card-compare

name	card-compare
description	Return a side-by-side comparison of two major-US credit cards across fees, earning rates, credits, transfer partners, and key benefits. Use when the user is deciding between two cards.
argument-hint	[card A] vs [card B]
disable-model-invocation	true
allowed-tools	Read, Bash(curl -sS *)

Card Compare

Goal

Return a compact side-by-side comparison of two exact card variants.

Search Strategy: search-required

Fetch both issuer pages in parallel + up to 5 secondary sources total for current offer details. Prefer NerdWallet, The Points Guy, Doctor of Credit, One Mile at a Time, and Bankrate.

Workflow

1. Parse two card names from the input (separated by "vs", "versus", "or", or a comma).
2. Resolve each card using ../card-identity/SKILL.md. If either is ambiguous, return a numbered choice list for the ambiguous card and stop.
3. Run one Brave Search API call (see search_method in ../card-shared/source-policy.yaml):

   curl -sS "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search?q=CARD_A+vs+CARD_B+compare&count=10" -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY"
   

   If $BRAVE_API_KEY is not set, fall back to WebSearch.
4. Fetch pages — pick the issuer URL for each card and up to 2 secondary URLs (prefer nerdwallet.com and thepointsguy.com) from the search results. Fetch in parallel:

   curl -sS -L "URL" | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' | tr -s '\n' | head -200
   

   Search snippets are too shallow for accurate comparisons — the actual pages have complete rate tables, credit lists, and benefit details.
5. Apply confidence handling from ../card-shared/confidence-rules.md.
6. Return compact markdown using the card-compare contract in ../card-shared/command-contracts.yaml.
7. YAML is internal only — do not include it in user-facing output.
8. Do not show a "Why It Matters" section.

Required Sections

• ## 💰 Fees
• ## 📈 Earning Rates
• ## 🏷️ Credits
• ## 🔄 Transfer Partners
• ## ✈️ Key Benefits
• ## 🏆 Bottom Line
• ## 📋 Confidence Notes
• ## 🔗 Sources — numbered list of URLs fetched, as markdown hyperlinks with short "Site - Topic" labels, e.g. [NerdWallet - CSR vs Amex Gold](https://...)

Omit ## Card Identity when both matches are confident. Use a two-column format (Card A | Card B) for the comparison sections. The Bottom Line section should give a concise factual summary of which card wins in each major dimension — not a recommendation.