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Our Methodology

Last Updated: September 2026

Notice: This is a draft Methodology document. Legal review is required before public launch.

1. Introduction

DhanChakshu relies on a deterministic mathematical algorithm to calculate the estimated net financial value of over 50 credit cards in India. Our engine processes thousands of data points encompassing reward structures, category multipliers, fee waivers, platform surcharges, and monthly caps.

2. Reward Value Calculation

The engine projects your customized annual spending profile onto each credit card's specific reward rules. We calculate exact transactional value by identifying the base earning rate and any accelerated category multipliers. Points are converted to monetary value using the highest-yield redemption route (e.g., statement credit, travel portal, or airmiles) specific to that card. Crucially, we rigorously enforce all monthly and annual reward caps and category exclusions.

3. Fees, GST, and Waivers

We calculate the Net Annual Value by deducting all applicable costs from the gross reward value. This includes the card's annual fee (plus 18% GST). If your projected annual spending meets the card's official fee-waiver threshold, the annual fee is dynamically waived in the calculation.

We also deduct platform convenience fees (e.g., 1% surcharge on rent or education payments via third-party apps) to ensure you see the true net value of a transaction.

4. The DhanChakshu Match Score

The DhanChakshu Match Score (out of 100) measures how well a card aligns with your personal profile. It evaluates:

  • Financial Yield: The total net annual value generated.
  • Spending Fit: Whether the card rewards your highest spend categories.
  • Fee Tolerance: Whether the card respects your willingness to pay an annual fee.
  • Eligibility Constraints: Whether the card accepts your reported existing card networks (e.g., identifying co-brand conflicts).

5. The Card Quality Score

The Card Quality Score is a non-personalized baseline metric evaluating the card against the broader market. It rewards cards with transparent, uncapped earning potential and penalizes cards with hidden exclusions, high fees, or devalued reward catalogs.

6. Portfolio Optimization & Smart Combo

For users seeking multiple cards, our engine employs a routing algorithm. We evaluate every possible permutation of 2 or 3 cards to discover the mathematically optimal Smart Combo, routing each spending category to the card that yields the highest net return while cross-referencing multiple fee waivers simultaneously.

7. Zero Affiliate Bias

Affiliate commissions are completely excluded from all recommendation logic. The algorithm cannot access commission data, ensuring that rankings remain purely mathematical.