dailynewsnblog
One of the most frustrating parts of holding multiple credit cards is that they often come with lots of special benefits to remember to use. The “couponization” of credit cards has only intensified over time, and those of us who are very invested in multiple bank, airline and hotel programs can have trouble keeping up.
I have an unusually large number of cards — more than two dozen! — I’ve historically kept track of via a spreadsheet. But now, thanks to our friends over at the travel deals and news website Thrifty Traveler, there’s a new tool that can help travelers stay on top of their card benefits, whether they have just a few or 27 like some TPG staffers (including me).
I’ve been testing it out, and it’s worth downloading.
While Thrifty Traveler’s top Premium+ flight deal alert service bundle, which I’ve found is great at finding rare mileage and cash deals, costs $189.99 per year — you can try it out for a reduced price of $169.99 a year using our link — the new credit card tracking tool is free to use. Simply go to this Thrifty Traveler article and provide your email to receive access to Google Docs and Microsoft Excel versions of the card tracker.
Thrifty Traveler recently expanded the tracker’s usefulness.
“You can now track more than 50 top travel cards from all the big banks and loyalty programs, including new additions like Bilt 2.0 cards, Alaska and Hawaiian Atmos Rewards, IHG, Hyatt, and more,” according to Thrifty Traveler.
In all, it’s now tracking 53 of the top travel cards from the major bank, hotel and airline programs.
How it works
Once you have the worksheets, find the credit cards you have on the extensive list provided and check them off.
Once you’ve checked the boxes, a new tab opens at the bottom of your document that lists each of your open credit cards.
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As you click each tab, the highlighted credit card opens, showing you a complete view of the card and its benefits. As you can see in the screenshot below, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees) has various timed credits that you can earn once a month or even just once a year.
The card has a steep $595 annual fee, so I’m eager to recoup as much of its value as possible.
Once you’ve earned each credit, the total savings are added at the top. And when you exceed the annual fee, the “Total credits used” box turns green.
As you can see above for my American Express Platinum Card®, I’ve already “earned” $1,309 of my statement credits for 2026 (enrollment required for select benefits). That means I’ve earned back my $895 annual fee (see rates and fees) and then some.
And as shown in the gallery below, there are a lot of potential “coupons” … er, I mean, credits … that you can earn. It makes it pretty hard to keep track of them all on a premium card like the Amex Platinum, let alone several premium cards.
But with the creation of these sheets, that’s now much easier to do.
The fine print
There are a few other things to know about the Thrifty Traveler tracker. No sensitive data and personal information is used or stored, so there are no data-specific security concerns to worry about.
Additionally, you can track cards separately for your travel partner.
The tool also provides visual cues when a card’s benefit will expire. For example, if you have 30 days left to use a benefit, it’ll be highlighted in orange in the tracker. When you’re within two weeks of a benefit’s use-by date, it will be highlighted in red.
You can adjust the values of each credit based on your own perceived value as well. So, for instance, if you have a card that offers a Clear+ membership but don’t feel the value of the benefit matches the $209 cost when purchasing the membership separately, you can tweak its value accordingly in your spreadsheet.
Bottom line
Thrifty Traveler’s new credit card tracker is a great opportunity to bring some order to your life. Even if you just have a few cards to keep track of, these sheets are a great resource to lean on. This tool will help me keep ahead of the “coupon book”-style cards I have to make sure I’m maximizing their benefits.
It’s wild that we often need tools like this for credit cards, but that’s where we are in the world of points and miles.
Hopefully, this new tool helps keep you a few steps ahead so you can get the most out of your cards.
Related reading:
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.
