Current Version: 1.0
Compatibility: PC and Mac | Excel 365 (utilizes Dynamic Array functions) | Works on 32-bit or 64-bit | No VBA code utilized
License: Each template downloaded equates to one single-user license | Not for resell or redistribution
help-page: Credit Card Tracker Help
What This Excel Tracker Does
The Credit Card Tracker is a Microsoft Excel template I developed to track my family’s credit cards. No, I’m not tracking every specific transaction on them. I am, however, tracking the sign-up bonuses I’d like to earn and also my overall spending plan (which cards I use for certain expenses). The tracker helps me stay on top of when reward periods might be coming to an end if there are cards I need to cancel, and if I’ve used each of my cards at least once a year (to help my credit score).
Let me give you a brief overview of how I’ve been able to obtain thousands of dollars worth of cashback and other awards through playing the “credit card game”. Then I’ll walk you through the template I use and give you an idea if it is something you’d be interested in utilizing for yourself.
The Beauty of Credit Card Bonuses!
I was introduced to the “art” of utilizing credit card bonuses/points a few years ago and was stunned at how much money/perks you can get for free if you know how to “play the game”. Now you might have the pre-conceived notation that only people who travel a lot really get benefits from credit card points. While that may be true, there is actually a lot of easy money out there that can be obtained just by switching which credit card you use at the grocery store for a couple of months! And nowadays, it can just take minutes online to open up a new credit card.
I started frequenting sites like ThePointsGuy and NerdWallet to educate myself and I’ve been amazed at how much I’ve been able to earn in free rewards over the past couple of years. Being a devote spreadsheet fanatic, I had to create something that would help me easily keep track of all the cards I was opening and understand which ones I needed to use to fulfill my bonus strategy.
Just to show you how easy this can be, let’s take a look at one recent example that I did to get myself free coffee for the year.
My Starbucks Credit Card Example…
While I’m not an everyday visitor of Starbucks, I do like to treat myself a couple of times a month. I found out that if I opened a Starbucks credit card, I could get the following rewards:
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4,500 stars if I spend $500 anywhere using the card within 3 months (30 free drinks)
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300 stars if you transfer $10 to the Starbucks app using your Starbucks Credit Card (2 free drinks)
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Eight annual Barista Picks: These are free drink and food items selected for you (8 free items)
For a person only going 2-3 times per month to Starbucks, this was basically giving me a full year of free drinks! And I could order the largest drink size to boot! The catch was, that I needed to cancel the card before it had been opened for 12 months because the annual fee of $50 (which is waived the first year) began to kick in. It turns out canceling credit cards doesn’t hurt your score as much as the industry wants you to believe. If your credit utilization ratio isn’t materially affected (you want this between 1%- 30%), you typically won’t see a very large impact. And if you do see a drop in your credit score, it will usually return back after a few months.
If you want to replicate this strategy for yourself and get some free Starbucks, you can use my referral link below. You don’t have to use it, but I’ll get some additional free drinks if you do 🙂
My Favorite Cards For Beginners
There are a lot of credit cards out there to choose from. If you want a little help trying to decide what to open, here are a few of my favorite bonus deals. If you click one of my referral links below using the green buttons, I’ll even get to share your reward success with you!
Please Note: Credit card companies are changing their promotion bonuses regularly, so please ensure you understand the current sign-up bonus the card is running as it may slightly different from what is bulleted below.
Chase Sapphire Preferred (Free Cash)
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60,000 Pts if you spend $4,000 in 3 months ($600 less $95 annual fee)
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25% more redemption value on Chase Points ($600 = $750 in travel)
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2X points on dining and travel
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Strategy: Cancel before 12 months and use to cash in all your Chase Points for better travel credit
Starbucks Rewards (Free Drinks)
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4,500 stars if you spend $500 within 3 months (30 free drinks or 90 bakery items)
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300 stars if you transfer $10 to the Starbucks app using your Starbucks Credit Card (2 free drinks)
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$50 Annual fee waived for the first year
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Strategy: Cancel before 12 months
Chase Ink (Free Cash – Business Owners)
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75,000 Pts if you spend $7,500 in 3 months ($750)
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No annual fee
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1.5% cash back on all purchases
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If you have an LLC, you can get this card (even if only used for personal purchases)
Is This Game For Me?
Ultimately, you need to have a good understanding of your spending habits. Credit Card debt is one of the worst debts you can have due to the extremely high-interest rates. If you are one that doesn’t treat a credit card like a debit card (not spending money you don’t have in the bank), then I would caution against you trying to mess around with opening more cards and being tempted to spend money you don’t have. However, if you are like me and have never had a credit card finance charge in your life, this is free money with very little effort that you’re missing out on. And if you have a spouse, make sure to include them in the fun for double the bonuses!
If you’re ready to play, let me show you how I track the progress for me and my wife using a custom Excel template!
An Amazing Dashboard!
The Dashboard is where you see the overall status of your data. You can filter the data on a particular person or view all cardholders together. There are dynamic summaries that display:
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The current sign-up bonuses the cardholder is working on
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Cards that need to be canceled (don’t want to pay those annual fees!)
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The current cards that need to be utilized and what types of purchases should be made with them
Tracking Your Credit Card Data
I have devised a table that has been extremely helpful to me over the years in tracking the credit cards me and my wife have opened. It records key pieces of information in 5 different categories. This information helps you understand things like:
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Which cards should I be using for certain goods/services?
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When do I need to cancel a certain credit card?
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Have I used a certain card this year to keep it active?
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How much total credit do I have?
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How many cards do I have open?
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How much time do I have left to achieve my sign-up bonus?
There are also a few expandable drop-down tables to manage your choices in the table. This feature allows you to add cardholders and a few other drop-down values to ensure your data stays clean in your tracker.
It typically only takes me 2-3 minutes to fill out a new line in the table when I open up a new credit card. Let’s take a look at what all is tracked (blue font denotes a formula in the table, so no need to fill that out).
Card Overview:
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Opened Date – Date your credit was approved
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Issuing Bank – Bank backing the card
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Ending 4 Digits – Last for numbers of your credit card
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Status – Flags whether a card is active (green) or not (gray)
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Who Opened? – Name the account was opened under
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Card Name – Name of the card program
Credit Impact:
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Credit Checks (formula) – Track how many checks you’ve had recently
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Years Active (formula) – How long has the card been active?
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Type – Personal or Business Card?
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Card Type – Processing company
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Credit Limit – Max amount you can charge
Annual Fee Details:
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Next Fee Date (formula) – If there is a fee, when is it next due?
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Days Until Next Fee (formula) – Days until the next annual fee is due
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Annual Fee – Amount of annual fee for card
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First Year Waived – Do you pay an annual fee in year 1?
Card Bonus Tracking:
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Bonus Value – What is the dollar value of the enrollment bonus
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Days Until Bonus Expires (formula) – How many days left to achieve bonus
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Date Bonus Received – When did you achieve the bonus
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Rewards Type – What kind of awards do you receive
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Enrollment Bonus – Potential bonus you can earn for opening
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Minimum Spend – Min spend required to earn enrollment bonus
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Deadline – The time limit to earn an enrollment bonus
Card Action Plan:
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Days Until Cancel (formula) – Let’s you know when you need to cancel
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Actual Cancel Date – Date you canceled card
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Last Statment Date – Last time you used a card
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Yearly Spend Alert – Do you need to utilize a card (try to use it once annually to prevent auto-cancellation)
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Rewards Details – Summarize Reward Benefits for card
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Use Card After Bonus Achieved? – Should you use this card regularly?
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Current Purchase Plan – What types of purchases to utilize the card for
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Keep Card Past 1 Year? – Should you cancel this card immediately?
Pick The Version For You!
There are two versions of this template available to download. Skim down through the Feature Grid below, so you can determine which version is right for you!
What Are You Waiting For?!
You now have the ability to track and analyze how you are utilizing your credit cards. Knowing how to organize all your credit cards and stay on top of your sign-up bonuses is tremendously powerful and using this spreadsheet is going to make the process so much easier for you. Pick up a copy of the Credit Card Tracker Excel spreadsheet today! And if you are willing to pay for it, I thank you for supporting the website!
