Card Profile Recommend

Analyze a multi-card portfolio — grade each card (MVP / Keep / Consider Dropping), recommend 2–3 new additions with churning strategy, apply issuer rules (Ch...

Security Scan

The skill's requested resources (curl + BRAVE_API_KEY) and runtime instructions align with its stated purpose of web-backed card auditing and recommendations; nothing requested appears unrelated or excessive.

Purpose & Capability

The skill needs a web-search capability and an HTTP client to gather issuer and secondary pages; requiring a Brave Search API key and curl is proportionate to the stated goal of scraping issuer/analysis pages to compute grades and recommendations.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md instructs the agent to send card names (and optional opening dates) to the Brave Search API and to fetch issuer and secondary pages (e.g., thepointsguy.com) using curl, then strip HTML and extract data. This behavior is consistent with the purpose, but it will transmit user-provided card lists and related metadata to external services and fetch arbitrary third-party pages—users should be aware of that network exposure and privacy implications.

Install Mechanism

Instruction-only skill with no install spec or archive downloads. No code is written to disk by the skill itself, which minimizes install-time risk.

Credentials

Only a single API key (BRAVE_API_KEY) is required and declared as the primary credential; that maps directly to the documented Brave Search API calls. No unrelated secrets or broad credential access are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill is not always-enabled and does not request system-wide config changes or cross-skill credential access. Autonomous invocation is allowed (platform default) but not combined with other concerning privileges.

Assessment

This skill appears to be what it says: it will use your BRAVE_API_KEY to run search queries and will fetch issuer/third-party pages with curl to compile the audit. Before installing/providing the API key, consider: (1) The skill will transmit the card names and any opening dates you provide to Brave Search and retrieve content from external sites—avoid including personally identifying financial account numbers or sensitive identifiers in requests. (2) Review the Brave API key's permissions and revoke it if you stop using the skill. (3) If you prefer no external network calls, do not supply BRAVE_API_KEY; the skill relies on that key to run searches. Overall this is internally coherent, but treat the network access and data you submit as the primary privacy surface.

Return a graded portfolio audit plus opinionated new-card recommendations with signup bonus strategy, churning paths, and issuer rule checks.

When To Use

When the user wants to know which cards to keep, drop, or add next. Trigger phrases: "card-profile-recommend", "recommend cards", "what cards should I add", "credit card recommendations", "optimize my wallet", "what card should I get next", "improve my card lineup".

Input Format

The user provides a comma-separated list of cards they currently hold:

• card-profile-recommend Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Gold, Citi Double Cash

Optional: opening dates per card (inline or separate list):

• card-profile-recommend CSP (Jan 2024), Amex Gold (Mar 2023), Double Cash (2021)

When opening dates are provided, calculate exact 5/24 count and factor into grading decisions.

Workflow

1. Parse card list from comma-separated input.
2. Resolve each card — normalize and match to exact variants. If any card is ambiguous, return a numbered choice list for that card and stop.
3. Search — run one Brave Search API call per card + gap category searches in parallel. Classify results as issuer or secondary by domain.
4. Fetch pages — for each card, fetch the top issuer URL + 1 secondary (prefer thepointsguy.com). For new-card candidates, fetch up to 2 secondary pages.
5. Collect — for each card: annual fee, statement credits (with conditions), earning categories with rates, welcome offer status, notable benefits.
6. Portfolio economics — compute total gross fees, total claimable credits, net annual cost. Per-card net cost.
7. Grade each card — MVP / Keep / Consider Dropping per grading criteria below.
8. Point valuations — determine effective cpp for each currency using TPG valuations + transfer-access rule.
9. Earning map — best card per category with effective value (rate × cpp).
10. Identify gaps — categories earning below 2x / 2%.
11. Recommend 2–3 new personal cards — fill gaps, add ecosystems, maximize SUB windows, include churning strategy.
12. Build application sequence — ordered by priority with timing notes.
13. Confidence — flag uncertain claims.

Step 1: Card Identity Resolution

Common Abbreviations

Input	Resolved
CSP	Chase Sapphire Preferred
CSR	Chase Sapphire Reserve
CFU	Chase Freedom Unlimited
CFF	Chase Freedom Flex
CIP	Chase Ink Business Preferred
CIC	Chase Ink Business Cash
CIU	Chase Ink Business Unlimited
Amex Gold	American Express Gold Card
Amex Plat	American Express Platinum Card
Venture X	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Double Cash	Citi Double Cash Card
Custom Cash	Citi Custom Cash Card
Bilt	Bilt Blue / Obsidian / Palladium (ambiguous — ask)
Robinhood	Robinhood Gold Card / Cash Card (ambiguous — ask)

Supported Issuers

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

Step 2: Search

For each card, run one Brave Search API call:

curl -sS "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search?q=CARD+NAME+benefits+credits+annual+fee&count=10" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY"

Run all calls in parallel. Additionally, search for new-card candidates targeting gap categories.

Fetch Pages

For each card, fetch the top issuer URL + 1 secondary:

curl -sS -L "URL" | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' | tr -s '\n' | head -200

Issuer Domains (for classifying results)

Issuer	Domain
American Express	americanexpress.com
Bank of America	bankofamerica.com
Barclays	cards.barclaycardus.com
Bilt	bfrrewards.com
Capital One	capitalone.com
Chase	chase.com
Citi	citi.com
Discover	discover.com
Robinhood	robinhood.com
U.S. Bank	usbank.com
Wells Fargo	wellsfargo.com

Grading Criteria

MVP

• Net cost ≤ $50, OR unique 3x+ earn category, OR unique high-value benefit (lounge, hotel status, primary travel insurance)
• Best rate in at least one major spend category
• Not rendered redundant by another card in wallet

Keep

• Partially justifying benefit or earn rate
• Long credit history
• Transferable points diversification
• Under 12 months old

Consider Dropping

• Fees exceed claimable credits with no unique benefit
• All categories duplicated at equal or better rate
• No-fee downgrade path exists
• Never grade Consider Dropping if the card is the sole source of a transferable-points program

Unused Card Check

After building the earning map, flag any card that does not appear as "Best Card" in any category and has an annual fee.

Point Valuation: Transfer-Access Rule

A currency is only worth full TPG value if the wallet has a card that unlocks transfers. Without one, value is 1.0¢ (cash back).

Currency	Transfer-enabling cards	Full value
Chase UR	Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve	~2.0¢
Amex MR	Gold, Platinum, Green	~2.0¢
Capital One Miles	Venture X, Venture	~1.8¢
Citi TYP	Strata Premier, Strata Elite (NOT Custom Cash/Double Cash alone)	~1.7¢
Bilt Points	Any Bilt card	~1.8¢
World of Hyatt	Chase Hyatt card	~1.8¢
Marriott Bonvoy	Any Marriott co-brand	~0.7¢
Cash back	Any	1.0¢

Recommendation Logic

Select 2–3 new personal cards only. Never recommend business cards. Priority order:

1. Fill highest-value spend gap
2. Add new transferable-points ecosystem
3. Maximize signup bonus window (Chase-first if 5/24 allows)
4. Avoid worsening overlap
5. Prioritize elevated offers
6. Diversify issuers
7. Churning value — favor cards with SUB ≥ 5x annual fee, no-fee downgrade paths, and reasonable bonus cooldown windows. Note churn path explicitly.

Issuer Rules Reference

Issuer	Rule	Detail
Chase	5/24	<5 new personal cards (all issuers) in 24 months
Chase	Same-day	Max 1 personal Chase app per day
Chase	Bonus cooldown	48 months since last bonus on same product
Amex	Lifetime bonus	Once per lifetime per person per card
Amex	5-credit-card limit	Max 5 Amex credit cards (charge cards excluded)
Amex	1-in-5/2-in-90	1 app per 5 days, 2 per 90 days
Citi	8/65	No 2 Citi cards in 8 days; max 2 in 65 days
Citi	48-month family	No bonus if same family opened/closed in 48 months
Capital One	2-card limit	Max 2 personal cards
Capital One	6-month cooling	Declines if new account in last 6 months

Required Output Sections

## 🃏 Cards Entered

Echo back every card with resolved full official name and opening date if provided.

## 📊 Portfolio Summary

Total cards, gross fees, claimable credits, net annual cost. Note credit utilization assumptions.

## 🏅 Card Grades

Each card graded MVP / Keep / Consider Dropping with one-line rationale. Always use full official card names. Sort MVP first, then Keep, then Consider Dropping.

## 🗺️ Earning Map

Table: Category, Best Card, Rate, Currency, CPP, Effective Value. Use full official card names. CPP reflects transfer-access rule.

## 🔻 Consider Dropping

Only when applicable. Per card: fee drag, what would be lost, downgrade path. Flag unused cards (not winning any earning map category). Omit entirely when all cards grade MVP or Keep.

## 🕳️ Portfolio Gaps

Numbered list of categories earning below 2x / 2%.

## ➕ Recommended Additions

2–3 new cards. Per card: name, welcome offer, annual fee, why it fits, net first-year value, issuer rule status, priority label, churn path if applicable.

## 🎯 Signup Bonus Strategy

Ordered application sequence with timing and spend feasibility.

## ⚖️ Issuer Rules Check

Only rules relevant to recommended cards. Bold blocking rules.

## 🔍 Confidence Notes

Flag uncertain, unconfirmed, or conflicting claims.

## 🔗 Sources

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

Output Rules

• Use one emoji per section heading.
• Always use full official card names (e.g., "Chase Sapphire Reserve" not "CSR").
• Use numbered lists for list-heavy sections.
• Keep content to condensed facts — no prose padding.
• Omit Card Identity section when all matches are confident.
• Do not show YAML blocks in output.

Confidence Definitions

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