During the last 12 months, I’ve jumped deep into the world of credit card rewards, maximizing redemption values, assortment factors and money again, and profiting from profitable welcome bonuses. One of many apps that I’ve used to be taught extra about all of that is CardPointers, a wonderful app from the indie developer Emmanuel Crouvisier.
I received an opportunity to speak to Crouvisier about CardPointers, iOS 16, what it’s’ like being a full-time indie developer in 2022, and far more. Plus, an unique low cost and provide for 9to5Mac readers.
Palms-on: CardPointers might help maximize credit card rewards
The competitors within the credit card business has actually heated up during the last a number of years. Corporations together with American Categorical, Chase, and Capital One have ramped up their presents with huge welcome bonuses, new redemption presents, profitable spending and rewards classes, and far more.
Talking from expertise, this may be overwhelming and complicated at first. It’s straightforward to make errors; particularly when card corporations entice you to redeem for low redemption values. CardPointers goals that can assist you navigate all of those conditions.
Once you open CardPointers for the primary time, you’ll be prompted to undergo the method of including the credit playing cards you have already got. Throughout this course of, you’ll be able to add the date that you simply had been permitted, regulate the bonus classes if wanted, and view all the obtainable presents.
Inserting the date you had been permitted for a card is especially essential if the card has a welcome bonus or an annual price. CardPointers might help you monitor your progress in direction of a welcome bonus and remind you when your annual price is about to be charged.
The latter is very essential if you wish to attain out to your card firm and see if there are any retention presents obtainable to assist offset the annual price. (Trace: There normally are, you simply must threaten to cancel/downgrade your card first.)
When you’ve added your current playing cards to CardPointers, you’ll be able to faucet on the “Pointers” tab to see a breakdown of one of the best playing cards to make use of for various classes of spending. These ideas are based mostly purely on the playing cards you have already got. As an illustration, if in case you have the Amex Gold Card, you’ll doubtless see that it’s the best choice for many restaurant and grocery retailer purchases.
The “Dashboard” tab within the CardPointers app breaks down extra details about the playing cards you could have. This features a record of your playing cards, the overall of your annual charges, your lively presents, and extra particulars on one of the best playing cards for various classes of spending.
Lastly, the “Dashboard” additionally features a roundup of one of the best card presents for the month when it comes to welcome bonuses. When you’re seeking to increase your arsenal of credit playing cards, this can be a very helpful software for seeing welcome bonuses for a number of the prime playing cards on the market.
Safari Extension
One among my favourite facets of CardPointers is the Safari Extension. The Safari Extension is offered on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It’s major function to let you know one of the best credit card to make use of on a specific web site to maximise the money again or factors you’ll obtain for a purchase order. For instance, should you’re reserving a resort, the CardPointers extension will present you which of them of your playing cards presents one of the best rewards for that buy.
One other glorious perk of the CardPointers extension for Safari is that it helps the flexibility to activate all of your obtainable presents on the Chase and American Categorical web sites.
Once you go to Chase or American Categorical, you’ll see a CardPointers notification that rapidly permits you to enroll in your presents. When you do, the presents may also sync to your CardPointers account and be factored into all the ideas and pointers.
CardPointers helps a lot of totally different system options of iOS, macOS, and iPadOS. This contains issues like App Clips, Check in with Apple, House Display screen widgets, Fast Observe, Siri integrations, and extra. There’s additionally a devoted Apple Watch app in addition to apps for iPad and Mac.
You will get began with CardPointers by way of this hyperlink and get an unique 20% off for being a 9to5Mac reader.
iOS 16
I had the chance to talk with the developer of CardPointers, Emmanuel Crouvisier, this week. One factor I used to be particularly all for was what he has deliberate for iOS 16 and Apple’s different new software program releases coming this fall. His reply? Mainly all the things.
Crouvisier: The primary day of WWDC I at all times suppose I’ll have only some little issues to include into my app to assist maintain it feeling recent, however by the point I’m performed watching all the pertinent session movies, I’ve received a to-do record of 100+ gadgets. This 12 months is not any totally different.
- App Intents: These make creating new shortcuts *so* quick and straightforward for builders. I already had 5 shortcuts within the app, however with the flexibility to have one routinely enabled upon app set up, it makes them a lot extra approachable for customers who wouldn’t usually enterprise into the Shortcuts app. I’ve made some large updates to my “Which Card?” shortcut, and now a person can simply say the identify of a retailer, relatively than simply the kind of buy they’re making, and the app will immediately inform them which card to make use of there to maximise their factors or use an Amex or Chase provide that they’ve there. It even works solely with Siri, so if a person simply has their AirPods in, they can use Hey Siri and know which card to make use of in a second with out having to tug out their telephone or test the watch app.
- Focus Filters: Apple lastly received me to make use of Focus modes due to them, and I can’t think about working some other means now. I’ve adopted Apple’s lead right here on implementation, and I’ve been utilizing these throughout my Work focus to point out solely my enterprise playing cards all through the app, and I created a customized focus mode referred to as Journey which I’ve set to filter out all the playing cards with international alternate charges within the app so I don’t get stunned by a 3% added cost on my purchases when overseas. It’s a characteristic quite a lot of customers have requested for, and integrating this through focus filters was an ideal match.
- Lock Display screen Widgets: I’ve had issues within the Watch app since v1, and widgets since they had been obtainable, and now I’ve received a brand new place to let customers put the knowledge that issues most to them. This might be an ideal spot so as to add a reminder a couple of particular class bonus and expiring presents, and I’ll be exploring a couple of new concepts as effectively.
- Swift Charts: That is essentially the most superb API I’ve seen come out of Apple. In just some strains of code you may get actually stunning charts with nice accessibility options, but it could do some actually complicated issues with a couple of extra strains; it’s an enormous addition to SwiftUI. There are numerous purposes for charts all through the app which I’ve been desirous to do for some time, however didn’t need to construct my very own chart library. Drawback solved!
Going indie
Firstly of this 12 months, Crouvisier made the choice to give up his full-time job at a startup and focus solely on CardPointers. With the broader context of current App Retailer adjustments, I requested him how his first six months of being full-time indie have gone.
Crouvisier: I believe that’s one of the best resolution I’ve ever made for myself! I’ve been engaged on CardPointers since 2019, and almost the whole time I’ve additionally been working at a startup, which meant ~16 hour work days, sacrificing sleep to have time to work, no evenings or weekends to loosen up, and I undoubtedly hit some unhealthy burnout intervals, particularly late summer season making ready for iOS launch days every year.
Since I give up the startup job and have been capable of focus solely on CardPointers, actually all the things in my life has improved: I’m sleeping effectively each day, I get to decompress (some) evenings and weekends (I’m nonetheless a little bit of a workaholic), and CardPointers is doing higher than ever — my first 2 months solely targeted on the enterprise I tripled income in 2 months by specializing in advertising and marketing the app and extension and rising the enterprise, relatively than simply bettering the app.
Apple’s Small Enterprise Program has been nice to avoid wasting 15% on App Retailer gross sales, however I’ve discovered quite a lot of profit in leveraging net checkout through Stripe and RevenueCat to avoid wasting much more, and additionally keep beneath the Small Enterprise most income restrict for longer. From a person perspective, nothing beats the benefit of an in-app buy, in addition to a reduced value through Apple Pay by way of an internet checkout circulation. The 2 collectively work fantastically effectively to cowl all forms of customers.
Apple Card
Lastly, given his in-depth and unmatched information of the credit card business and rewards, I requested Emmanuel for his ideas on Apple Card. His recommendation? You’re most likely higher off with a unique card.
Crouvisier: There are such a lot of extra benefits to a great rewards card, like a Chase Freedom, Sapphire Most popular, Citi Premier, or Amex Gold card. With these playing cards you’ll be able to earn transferable factors which you’ll switch to airways and motels to get much more worth out of the factors that you simply earn — and their factors multipliers for many classes are a lot larger than the Apple Card, too.
With the Apple Card essentially the most you may get is 3% again on your buy, whereas with the playing cards I’ve talked about, you may get 5x again in factors on some classes like eating places, gasoline stations, and many others, and these factors are value much more as you’ll be able to redeem them for issues like enterprise class seats to Europe.
If somebody spends $10,000 on their Apple Card in a 12 months they’ll get again at most $300, whereas the identical $10k spend on a great rewards card can earn them 50,000 factors, and these factors will be value 4c or extra with a great redemption, which means the true worth could be $2,000. Actually 7x extra worth out of utilizing a great rewards card, and that’s what CardPointers helps customers do — earn extra from each buy simply by paying with the precise card.
Even should you simply need to concentrate on money again, different playing cards can earn the identical money again because the Apple Card on much more classes and retailers. I’d like to see the Apple Card additional enhance their earnings classes, and extra and extra banks are doing offers straight with particular retailers as a type of promoting, so I believe we’ll proceed to see extra of that throughout all playing cards as a brand new income for them.
Wrap up
CardPointers is obtainable as a free obtain, with an in-app subscription obtainable to unlock the CardPointers Professional options.
9to5Mac readers can save 20% on CardPointers Professional’s annual and lifetime plans. Actually, should you improve to the Lifetime plan with this hyperlink, you’ll additionally get a $100 Financial savings Card that successfully makes the improve free.
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