How Cardwell reviews credit-card information.
Cardwell uses issuer-owned U.S. product pages as the primary source for card facts. This policy explains what we review, how we handle corrections, and what our update dates mean.
What we review
For each card, Cardwell reviews the product identity, annual fee, reward structure and caps, APR summary, foreign transaction fee, major benefits and restrictions, and the official issuer destination. Referral destinations are checked separately from card facts and ranking data.
Source standard
Issuer-owned U.S. product pages and issuer terms are the final sources for facts shown by Cardwell. Other sources may help identify a possible change, but we do not treat a third-party summary as final confirmation of a card term.
What a review date means
A review date shows when Cardwell checked the displayed facts against available issuer information. It is not a promise that an offer remained unchanged after that date. Introductory offers, APRs, benefits, and eligibility rules can change at any time, so users should confirm current terms with the issuer before applying.
How updates are handled
Cards and links are rechecked when Cardwell content is updated, when an issuer announces a material change, and during periodic catalog reviews. Cardwell’s target process gives referral-supported and premium cards a weekly priority check, reviews the full 16-card catalog monthly, and reviews the recommendation system and tools quarterly. This is a review target, not a promise that an offer cannot change between checks. A verification date is changed only after the relevant issuer source is checked.
Ranking independence
Recommendations use card features and the preferences a user provides. Referral availability and potential compensation are stored separately and never add points to a card’s ranking. Read the ranking methodology and affiliate disclosure for more detail.
Corrections
If you notice an outdated or incorrect fact, use the Contact & Support form and include the Cardwell page address, the fact in question, and an issuer source when available. Do not send an SSN, card number, bank login, or other sensitive information.
Public update history
Material changes remain available for transparency without interrupting the main review policy.
View Cardwell update history
September 16, 2026
- Unified website and ChatGPT matching, including two spending categories, firm fee limits, financing eligibility and clearer partial or insufficient-information results.
- Corrected pairing fees and compared category plans after fees, with shared spending caps counted once.
- Made Keep or Cancel start neutrally and separated example inputs from personalized estimates.
- Expanded practical guide examples, rewards spending categories, mobile navigation, focus visibility and benefit input labels.
- Clarified referral notices, Amex Gold financing, About content and browser storage / analytics disclosures. This release date is not a new verification date for every bank offer.
September 16, 2026 — follow-up
- Added descriptive structured data for planning tools and page-specific sharing previews for card guides.
- Made the homepage’s credit-card comparison purpose clearer and removed repeated ChatGPT buttons from introductory sections.
- Enlarged frequently used touch targets and added visible Cardwell publishing responsibility and correction links.
- Connected card reviews to official welcome-offer sources and a neutral spending planner. Fixed bonus amounts are not advertised; offer eligibility and terms remain issuer-controlled.
- Reorganized Cards, Compare, Tools, Learn, and Saved navigation; added visible breadcrumbs, a Learning Center, and related guide links on all card-detail pages.
- Moved the public sitemap to a generated route, kept modification dates explicit, and excluded the device-local saved-card page from indexing.
- Added privacy-limited website and ChatGPT tool analytics for aggregate use, tool outcomes and referral clicks without sending questionnaire answers or spending amounts.
September 16, 2026 — contact and navigation refinement
- Simplified the main menus, moved company and policy pages into a clearer footer structure, and kept Saved Cards available without using a standalone top-level navigation item.
- Expanded the Learning Center with four practical educational guides.
- Replaced the publicly displayed contact email with a protected Contact & Support form. Contact messages are excluded from analytics, and the form warns users not to submit sensitive identity or financial information.
September 15, 2026
- Reorganized the Planning Tools page around a clear 01–08 order and made Keep or Cancel the recommended starting point.
- Added three focused head-to-head card comparisons and a direct Cards-menu path to them.
- Moved official issuer terms to a quieter text link and aligned the fee, rewards, best-for, and primary-action rows across comparison cards.
- Added mobile, keyboard, and skip-navigation improvements plus a formal internal data-review checklist.
September 14, 2026
- Expanded dining, gas, online-shopping, and business guides with practical explanations and FAQs.
- Added clearer explanations when user preferences create a tradeoff in website and ChatGPT recommendations.
- Strengthened keyboard focus visibility and completed the public sitemap.
- Published this editorial policy and update log.
September 13, 2026
- Optimized card images, simplified questionnaire wording, expanded planning tools, and completed custom-domain search and analytics setup.
September 12, 2026
- Reviewed the 16-card catalog—11 personal and 5 business cards—and verified the four stored referral destinations.
Content responsibility
Guides and card comparisons are published under the Cardwell name. Cardwell’s operator is responsible for publication and corrections. A Cardwell byline does not imply an independent review by a bank, certified financial professional or outside reviewer. We do not display professional credentials or reviewer endorsements that have not been established.
Welcome offers
Public, referral, in-branch and personalized offers can differ. Cardwell currently links to issuer sources rather than publishing a fixed bonus table. The spending planner uses the offer details entered by the user; it does not confirm availability or eligibility. Ongoing reward comparisons exclude welcome bonuses.
If fixed offers are added later, each will need an exact source, an actual check date, eligibility and deadline details, and a stale-offer removal process. A website version date alone must not be treated as offer verification.
Current catalog scope
Cardwell compares a focused catalog of 16 U.S. credit cards: 11 personal cards and 5 business cards. It does not claim to cover every card available in the market.