Feature 5 - Rewards methodology

A richer card database is necessary, but the unit is the event, not the card.

The card row is the index card. The real intelligence comes from historical offer snapshots, benefit events, point valuations, transfer bonuses, source evidence, and user wallet state.

Value must survive fees

Annual fees, required spend, taxes, carrier surcharges, statement-credit breakage, and interest risk are subtracted before a card is treated as valuable.

History beats a point-in-time row

A current offer can look good or bad only against offer history, prior minimum spend windows, point valuation changes, and source confidence.

Credits need usability haircuts

A $200 credit that requires a portal, one merchant, or monthly use is not worth the same as $200 cash. SwitchWize discounts harder-to-use benefits.

No speculative transfer bias

Transfer bonuses are useful only when award space, taxes, and redemption value are confirmed. Flexible points usually deserve a flexibility premium.

Recommended card intelligence database

This is the schema direction I would use before building deeper personalization. It avoids stuffing history, source evidence, and user events into one overloaded cards table.

card_products

Durable card identity, issuer, network, family, current public URL.

card_terms_snapshots

APR ranges, fees, earning rules, caps, foreign transaction fee, protections, observed_at, source_url.

card_offer_snapshots

Welcome bonus amount, minimum spend, window, targeted/public flag, offer channel, observed_at.

card_benefit_definitions

Credit/perk definitions, face value, cadence, merchant constraints, usability haircut.

card_benefit_events

User or anonymous scenario ledger for credits used, due dates, renewal reminders, and breakage.

reward_program_snapshots

Point valuations, transfer partners, ratios, transfer times, program warnings, methodology version.

transfer_bonus_snapshots

Source, destination, bonus percent, start/end dates, public/targeted, observed source.

card_source_evidence

Raw evidence pointer, extraction confidence, reviewer, corrected_at, and stale flags.

Backlog

Ask SwitchWize card advisor

TPG has conversational rewards guidance. SwitchWize should answer card, transfer, redemption, benefit, and renewal questions with transparent math and cited data.

Dependencies

Card offer history snapshots
Benefit credit event ledger
Transfer bonus history
Point valuation methodology
User wallet and saved assumptions

Initial questions

Can I safely hit this welcome bonus?
Which credits on my card are actually worth tracking?
Should I keep, downgrade, or cancel before renewal?
Should I transfer points for this booking?

Tool