MaxRewards

MaxRewards operates a consumer application and browser extension that consolidate a cardholder's credit cards into a single interface, showing balances, rewards, benefits, card-linked offers and progress toward welcome-offer spending thresholds across multiple issuers. Users link their cards, after which the service activates available card-linked offers and recommends which card to use for a given purchase or website at checkout. The browser extension is distributed for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, and the mobile app is available through the App Store and Google Play, with sign-in via Google, Apple or email.

Alongside the app, MaxRewards publishes a credit card research and comparison site built on structured data covering more than 900 cards, recording rewards rates, annual fees, annual credits, welcome offers and redemption options in the same format across issuers. The site organizes cards by category (travel, cash back, premium, airline, hotel, student, business and others) and by issuer, and includes a value calculator that lets a user enter their own spending and the annual credits they would use to estimate a card's first-year and ongoing net value. The company states that its editorial rankings apply published criteria uniformly to all issuers and that compensation does not change list order.

The company describes automating the maximization of rewards, cashback and benefits across channels, using data such as location to surface personalized recommendations, and has stated an intention to extend its platform beyond credit cards.

Founding story

Co-founder and CEO Anik Khan earned a BSBA in Finance from Georgia Tech in 2013 and worked as a business strategy consultant at Accenture serving life sciences clients, where a manager introduced him to credit card rewards; he subsequently accumulated over $16,000 in rewards across four years. He had also founded Khanik Web Solutions and Consulting, where he helped clients track credit card purchases and rewards. These experiences led him to start MaxRewards to help U.S. cardholders unlock the value of their cards. David Gao is co-founder and CTO.

Business model

Consumer-facing app and browser extension offered to cardholders, paired with a credit card comparison and review site. The company states that issuers may compensate it, while asserting that compensation does not affect the ordering of its editorial rankings.

The site indicates that MaxRewards may receive compensation from card issuers in connection with its card listings and recommendations; it states this compensation does not reorder its rankings.

Traction

The website reports more than 800,000 members and structured data on 900+ cards (916 cards listed on the credit cards page). At the time of the September 2021 seed round, press coverage reported that the active user base had grown more than 200% since January of that year and recurring revenue had grown more than 10x.

Latest developments

The company reports more than 800,000 members and maintains a card database of over 900 cards with a spending-based value calculator and editorial best-card rankings, alongside its mobile app and Chrome, Firefox and Safari extensions. Its about page cites more than $4 million raised to date and lists open roles.