Card Compare

Step 1: Card Identity Resolution

Common Abbreviations

Only shorthands and ambiguous names need entries here. Cards with full, unambiguous names (e.g., "Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless", "Chase United Explorer", "American Express Hilton Honors Aspire") are resolved via search — no table entry needed.

Supported Issuers

American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, Robinhood, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo.

Step 2: Search

Use the platform's WebSearch and WebFetch tools by default. If BRAVE_API_KEY is available and the runtime also provides curl, you may use Brave Search API instead for faster and more repeatable search results.

Optional Brave template:

curl -sS "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search?q=CARD_A+vs+CARD_B+compare&count=20" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY"

Search Budget Rule

Treat search as scarce and paced. Built-in web search is the default path; if Brave mode is used, it may rate-limit after only a few closely spaced requests.

• Start with one search.
• Fetch the issuer and approved secondary pages before deciding whether any additional search is needed.
• If an extra search is needed, wait about 2 to 5 seconds first.
• If Brave returns 429, wait about 8 to 15 seconds and retry once.
• If Brave is unavailable, continue with WebSearch + WebFetch.
• If it still fails, continue with the best evidence already gathered and note the limitation in ## 📋 Confidence Notes.

Source Policy

• Issuer-first: check both cards' official product pages before secondary sources.
• Max 5 secondary sources from: NerdWallet (preferred), The Points Guy (preferred), Doctor of Credit (preferred), One Mile at a Time (preferred), Bankrate (preferred), Upgraded Points.
• Disallowed: Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, referral links, user forums.

Step 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 with WebFetch.

An approved secondary page means a URL whose hostname matches one of the approved secondary domains named in this skill. Do not fetch or cite secondary pages from any other domain.

URL Safety Rules

• Prefer WebFetch for page retrieval. Use curl only for the optional Brave Search API calls above, not for arbitrary result URLs.
• Never execute a shell command that interpolates a raw URL taken directly from search results.
• Only fetch URLs when all of the following are true:
  1. scheme is https
  2. hostname matches a supported issuer domain or an approved secondary domain from this skill
  3. the URL is being passed to WebFetch, not inserted into a shell pipeline
• If a result URL fails those checks, skip it and use the next valid result.

Search snippets are too shallow for accurate comparisons — the actual pages have complete rate tables, credit lists, and benefit details.

Required Output Sections

## 💰 Fees

Two-column table: annual fee, foreign transaction fee, net after credits.

## 📈 Earning Rates

Two-column table: key categories with multipliers for each card.

## 🏷️ Credits

Two-column comparison of statement credits, cash-back rebates, and complimentary subscriptions only — not enhanced earn rates or point multipliers.

## 🔄 Transfer Partners

Two-column comparison of transfer programs and partner count.

## ✈️ Key Benefits

Two-column comparison of top travel/lifestyle benefits.

## 🏆 Bottom Line

Concise factual summary of which card wins in each major dimension — not a recommendation.

## 📋 Confidence Notes

Flag any uncertain, unconfirmed, or conflicting claims.

## 🔗 Sources

Numbered list of URLs fetched, as markdown hyperlinks with short "Site - Topic" labels.

Output Rules

• Use two-column format (Card A | Card B) for comparison sections.
• Use one emoji per section heading.
• When listing credits, fees, or any monetary amounts, sort from highest to lowest dollar value.
• Keep content to condensed facts — no prose padding.
• Omit the Card Identity section when both matches are confident.
• Do not show YAML blocks in output.
• End every report with a ## 🔗 Sources section listing each URL fetched during research as a markdown hyperlink with a short "Site - Topic" label, e.g. [NerdWallet - CSR vs Amex Gold](https://...).

Confidence Definitions

• confirmed: supported by issuer terms or multiple approved sources
• unconfirmed: plausible but not fully resolved
• conflicting: sources disagree on a material fact