How we rank and label deals

Latest

Latest lists everything newest first, by the date we first published it. It mixes card offers, bank and brokerage bonuses, merchant deals, freebies and program changes.

• Ending soon: the row at the top shows anything with a stated end date in the next 7 days, soonest first.
• Just added: a card offer we published in the last 7 days. It doesn't mean the issuer's offer is new.
• Bonus up, Bonus down, Rule change: a change to terms we already covered, with the before and after on the deal's page.
• New to you: shown only in your browser, for items published since your last visit. See Privacy.

Freebies

The freebies page starts with the freebie calendar: free events on a set day, soonest first. Below it, freebies are listed most popular first: the ones opened most on this site in the last 7 days, then newest first among those opened equally or not yet opened. Popularity is a count of page opens, not a judgment of value, and providers can't pay to move up.

Category pages

Other category pages open newest first. We'll rank by how strong an offer is compared with that card's own history once we have enough verified history to do it fairly. Until then we don't claim an offer is the best ever. You can sort a different way, and each result then says why it sits where it does:

• Practical value (credit cards): the welcome bonus less the first-year fee. Cash bonuses count at face value. Points and miles count at the value you enter for each program, because what a point is worth depends on how you use it, so we don't pick a number for you. Credits, free nights and other extras aren't counted here; the value calculator on each card's page covers them.
• Lowest effort: for cards, the least required spend first, and more time to meet it when the spend is the same. For bank and brokerage bonuses, the smallest deposit first, then the shortest time you must keep it there. For freebies, no purchase first, then free after rebate, purchase required, and paid membership required.
• Ending soonest: stated end dates first, soonest first. Offers with no public end date come after them.

Filters only appear when they'd change what's listed. If a filter can't be checked against an offer because its terms don't state that detail, the offer is left out and the page says how many were left out and why.

Targeted offers, which only some people can get, are hidden unless you turn on "Show targeted offers (YMMV)".

Value estimates

We show the reward in its own currency first, such as points or miles. The value calculator starts each capped credit at its full stated value and labels that as an assumption, because few people use every credit fully. Change any credit to what it's worth to you and the totals update.

What never affects the order

Payment from a provider, a referral link or an advertiser.