Over the past 12 months, I’ve jumped deep into the world of bank card rewards, maximizing redemption values, assortment factors and money again, and benefiting from profitable welcome bonuses. One of many apps that I’ve used to be taught extra about all of that is CardPointers, a superb app from the indie developer Emmanuel Crouvisier.
I obtained an opportunity to speak to Crouvisier about CardPointers, iOS 16, what it’s’ like being a full-time indie developer in 2022, and way more. Plus, an unique low cost and provide for 9to5Mac readers.
Arms-on: CardPointers may help maximize bank card rewards
The competitors within the bank card trade 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 large welcome bonuses, new redemption presents, profitable spending and rewards classes, and way more.
Talking from expertise, this may be overwhelming and complicated at first. It’s simple to make errors; particularly when card firms entice you to redeem for low redemption values. CardPointers goals that can assist you navigate all of those conditions.
While you open CardPointers for the primary time, you’ll be prompted to undergo the method of including the bank cards you have already got. Throughout this course of, you may add the date that you just had been permitted, modify the bonus classes if wanted, and consider all the accessible presents.
Inserting the date you had been permitted for a card is especially essential if the cardboard has a welcome bonus or an annual payment. CardPointers may help you monitor your progress in the direction of a welcome bonus and remind you when your annual payment 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 accessible to assist offset the annual payment. (Trace: There normally are, you simply need to threaten to cancel/downgrade your card first.)
When you’ve added your present playing cards to CardPointers, you may faucet on the “Pointers” tab to see a breakdown of the perfect playing cards to make use of for various classes of spending. These ideas are primarily based purely on the playing cards you have already got. As an illustration, when you have the Amex Gold Card, you’ll probably 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’ve gotten. This features a listing of your playing cards, the full of your annual charges, your lively presents, and extra particulars on the perfect playing cards for various classes of spending.
Lastly, the “Dashboard” additionally features a roundup of the perfect card presents for the month when it comes to welcome bonuses. In case you’re trying to broaden your arsenal of bank cards, it is a very useful device for seeing welcome bonuses for a number of the high playing cards on the market.
Safari Extension
One in all my favourite facets of CardPointers is the Safari Extension. The Safari Extension is out there on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It’s major objective to let you know the perfect bank 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, if you happen to’re reserving a lodge, the CardPointers extension will present you which ones of your playing cards presents the perfect rewards for that buy.
One other wonderful perk of the CardPointers extension for Safari is that it helps the flexibility to activate your entire accessible presents on the Chase and American Categorical web sites.
While you go to Chase or American Categorical, you’ll see a CardPointers notification that shortly allows you to enroll in your presents. When you do, the presents will even sync to your CardPointers account and be factored into all the ideas and pointers.
CardPointers helps a variety of completely different system options of iOS, macOS, and iPadOS. This contains issues like App Clips, Sign up with Apple, House Display screen widgets, Fast Be aware, Siri integrations, and extra. There’s additionally a devoted Apple Watch app in addition to apps for iPad and Mac.
You may 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 inquisitive about 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 assume I’ll have just a few little issues to include into my app to assist hold it feeling recent, however by the point I’m performed watching all the pertinent session movies, I’ve obtained a to-do listing of 100+ gadgets. This 12 months isn’t any completely different.
- App Intents: These make creating new shortcuts *so* quick and simple for builders. I already had 5 shortcuts within the app, however with the flexibility to have one mechanically 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 massive updates to my “Which Card?” shortcut, and now a person can simply say the title of a retailer, quite 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 totally 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 cellphone or verify the watch app.
- Focus Filters: Apple lastly obtained me to make use of Focus modes because of them, and I can’t think about working every other method now. I’ve adopted Apple’s lead right here on implementation, and I’ve been utilizing these throughout my Work focus to indicate solely my enterprise playing cards all through the app, and I created a customized focus mode known as Journey which I’ve set to filter out all the playing cards with overseas change charges within the app so I don’t get stunned by a 3% added cost on my purchases when overseas. It’s a characteristic a number of customers have requested for, and integrating this by way of 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 accessible, and now I’ve obtained a brand new place to let customers put the knowledge that issues most to them. This can be a fantastic spot so as to add a reminder a couple of particular class bonus and expiring presents, and I’ll be exploring just a few new concepts as effectively.
- Swift Charts: That is essentially the most wonderful API I’ve seen come out of Apple. In only a few strains of code you will get actually stunning charts with nice accessibility options, but it might probably do some actually complicated issues with just a few extra strains; it’s an enormous addition to SwiftUI. There are lots of functions for charts all through the app which I’ve been desirous to do for some time, however didn’t wish to construct my very own chart library. Downside solved!
Going indie
At the start of this 12 months, Crouvisier made the choice to give up his full-time job at a startup and focus totally on CardPointers. With the broader context of current App Retailer modifications, I requested him how his first six months of being full-time indie have gone.
Crouvisier: I believe that’s the perfect resolution I’ve ever made for myself! I’ve been engaged on CardPointers since 2019, and practically all the 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 calm down, and I positively hit some unhealthy burnout intervals, particularly late summer season getting 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 every single 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, quite 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 a number of profit in leveraging net checkout by way of Stripe and RevenueCat to avoid wasting much more, and likewise keep beneath the Small Enterprise most income restrict for longer. From a person perspective, nothing beats the convenience of an in-app buy, in addition to a reduced worth by way of Apple Pay by way of an online checkout stream. The 2 collectively work fantastically effectively to cowl all sorts of customers.
Apple Card
Lastly, given his in-depth and unmatched data of the bank card trade 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 superb rewards card, like a Chase Freedom, Sapphire Most well-liked, Citi Premier, or Amex Gold card. With these playing cards you may earn transferable factors which you’ll switch to airways and resorts to get much more worth out of the factors that you just 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 will get is 3% again in your buy, whereas with the playing cards I’ve talked about, you will get 5x again in factors on some classes like eating places, gasoline stations, and so on, and people factors are price much more as you may 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 superb rewards card can earn them 50,000 factors, and people factors may be price 4c or extra with a superb redemption, which means the actual worth could be $2,000. Actually 7x extra worth out of utilizing a superb rewards card, and that’s what CardPointers helps customers do — earn extra from each buy simply by paying with the suitable card.
Even if you happen to simply wish to deal with 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 increasingly banks are doing offers immediately 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 out there as a free obtain, with an in-app subscription accessible to unlock the CardPointers Professional options.
9to5Mac readers can save 20% on CardPointers Professional’s annual and lifelong plans. In reality, if you happen to 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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