisition perks (if present). Card-specific, infrequent items (e.g., one-time credits) may contribute here when clearly tied to acquisition.
High-level formula (conceptual)
Acquisition ≈ BonusValue (cash or points × valuation)
+ IntroAPRValue (purchases and/or balance transfers)
+ OtherAcqPerks (when applicable)Exact scaling/caps are versioned and proprietary; values below are illustrative.
How acquisition features translate to CCVI units
- Welcome offer — cash
- Dollar value taken at face, then mapped through our versioned acquisition scale. Caps and eligibility rules are applied per current methodology.
- Welcome offer — points/miles
- Converted to dollars using our internal valuation table (varies by program), then mapped through the same acquisition scale.
- Intro APR — purchases
- Duration-based function that reflects the value of 0% purchase financing, subject to versioned caps and exclusions.
- Intro APR — balance transfers
- Duration-based function for 0% transfer financing; fees and eligibility windows are incorporated where applicable.
- Intro APR — both
- Purchase and transfer components are evaluated independently and combined under the same versioned rules.
- Other acquisition perks
- Infrequent, card-specific items (e.g., one-time credits) may contribute when clearly tied to acquisition and auditable.
No fixed public ratios are disclosed. Translation rules are versioned and documented internally; release notes capture any methodology updates.
Rewards estimates what a typical cardholder would earn from ongoing spend. We apply a cohort spending model (e.g., by business segment) and evaluate the card over a 24-month horizon so introductory accelerators are included and all cards are compared on equal footing. Earned points/miles are converted to dollars using our internal valuation table before being mapped to CCVI units.
Why two years?
Many products offer temporarily accelerated earn (e.g., 2× for 12 months, then 1×). Using 24 months captures those boosts while keeping the horizon practical; in our history of tracking CCVI, introductory accelerators rarely exceed two years.
High-level formula (conceptual)
Rewards ≈ Σ over months ( Σ over categories [ cohortSpend(category, month)
× effectiveEarnRate(category, month) ] )
→ (apply caps/rotations/activation rules)
→ (convert non-cash currencies via internal valuation)
→ (map to CCVI units under current version)The cohort’s spend mix drives comparability. Exact scaling and caps are versioned and proprietary; release notes document updates.
How reward features are treated
- Flat earn (e.g., 2% everywhere)
- Applied to the cohort’s total eligible spend each month across the 24-month window. Converted to dollars (if needed) and then to CCVI units.
- Category bonuses
- Category earn is applied to the cohort’s category spend, respecting issuer caps and merchant-coding rules. Any spend above caps reverts to the card’s base earn.
- Introductory accelerators
- Time-boxed multipliers (e.g., first 12 months) are applied month-by-month, then automatically transition to the long-run earn rate for the remainder of the 24 months.
- Rotating / quarterly categories
- Quarterly calendars and activation requirements are modeled; eligible spend earns the rotating rate during active windows and the base rate otherwise.
- Tiered or capped earnings
- Tiers and annual/monthly caps are applied in order; when a tier is exhausted, subsequent spend earns at the next applicable tier or the base earn.
- Points/miles valuation
- Non-cash currencies are converted to dollars using our internal valuation table (program-specific, versioned), ensuring apples-to-apples comparison.
- Exclusions & eligibility
- Common exclusions (e.g., cash-like transactions) and merchant-coding nuances are modeled consistently; activation/eligibility requirements are enforced where they apply.
Narrative example
A flat-rate 2% cash-back card evaluated against a $100k/year cohort over 24 months would generate a predictable two-year rewards total. That total is then mapped to CCVI units under the current version—no public ratio is disclosed—so it can be compared directly to other products with different earn structures.
Fees & costs
Fees & costs reduce a card’s CCVI by design. We evaluate the items most relevant to a typical cardholder and apply consistent rules so products are compared on equal footing. Exact scaling is proprietary and versioned.
How we treat fees
Deductions reflect cardholder-facing costs; some favorable cases receive a small positive adjustment (e.g., no foreign transaction fee). Waivers and introductory terms are modeled within a fixed evaluation horizon.
What’s included
- Annual fee
- The annual fee reduces the score. If the issuer waives year one, the deduction for that fee is proportionally reduced for the first year. $0-fee products can receive a small positive adjustment; however, cards that require a separate paid membership (e.g., a retailer or subscription program) are treated differently and do not receive the same boost.
- Purchase APR
- We compare the card’s representative APR to a public market benchmark (e.g., the national average from FRED). Cards below the benchmark receive a small positive adjustment; cards above it receive a small deduction. For APR ranges, we use a midpoint per versioned rules.
- Balance transfer & cash advance
- Products that offer these features receive a small availability credit, then a deduction scaled to the published fees (percent and/or minimum). Time-boxed introductory transfer fees are modeled when they apply.
- Foreign transaction (FX) fee
- 0% FX earns a positive adjustment. Non-zero FX fees receive a deduction scaled to the stated rate.
- Minimum interest charge
- Cards with a $0 minimum receive a positive adjustment; higher minimums reduce the score progressively.
- Penalty fees
- Late-payment and returned-payment fees are scaled relative to current regulatory caps. Higher fees receive larger deductions; cards well below caps earn modest positive adjustments.
Notes & assumptions
- Annual-fee waivers are modeled within the evaluation horizon.
- APR comparisons reference a national benchmark updated with each version.
- Introductory transfer fees and other time-boxed terms are applied when present.
- Scaling and weights are proprietary and documented via versioned release notes.
Benefits
Benefits capture value beyond raw earn: protections, credits, access, and ecosystem features. We standardize like-for-like perks across issuers and convert any stated-dollar credits into CCVI units so cards compete on a fair, comparable basis. Exact scaling and utilization assumptions are versioned and proprietary.
High-level formula (conceptual)
Benefits ≈ Σ (standardized protections & access)
+ Σ (annual credits × usable value)
+ ecosystem features (e.g., points/miles transfers)
# All evaluated consistently across products and issuers.We apply standard definitions per benefit type and issuer/network tier. Dollar-denominated credits are valued with practical usage in mind; unusual or card-specific perks are handled explicitly.
What we include (standardized categories)
- Issuer-standard
- Core capabilities common to most products (e.g., mobile app quality, digital wallet support, virtual card availability). Treated as table stakes and normalized so products aren’t penalized or double-counted.
- Shopping & entertainment
- Statement credits (dining/streaming/retail), purchase protection, extended warranty, cell phone protection, return protection. Credits with a clear dollar amount are mapped through our credit valuation; protections are standardized by scope and terms.
- Travel
- Trip delay/cancellation/interruption, baggage, rental CDW, lounge access, expedited security credits, hotel/airline credits. Benefits are grouped by strength and breadth; dollar credits use the same valuation approach as shopping.
- Rewards ecosystem
- Transfer partners and redemption options that materially expand value (e.g., 1:1 partners, cashout floors/ceilings, uplift portals). We account for practical usability and program breadth, not theoretical maximums.
- Business-specific
- Business-only tools and credits (e.g., job posting, shipping, accounting, collaboration). Counted only for business cards and valued using the same credit framework with business-oriented assumptions.
- Network
- Benefits offered by the payment network (e.g., Visa ID Protection, Mastercard Offers, tiered perks like Signature/Infinite). Standardized by network tier so cards on the same network are treated consistently.
- Other (card-specific)
- Rare or unique perks that don’t fit the buckets above. Included when clearly documented and auditable; valued conservatively for comparability.
Notes & assumptions
- We standardize naming and scope across issuers/networks to avoid over- or under-counting near-identical perks.
- Dollar credits are valued with practical utilization (breakage) in mind; not all users fully redeem every credit every year.
- Versioned rules govern inclusion, valuation, and any caps; see release notes for updates.
Update cadence & versioning
- Monthly refresh of data and scores with documented rule changes.
- Each refresh pins a ruleset version so month-over-month comparisons are valid.
Quality control
- Dual-source critical fields where possible.
- Automated diffs surface outliers for analyst review.
- Spot checks on top movers and large deltas.
Limitations
- Targeted/geo-specific offers may differ from public terms.
- Redemption value varies by traveler; we use conservative baselines.
- Realized results vary with spend pattern—use cohorts or custom filters for fit.
FAQ
Is CCVI financial advice? No—it’s a standardized comparison framework to speed analysis.
Can we customize weights? The core model uses no fixed weights. We can tailor spend mixes (cohorts) or filter sets; if needed we can produce “what-if” variants for research, but default CCVI remains unweighted.
Why can scores change month-to-month? Terms and promos change; we refresh monthly and pin a version for each update.
How do limited-time offers affect scores? They help while active; after expiry they’re removed or decayed per versioned rules.