Every number, traceable.
The exact calculation behind every recommendation, where our data comes from, and how we make money.
You tell us how much you spend each month across a handful of categories: shopping, dining, travel, fuel, grocery, utilities. For each category, we apply that specific card's own published reward rate for that category, not a single blended average. If a card caps how much you can earn in a category each month or year, we apply that cap too, using the real limit stated in the card's own terms. We add up what's earned across all categories, multiply by 12 for the year, then subtract the card's actual annual fee to get a net figure. That net number is what decides the ranking. An AI only ever writes the explanation around a number after it has already been calculated. It never estimates or invents the number itself.
Take the spend profile behind our Best Cashback Credit Cards page: ₹5,000 on shopping, ₹3,000 on dining, ₹3,000 on fuel and ₹3,000 on grocery a month. This is how the card that ranks first, the HSBC Live+ Credit Card, gets its number.
| Category | Monthly spendSpend | Card's rateRate | Earned a monthEarned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopping | ₹5,000 | 1.5% | ₹75 |
| Dining | ₹3,000 | 10% | ₹300 |
| Fuel | ₹3,000 | 0% | ₹0 |
| Grocery | ₹3,000 | 10% | ₹300 |
| Earned each month | ₹675 | ||
| Multiplied by 12 months | ₹8,100 | ||
| Minus the annual fee (₹999 + taxes) | −₹999 | ||
| Net benefit a year | ₹7,101 | ||
Rates shown are each card's best published rate for the category. Where a card's top rate applies only at specific partners, such as one food app or one booking site, we still apply it to the whole category, so treat a card's net figure as its best case for that spend.
That net figure is what ranks the card. See the full ranking, and check that this card is first, on Best Cashback Credit Cards →
Every card's fee, reward rate, and terms are sourced from the issuing bank's own published documents: the Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC) filing, the bank's official product page, or both when they're available. When a bank's own marketing headline and its official terms document disagree, we go with the terms document, since that's the legally binding one. When we can't find an official source for a specific detail, like a minimum income requirement, we say so directly on that card's page rather than filling the gap with a guess or an unverified third-party estimate.
Every card page shows a "Last updated" date, reflecting when we added or last re-verified that card's terms against its official source. Bank terms change without much notice, so if you spot something that looks out of date, we'd rather hear about it and fix it than have it sit wrong.
Some of the "Apply now" links on faayda.com are affiliate links, and we may earn a referral fee if you're approved for a card through one. This never influences which cards we recommend or how we rank them: every card is scored by the exact same calculation, run the same way, regardless of whether we earn anything from it. Where we occasionally highlight another relevant card alongside a comparison, that match is based purely on the cards sharing a category, such as both being travel cards or both being fee-free. We don't track or optimise for which one pays more. Full details are on our privacy and terms page.