Affiliate Disclosure

Last updated: February 8, 2026

Transparency matters to us. This page explains how affiliate links work on OptimalCardSetup and, more importantly, how they do not affect the recommendations you receive.

What Are Affiliate Links?

Some links on OptimalCardSetup to credit card application pages are affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and are approved for a credit card, we may receive a commission from the card issuer. This commission comes at no additional cost to you — you receive the same card terms, rewards, and sign-up bonus whether you apply through our link or directly through the issuer.

Affiliate Links Do NOT Influence Results

This is the most important point on this page: our optimization results are determined solely by mathematical optimization. The CP-SAT constraint solver evaluates every valid combination of credit cards based on your spending profile and mathematically proves which setup earns the most rewards. Affiliate relationships have zero influence on these results.

The solver does not know which cards have affiliate partnerships. It does not factor commissions into its objective function. It does not prefer one card over another based on business relationships. The optimization is purely mathematical — it maximizes your net rewards value (earnings minus annual fees) and nothing else.

How We Earn Revenue

OptimalCardSetup earns revenue through two channels:

  • Premium subscriptions — $9/month for advanced features like alternative setups, what-if analysis, and custom credit valuations.
  • Affiliate commissions — earned when users apply for credit cards through links on our site and are approved.

Both revenue channels are independent of the optimization algorithm. Premium features extend the solver's capabilities (more cards, more results) but do not change how it ranks cards. Affiliate commissions are earned after the fact and have no bearing on which cards appear in your results.

FTC Compliance

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, we disclose that OptimalCardSetup may earn compensation from affiliate partnerships with credit card issuers. This disclosure applies to all pages on optimalcardsetup.com that contain links to credit card applications.

Questions?

If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships or how our optimizer works, contact us at support@optimalcardsetup.com.