Credit Card Offer Comparison Worksheet

Who this is for

Compare card offers on what they would cost you. Copy the rate, fees and rewards from up to four offers, enter the balance you expect to carry and how you use a card, and the sheet estimates a year's cost for each, less the rewards you expect.

Anyone choosing a new credit card or a balance transfer card, people deciding whether a rewards card earns back its annual fee, and anyone who wants to compare offers on cost rather than on the headline rate.

What this helps you track

• Each offer's rate and fees copied into the same columns
• A year's interest on the balance you expect to carry
• Transfer, foreign spending and annual fees at your own figures
• The rewards you expect to earn, taken off the cost
• Promotional periods, cash rates and terms still to check

How to use it

1. Write the balance you expect to carry on average, any amount you plan to transfer and what you expect to spend abroad in a year; leave blank what does not apply.
2. For each offer, copy the rate you would pay on a carried balance, the annual fee, the transfer fee and the foreign transaction fee from its summary box.
3. Estimate a year's rewards from your own usual spending, not from the advert's example.
4. Interest and the yearly cost are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, work across each line and compare down the column.
5. Fill the terms table with the promotional rate and its length, the cash rate, late fee and limit offered, and anything still to check.
6. Read the full terms before applying; the estimate is a guide, not a quote.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is the yearly cost worked out?

Interest on your carried balance at the offer's rate for a year, plus the annual fee, the transfer fee on the amount you transfer and the foreign fee on your foreign spending, less the rewards. Providers charge on their own terms, so treat it as an estimate.

What if I clear the card in full every month?

Leave the carried balance blank. The interest then drops out and the comparison comes down to fees against rewards, which is what decides it for someone who does not pay interest.

What about a promotional rate?

The estimate uses one rate for the year. If an offer has a promotional rate, enter the rate you would pay for most of the year, and note the promotion and how long it lasts in the terms table.

How is this different from the credit card payoff calculator?

The payoff calculator works on a card you already hold, showing how long fixed payments take to clear it. This sheet compares cards you might take, on a year's cost at your own figures.