bonus-radar

name	bonus-radar
description	Evaluate current credit card sign-up bonuses against historical highs. Apply/wait/skip verdict per card. Checks live sources and flags elevated offers before they expire.

Bonus Radar

Know whether a bonus is historically elevated or not worth the inquiry. Prevents applying during a low offer and missing a 2× higher bonus three months later.

Sources to check (always fetch live before scoring)

Source	What it tracks
Doctor of Credit	Best current public offers, updated daily
CardMatch	Targeted elevated offers (Amex especially) — check with your email
Issuer websites	Official current public offer
r/churning wiki	Historical data points, data points on targeted offers

Historical high watermarks (baseline for comparison)

Card	Normal Offer	Historical High	Notes
Amex Platinum	80k MR	175k MR	Targeted via CardMatch; 150k seen publicly
Amex Gold	60k MR	90k MR	Public elevated offers appear 2–3× per year
Amex Green	40k MR	60k MR	Less volatile
Chase Sapphire Preferred	60k UR	100k UR	Elevated offers tied to promotions
Chase Sapphire Reserve	60k UR	100k UR	Elevated rare; 75k more common
Chase Ink Business Preferred	100k UR	120k UR	Business card
Chase Ink Business Cash	$750	$900	Cash back, not points
Capital One Venture X	75k miles	100k miles	Elevated appears periodically
Citi Strata Premier	75k TY	100k TY	Watch for seasonal bumps
Citi AA Executive	70k miles	100k miles	Targeted offers higher
Bilt Mastercard	transfer bonus events	1:1.25 transfer promos	No SUB — watch transfer bonuses instead
Hyatt	30k points	60k points	Elevated rare; high-value due to Hyatt CPP
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy	85k	125k	Watch for elevated
IHG Premier	140k	175k	Periodically elevated

Contract

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12",
  "title": "Bonus Radar Report",
  "purpose": "Evaluate one or more cards for current vs. historical bonus levels. Return a verdict per card and a ranked list of what to apply for now.",
  "constraints": [
    "Always fetch live data from Doctor of Credit before scoring — never rely on memory alone",
    "Check CardMatch for targeted Amex and Citi offers before concluding a bonus is at normal level",
    "verdict must be one of: apply_now, wait, skip",
    "apply_now only when current offer is within 20% of historical high OR historically elevated offers are rare for this card",
    "Flag any offer expiring within 14 days as urgent"
  ],
  "required": ["evaluated_at_url", "cards", "top_picks"],
  "properties": {
    "evaluated_at_url": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "URL checked for current offers (DoC or issuer page)"
    },
    "cards": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "required": ["card", "current_offer", "historical_high", "verdict", "rationale"],
        "properties": {
          "card":            { "type": "string" },
          "current_offer":   { "type": "string" },
          "historical_high": { "type": "string" },
          "verdict":         { "enum": ["apply_now", "wait", "skip"] },
          "rationale":       { "type": "string" },
          "expires":         { "type": ["string", "null"], "description": "Known expiry date if announced" },
          "targeted_note":   { "type": ["string", "null"], "description": "If a higher targeted offer may exist via CardMatch" }
        }
      }
    },
    "top_picks": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Ranked apply_now cards, highest expected value first",
      "items": { "type": "string" }
    }
  }
}

How to run

1. Fetch current offers from Doctor of Credit (URL above)
2. For any Amex or Citi card in scope, check CardMatch with user's email
3. Compare current offer to historical high using the table above
4. Score each card and return the full report