Hey everyone,

First time poster here. I have 4 credit cards and often times don't know which one to use so I decided to build Avalanche (to solve this problem). It will detect where you are and reference the MCC to ensure you get the most cash back possible - without linking your bank account. Just seeing if anyone else would be interested in joining the waitlist or if there are any features that you'd like to see in a credit card management app, thanks!

The website is my username if you want to checkout a short demo/join the waitlist

Welcome to FT!

Aren’t there similar apps already? Cardpointer comes to mind.

I have actually never used any of them, because I think my rules are at the same time relatively simple for most transactions and too complex (or frequently changing) for others to bother with an app. And also I don’t shop at that many different stores and restaurants.

To give you an idea, for daily spend while out and about:

Drugstore: CFU - 3X
Dining: CSR - 3X
Travel: CSR - 3X
Hotels: 3X - CSR, except if there is a benefit to use the hotel specific card (eg, 4X on Hyatt card at Hyatts or 14X on Aspire)

Groceries: Citi Priority (3X) or MileUp (2X, but only if I want/need AA LPs) or some Chase card if it earns 5X thanks to MyBonus

Gas: Citi Priority (3X)

Random other merchant that likely isn’t bonused: CFU (1.5X) or MileUp (1X, but only if I want AA LP).

And that doesn’t consider other spend promos:

- For a while I was putting unbonused spend on my AS Visa as it was offering 2X if I spend $10k total by 11/30, and also 2k EQM for the same $10k

- I am currently aiming to reach $15k in Hyatt spend by year-end for the FNC and some extra TQNs that also give me a FNC. So this overrides the generic unbonused spend rules.

Do you have a realizable way to tell me if a given merchant is qualifying in the, say, Dining category for a given card (issuer)? That would be useful when I am visiting a new-to-me restaurant/cafe and don’t know if the CSR or Citi Premier would give me 3X, or if the merchant is mis-categorized and a different card would actually be better. Today I often use the CFU in that case as I would get at least 1.5X but hopefully 3X, but as mentioned earlier a card with a spend promo might be better.

There are some similar apps, but what we want to do is build a database of MCC so that our app tells you exactly which one to use in order to get the best cash back based on your location. We're focusing on cash back in the beginning and may introduce other features like if the person wants to focus on getting the best travel miles. Really we're just looking for testers when we launch so we can get feedback and learn about their pain points when out using their cards. You sound fairly savvy when it comes to utilizing your credit card perks, but most people don't know the benefits they get or think they are using the correct card when they should be using a different one. Appreciate the response!

So TPG used to have an app that was like this. But then they got rid of it and updated the new one to be location-based only and it's a total PITA to get to the menu system to tell you which card to use. I buy a lot of stuff online so location-based doesn't work well for me.
I wanted one that went based on categories that was easy to find AND included (like the old TPG app) the rotating categories for like Discover/Chase Freedom.

So if I'm buying online from Amazon, I can select "online" or "amazon" category and it'll tell me which card to use.
Or Groceries.

I can see usefulness of GPS/Location as well (but sometimes it'll pick the wrong store I'm in if they're close for some reason).

I paid for Cardpointers Plus (only to add all the offers from Amex/Chase) to all my cards. But I'd be happy to use/test/try. iOS 17.x just an FYI

Thanks for the reply! We will be rotating the categories for the user so they don't need to keep track of it. Amazon for most online products is registered as a bookstore, so would recognize where you're buying from online and choose the correct card for you, but most online purchases will probably fall under the "online shopping" category of most credit cards.

We're predicting an accuracy of about 5 meters when using the app. We may run into small obstacles when you're in a mall with multi levels for instance, but there will be a search function and also a category selection (quick and easy). It'd be great if you would sign up and greatly appreciated!

If there are any other features or things you wish an app like this would tell you let me know and I'll add it to the list!

1. How will you make money?

2. What information will the app pass to you (or anyone)?

Hey Mia,

1. Will probably have some sort of Google AdMob thing to make enough to keep the app running or maybe put a limit of 3/4 cards unless you want to get rid of ads/add unlimited cards (but not sure).

2. We're not going to link with your bank account unless we get enough feedback to where users actually want that. We will see which cards you have but that should be the extent of it.

Any features in particular that you're looking for? Interested in joining the waitlist?

I'm curious, do you find that it works well for this purpose? And how much effort does it take to add the offers?

We will be doing something similar but free if you want to join the waitlist: https://avalanchecard.com

So the cardpointers I used mainly to ADD the special offers to my cards. I have 5 Amex cards, and between my Chase personal/business, I have I think 10?

So rather than logging in 3 times and manually adding offers to each card individually, I bought the Cardpointers+ (BTW, only works with Chrome) extension so that I only have to login 3 times (once for Amex, once for Chase Personal, once for Chase Business) and it has an option to add all offers to all cards.

Then, of course, there's the trying to remember/know what's on what card. If you continue to use Chrome to buy things online, it'll pop up and tell you which card (Amex/Chase, and now Citi) to get the "best" deal.

I've NOT used their app that heavily to be honest, but it seems to be fairly similar if you can remember to check it when you're buying stuff at stores.

Most people, even kettles, who want cash back will figure out and eventually just be able to memorize which of their cards give a decent enough cash back reward. I doubt they’d use an app. That said, I can imagine that another company would buy such an app to offer it as part of their suite of consumer services… especially if it helps THEM get acquired.

If it helps people all the better, even if that means they stop using it after a bit of time. We will eventually include travel perks so a person could choose (based on location) whether they want more cash back or more travel. Can be kind of overwhelming as there are about 10 cash back categories and the average person having almost 4 credit cards, plus some cards change perks quarterly. If you're not savvy like most people in this group it can be challenging to manage. Hope you sign up for the app at least and thanks for the feedback!

Most people, probably. But, IMO, "most people" are not on FY or use/maximize things anyway. I'm guessing this upcoming app is probably targeted towards the latter, vs. "most people". I have 23 credit cards, so obviously I'm not most people. Trying to remember which card has the "best" deal for this month isn't doable for me, especially when you toss in the Citi Shop Your Way Mastercard with it's various statement credits (which are targeted, so it's not like Discover/Chase where it's a 3-month specific category).