Ad-spend card return calculator: rewards after fees
Enter monthly ad spend per platform, billing currency and card terms. See net yearly rewards after foreign transaction fees and the annual fee, plus your break-even spend.
Paying for ads with a rewards card looks like free money. Foreign-currency billing, reward caps and annual fees can turn the return small or negative. This tool shows the net figure for your own spend.
Your assumptions
An effective return of 0.22% on USD 78,000 of yearly ad spend.
How the calculation works
Net = min(spend × reward rate, cap) − foreign spend × FX fee − annual fee; break-even spend = annual fee / (reward rate − foreign share × FX fee)Spend is entered per month and annualised. Rewards are valued at face value and limited by any yearly cap. Spend billed in a currency other than the card’s pays the foreign transaction fee. The break-even spend keeps your current mix of foreign billing.
Step by step
- Yearly spend = monthly spend × 12, per platform.
- Rewards = yearly spend × reward rate, limited to the yearly cap if one is set.
- FX fees = yearly spend billed in another currency × foreign transaction fee.
- Net reward = rewards − FX fees − annual fee. Effective return = net reward ÷ yearly spend.
- Break-even yearly spend = annual fee ÷ (reward rate − foreign share × FX fee). If that margin is zero or negative, or the cap is reached first, there is no break-even.
Limitations
Assumes the balance is paid in full every month (no interest), rewards redeemed at face value, and no category bonuses, sign-up bonuses or ad-platform payment fees. Platforms may let you choose the billing currency; tax treatment of rewards varies by country. Default values are invented examples, not card offers. Illustration, not advice or an offer.
Questions, answered.
Why does billing currency matter?
If the ad platform bills in a currency other than your card’s, many cards add a foreign transaction fee that can be larger than the reward rate.
Are points worth their face value?
Often not. Enter the value you can realistically redeem them for as the reward rate.
What about carrying a balance?
Interest at card rates quickly outweighs a 1–3% reward. The calculator assumes full payment each month.
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