Carte IQ methodology · Reviewed September 12, 2026 · 7 min read

Carte IQ methodology: how we compare and recommend credit cards

Carte IQ has no universal “best card”. Every ranking depends on a spending scenario, a province and specific preferences. This page explains, in plain language, what we evaluate, what we do not know and what we do not promise.

On this page

What Carte IQ evaluates
How your preferences change the result
Eligibility and your province
Spending assumptions
How reward value is estimated
Annual fees
Welcome offers
Multi-card strategies
Category allocation
American Express and payment networks
Data freshness
What Carte IQ does not know and does not guarantee
Affiliate links and data sources

What Carte IQ evaluates

Carte IQ compares Canadian credit cards using documented facts: reward rates by spending category, the value of points or cash back, published caps, annual fees and annual credits, eligibility conditions and confirmed welcome offers. These facts are collected and normalized in a database that the site only reads.

What we measure is never “the best card” in the abstract, but the estimated annual net value of a card, or of a combination of cards, for a given scenario: an amount in Canadian dollars that adds expected rewards and usable credits, then subtracts annual fees.

How your preferences change the result

A personalized recommendation always starts from what you declare, with no bank connection:

your objective: find a single card, choose the next card to add to the ones you hold, or build an optimized portfolio;
your priority: travel, cash back, points, total value, benefits, low fees or simplicity;
your province or territory;
your monthly spending by category (groceries, restaurants, gas, transit, travel, everyday purchases and, when relevant, hotels, pre-authorized payments, entertainment, Costco) and your annual foreign-currency spending;
your current cards, the maximum number of cards you want and preferences such as excluding American Express or flagging that you shop at Costco.

The calculation uses exactly these inputs. Nothing is inferred from your browsing history and nothing is stored in an account: the profile lives in your session for the duration of the analysis.

Eligibility and your province

Card availability is not identical across Canada, and some conditions differ in Quebec. Every calculation therefore receives the selected jurisdiction. Cards whose eligibility is not confirmed there are set aside before ranking; they are neither penalized nor pushed lower, they are simply absent.

The credit cards by province and territory pages publish, for each of the 13 jurisdictions, a pre-calculated Top 3 by spending type, by spending level and with American Express included or excluded. A filter combination with no certified eligible card shows an empty state rather than a substitute result.

Geographic eligibility verified by Carte IQ never guarantees approval: the issuer applies its own income and credit criteria.

Spending assumptions

Public pages (strategies by profile, best cards by use, provincial Top 3) rely on published reference scenarios: an annual distribution of spending by category and three spending levels (moderate, standard, high). These amounts are shown on the reference scenarios section so you can judge whether they resemble you.

A personalized analysis replaces these scenarios with your own amounts. That is why the winning card of a public ranking may not be yours: both results are correct, but they answer different scenarios.

How reward value is estimated

For each spending category, Carte IQ applies the card’s documented reward rate, honouring published caps and the reduced rate that applies once a cap is reached. Points are converted to dollars at a conservative point value specific to each program, based on common redemption methods rather than exceptional best cases. Cash back counts at face value.

We never add the rates of two cards on the same purchase, we never count the same dollars twice, and we give no value to a benefit whose value cannot be established: an airport lounge, an insurance or a status is presented as a qualitative fact, not as dollars.

Annual fees

Annual fees are always subtracted from the displayed value. When a card has a fee range or a renewal fee, the net value keeps the prudent end. A card whose fee is not documented is not added to a strategy: rather than invent a number, Carte IQ declines to recommend it. Our guide Should you pay an annual fee? walks through the reasoning.

Welcome offers

Welcome offers are handled separately from recurring value. Recurring value describes what a card earns year after year; first-year value adds the welcome bonus only when the offer is confirmed by an official source for your jurisdiction and the required spending is realistic in your scenario.

Every offer carries a last-verified date. Carte IQ states whether that verification is recent (7 days or less), aging (up to 30 days) or old. An offer is compared with its history only when Carte IQ has verified at least two distinct earlier offers for the same card; otherwise the page simply says that history is insufficient. The start of our tracking of a card is never presented as an “offer change”. Our guide Are welcome bonuses worth it? explains how to read these offers.

A recommendation may suggest waiting when the current offer is rated weak against verified offers, or state that the evidence is insufficient to decide on timing.

Multi-card strategies

Adding a card is not free in complexity or fees. Carte IQ applies a responsible complexity policy: a second card is recommended only if it adds at least $50 of annual net value, a third only if it adds at least $100 and at least 10% more, and each card must have a distinct role. The best calculated strategies for one, two and three cards are shown side by side, with the differences, so the choice remains yours.

One card application at a time is suggested. Carte IQ does not encourage multiplying credit applications to collect bonuses.

Category allocation

In a multi-card strategy, each spending category is assigned to exactly one card, the one that earns the most for that category once caps and fees are considered. The result page shows this allocation as calculated. A category no card covers is shown as unassigned, never moved arbitrarily.

American Express and payment networks

You can include or exclude American Express. When a strategy keeps an American Express card, Carte IQ requires a Visa or Mastercard alongside it, because American Express acceptance is not universal in Canada: the result then states explicitly which card plays the backup role. No card is removed afterwards to satisfy this rule; both variants are calculated separately.

Data freshness

Every page shows the date of the data it uses. Card facts come from issuers’ official sources and are re-verified regularly; offer verification dates are published card by card. When data is missing, Carte IQ says so rather than fill the gap with an assumption.

What Carte IQ does not know and does not guarantee

Carte IQ does not see your bank statements or your credit file; it works only with the spending you declare.
Approval depends on the issuer and is never guaranteed.
Values are estimates for a given scenario, not promised returns.
Benefits that cannot be quantified (insurance, status, lounge access) are not converted to dollars.
The issuer’s official terms always prevail over the summaries shown here.
Carte IQ does not provide financial, tax or legal advice.

Affiliate links and data sources

Carte IQ may receive a commission when you use some application links. These links are attached to card pages after the calculation and play no part in any ranking, value or top choice. Card and offer facts come from issuers’ official pages and archived documents, with their observation date; secondary data never replaces an official source to describe the current offer.

To understand how a public ranking is built, read How Carte IQ ranks credit cards. To get a result adapted to your spending, use Find my strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Does Carte IQ give financial advice?

No. Carte IQ is an information and comparison tool. Results are estimates calculated from the spending you declare and from published data; they do not replace the issuer’s official terms or advice tailored to your situation.

Why does the ranking change when I edit my spending?

Because a card’s value depends directly on how the money is spent. A card that is strong for groceries can be mediocre for travel. The recalculated ranking reflects your new scenario, not a change of opinion.

Do affiliate links influence the recommendations?

No. Official or affiliate links are attached after the calculation and play no part in any ranking, value or top choice. Carte IQ may receive a commission if you use some links.

Reference scenarios and spending levels

Strategies by profile and rankings by use rest on these published scenarios: same amounts, same rules, so every comparison stays readable.

Jurisdiction: QC — Quebec
Data as of: September 8, 2026

Profiles and spending levels

The profile describes the reward objective and how spending is allocated. The level separately sets the total volume. At the same level, all five profiles therefore use exactly the same annual total.

High — $60,000 per year
Moderate — $24,000 per year
Standard — $36,000 per year

The allocation among groceries, dining, travel, recurring payments and other categories varies by profile. Standard is selected by default.

Economic assumptions — point values, fees, credits, benefits and welcome offers — remain centralized and identical across profiles and levels.

The three baskets are Carte IQ comparison benchmarks, not statistical averages. They are conservatively calibrated from Quebec's 2023 Survey of Household Spending. View the Statistics Canada source

With or without American Express

You can view a strategy that includes or excludes American Express cards. Each choice is a strategy that was already evaluated; no card is removed after the fact.

Net value after fees

Gross value, recurring fees, and net value are presented separately. Fees are already deducted from the displayed net value. Catalogue pages present reference-scenario estimates; they are not personalized recommendations.

The right number of cards

One card is retained when it already covers the essential needs. A second card is recommended only when it adds a useful improvement for the profile.

Recommendation and mathematical optimum

The recommended strategy remains distinct from the mathematical optimum. When they differ, the advanced option remains available without replacing the main recommendation.

Commercial independence

Official or affiliate links are added after ranking. They never change a rank, value, or top pick.