spend-optimizer

# spend-optimizer

Complete spend optimization: subscription auditing + credit card rewards maximization.

## What This Does

1. **Subscription Audit** - Find recurring charges, categorize (keep/cancel/investigate), calculate savings
2. **Card Optimization** - Map charges to optimal credit cards based on reward categories
3. **Credit Optimization** - Flag services you're paying for that should be FREE via card credits
4. **Interactive Reports** - HTML dashboards with dispute tracking, notes, and actionable insights

## Workflow

### Step 1: Get Transaction CSVs

Ask user for bank/card CSV exports. Support multiple cards for full optimization.

**Common export sources:**
- **Apple Card**: Wallet → Card Balance → Export
- **Amex**: Account → Statements & Activity → Download
- **Chase**: Accounts → Download activity → CSV
- **Mint/Copilot**: Transactions → Export all

**Important**: Request exports from ALL cards for accurate optimization. Note the last 4 digits of each card number.

### Step 2: Gather Card Information

Ask user about their credit cards:
```
What credit cards do you have? For each, I need:
- Last 4 digits (for matching to transactions)
- Card name (e.g., "Amex Gold", "Chase Sapphire")
- Annual fee (if known)
```

Check [credit-cards.md](references/credit-cards.md) for common card reward structures.

### Step 3: Analyze Transactions

Read all CSVs and identify:

**Recurring charges:**
- Same merchant, similar amounts, monthly/annual frequency
- Flag subscription-like charges (streaming, SaaS, memberships)
- Note charge frequency and total annual cost

**Card optimization opportunities:**
- Which card each charge is currently on
- Which card it SHOULD be on for max rewards
- Calculate potential rewards gain from moving charges

**Credit/perk opportunities:**
- Check [credit-cards.md](references/credit-cards.md) Statement Credits section
- Flag any service the user is paying for that's covered by a card credit they have
- Examples:
  - Paying for Disney+ on Chase → Should be on Amex Platinum (free $7/mo credit)
  - Paying for Uber on random card → Should be on Amex Platinum ($15/mo) or Amex Gold ($10/mo)
  - Paying for DoorDash → Should be on Chase Sapphire Reserve (free DashPass + $5/mo)
  - Paying for Adobe → Should be on Amex Business Platinum ($150/yr credit)
  - Paying for cell phone bill → Should be on Amex Business Platinum ($10/mo wireless credit)

### Step 4: Categorize with User

For each subscription, ask user to set status:
- **Keep** - Intentional, continue paying
- **Cancel** - Stop immediately
- **Investigate** - Needs decision (unsure, contract trap)
- **Dispute** - Never got access, want refund

Ask in batches of 5-10 to avoid overwhelming. Include card optimization recommendation with each.

### Step 5: Generate HTML Report

Use [template.html](assets/template.html) to create interactive report:

**Header section:**
- Subscription count and total monthly spend
- Potential annual rewards with optimized card usage
- Savings from cancelled subscriptions
- Dispute count and value

**Card legend:**
- List all user's cards with color coding
- Show reward categories for each card

**Subscription rows include:**
- Service name and monthly amount
- Current card (color-coded badge)
- Optimal card with "OK" or "MOVE" indicator
- Status dropdown (Keep/Cancel/Investigate/Dispute)
- Notes field for user comments
- Frequency (monthly/annual/etc.)

**Features:**
- Auto-save to localStorage
- Export disputes button
- Privacy toggle (blur names)
- Collapsible sections
- Dark mode support

### Step 6: Generate Card Optimization Plan

If significant optimization opportunities exist, create [card-optimization.html](assets/card-optimization-template.html):

- Card arsenal overview (all cards, fees, reward structures)
- Spend routing strategy table
- Action items for card migration
- Quick reference cheat sheet
- Monthly checklist
- ROI summary (fees vs rewards)

### Step 7: Help Cancel & Dispute

When user is ready to act:

**Cancellations:**
- Check [common-services.md](references/common-services.md) for cancel URLs
- Use browser automation to navigate and cancel if requested
- Update HTML row status when done

**Disputes:**
- Export disputes from HTML report
- Provide guidance on disputing with card issuer
- Note: Most cards allow disputes within 60-120 days

## Card Optimization Logic

### Common Reward Categories

**Advertising/Marketing:**
- Facebook, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn ads
- Best cards: Amex Business Gold (4x), Chase Ink (3x)

**Software/SaaS:**
- Shopify, Notion, Adobe, cloud services
- Best cards: Amex Business Gold (4x), Amex Business Platinum (1.5x on $5K+)

**Shipping:**
- ShipBob, UPS, FedEx, USPS
- Best cards: Amex Business Gold (4x), Chase Ink (3x)

**Travel:**
- Flights, hotels, car rentals
- Best cards: Chase Sapphire Reserve (3-10x), Amex Platinum (5x)

**Dining:**
- Restaurants, food delivery
- Best cards: Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x), Amex Gold (4x)

**Internet/Phone:**
- ISP, cell phone, cable
- Best cards: Chase Ink Preferred (3x)

### Category Caps

Many cards have annual caps on bonus categories:
- Amex Business Gold: $150K per category at 4x
- Chase Ink: $150K combined at 3x

Track spending against caps and recommend overflow cards.

## File Structure

```
spend-optimizer/
├── SKILL.md                 # This file
├── assets/
│   ├── template.html        # Subscription audit template
│   └── card-optimization-template.html  # Card strategy template
└── references/
    ├── common-services.md   # Cancel URLs and tips
    └── credit-cards.md      # Card reward structures
```

## Privacy

All data stays local:
- Transaction CSVs analyzed in-session only
- HTML reports stored on user's machine
- localStorage for user preferences
- No data sent anywhere

## Tips

**For maximum value:**
1. Get CSVs from ALL cards (not just one)
2. Look at 6+ months of data for pattern detection
3. Track category cap progress quarterly
4. Update card payment methods for "MOVE" items
5. Set calendar reminders for annual subscriptions

**Red flags to surface:**
- Duplicate subscriptions (same service, multiple charges)
- **Price increases** - Compare same merchant across months (see Price Increase Detection below)
- Zombie charges (services no longer used)
- Trial conversions (free trial → paid)
- **Annual charges** - Flag yearly subscriptions with renewal estimates (see Annual Tracker below)
- **Missed credits** - Paying for something covered by a card credit (see below)
- **Category cap warnings** - Alert when approaching $150K limits (see Cap Tracker below)

**Credit opportunities to flag:**

Always check if user is paying for any of these on the wrong card:

| If paying for... | Move to this card | Credit value |
|------------------|-------------------|--------------|
| Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ | Amex Platinum | $7/mo FREE |
| Peacock | Amex Platinum | $7/mo FREE |
| Audible | Amex Platinum | $7/mo FREE |
| NYTimes | Amex Platinum | $7/mo FREE |
| Apple TV+ | Amex Platinum | $6.99/mo FREE |
| Walmart+ | Amex Platinum | $12.95/mo FREE |
| Uber/Uber Eats | Amex Platinum | $15/mo FREE |
| Uber/Uber Eats | Amex Gold | $10/mo FREE |
| Grubhub/Seamless | Amex Gold | $10/mo FREE |
| DoorDash | Chase Sapphire Reserve | $5/mo + DashPass FREE |
| DoorDash | Capital One Venture X | $10/mo FREE |
| Instacart | Chase Sapphire Reserve | Instacart+ FREE |
| Adobe Creative Cloud | Amex Business Platinum | $150/yr credit |
| Dell purchases | Amex Business Platinum | $400/yr credit |
| Indeed job posts | Amex Business Platinum | $360/yr credit |
| Cell phone bill | Amex Business Platinum | $10/mo credit |
| Clear | Amex Platinum | $199/yr FREE |
| Equinox/SoulCycle | Amex Platinum | $25/mo credit |
| Global Entry/PreCheck | Multiple cards | $100 credit |

**Report format for missed credits:**

When flagging a missed credit, show:
```
⚠️ MISSED CREDIT: You're paying $X.XX/mo for [Service] on [Current Card]
   → Move to [Credit Card] to get it FREE ($XX/yr savings)
```

---

## Price Increase Detection

Compare the same merchant across multiple months to catch silent price increases.

**How to detect:**
1. Group transactions by merchant name (normalize: lowercase, remove extra spaces)
2. For recurring charges, compare amounts month-over-month
3. Flag if current amount > previous amount

**Report format:**
```
⚠️ PRICE INCREASE: [Service] went from $X.XX to $Y.YY (+Z%)
   First seen at new price: [Date]
   Consider: Is this still worth it at the new price?
```

**Common patterns:**
- Streaming services: Often increase $1-2/mo annually
- SaaS tools: May increase 10-20% at renewal
- Annual subscriptions: Harder to notice since you only see once/year

**Thresholds:**
- Flag any increase > $1 or > 5%
- Highlight increases > 20% as significant

---

## Annual Subscription Tracker

Annual charges are easy to forget. Flag them and estimate renewal dates.

**How to detect:**
1. Look for charges that appear only once in 6-12 months of data
2. Check if amount suggests annual billing ($100+ single charge vs $10 monthly)
3. Look for merchant names containing: "annual", "yearly", or known annual services

**Known annual services to watch for:**
- Domain registrations (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains)
- Annual software licenses (Adobe, Microsoft 365)
- Memberships (Costco, Amazon Prime, warehouse clubs)
- Professional subscriptions (industry associations)
- Insurance premiums
- Accounting software (QuickBooks, FreshBooks)

**Report format:**
```
📅 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: [Service] - $XXX/year
   Last charged: [Date]
   Estimated renewal: [Date + 1 year]
   ⏰ Set reminder for [2 weeks before renewal]
```

**In HTML report:**
- Add "Annual" badge to these subscriptions
- Show estimated renewal date
- Sort annual subscriptions by upcoming renewal date

---

## Category Cap Tracker

Track spending against bonus category caps to maximize rewards.

**Key caps to track:**

| Card | Category | Cap | Multiplier After |
|------|----------|-----|------------------|
| Amex Business Gold | Each bonus category | $150,000/yr | 1x |
| Amex Blue Business Plus | All purchases | $50,000/yr | 1x |
| Chase Ink Preferred | Combined bonus categories | $150,000/yr | 1x |
| Chase Ink Cash | Office supplies | $25,000/yr | 1% |
| Chase Ink Cash | Internet/phone | $25,000/yr | 1% |
| Chase Ink Cash | Gas/dining | $25,000/yr | 1% |
| BofA Customized Cash | Choice category | $50,000/yr | 1% |

**How to track:**
1. Categorize each transaction by reward category
2. Sum spending per category per card
3. Calculate percentage of cap used
4. Project when cap will be hit based on monthly average

**Report format:**
```
📊 CATEGORY CAP STATUS: [Card Name]

Advertising:     $87,500 / $150,000 (58%) ████████░░░░
Software:        $42,000 / $150,000 (28%) ████░░░░░░░░
Shipping:        $12,000 / $150,000 (8%)  █░░░░░░░░░░░

⚠️ At current pace, you'll hit Advertising cap in ~2.5 months
   → Consider moving overflow to Chase Ink Preferred (3x)
```

**Alerts:**
- 🟡 Warning at 75% of cap
- 🔴 Alert at 90% of cap
- Suggest overflow card when approaching limit

**Quarterly review:**
- Q1: Check if on pace to hit caps
- Q2: Mid-year adjustment if needed
- Q3: Start planning overflow strategy
- Q4: Final push to maximize before reset

**Cap reset dates:**
- Amex: Calendar year (Jan 1)
- Chase: Cardmember year (anniversary date)
- Check card terms for specific reset timing