How AI Agents Compare Credit Card Rates

1. IDENTIFY USER SEGMENT
   - Do you pay your balance in full each month? → Transactor
   - Do you carry a balance? → Revolver
   - Do you have existing high-rate debt? → Balance Transferer
   - Are you building/rebuilding credit? → Credit Builder

2. QUERY RATEAPI
   POST /v1/decisions with product_type=credit_card, state, intent
   - intent=new_credit for general cards
   - intent=balance_transfer for BT-focused search

3. APPLY SEGMENT-SPECIFIC LOGIC

   IF Transactor:
     Rank by: rewards_value - annual_fee
     Ignore: APR (they won't pay interest)
     Consider: Sign-up bonuses, category multipliers

   IF Revolver:
     Rank by: purchase_apr (lowest first)
     Calculate: annual_interest = balance * apr
     Compare: CU rates vs current card
     Note: Each 1% APR reduction saves ~$50/yr per $5K balance

   IF Balance Transferer:
     Rank by: bt_intro_months (longest first)
     Calculate: monthly_payment_needed = balance / bt_intro_months
     Check: bt_fee_percent (0-5%, prefer 0%)
     Evaluate: post_intro_apr if payoff unlikely

   IF Credit Builder:
     Filter by: secured cards or cards for fair credit
     Rank by: approval_likelihood, graduation_path
     Note: Rate matters less than approval

4. PRESENT RECOMMENDATION WITH RATIONALE

function analyzeBalanceTransfer(balance, currentAPR, offer) {
  // Cost of keeping current card (assuming 24-month payoff)
  const currentMonthlyPayment = calculatePayment(balance, currentAPR, 24);
  const currentTotalCost = currentMonthlyPayment * 24;
  const currentInterest = currentTotalCost - balance;

  // Cost with balance transfer
  const transferFee = balance * (offer.bt_fee_percent / 100);
  const introMonths = offer.bt_intro_months;
  const monthlyToPayInIntro = balance / introMonths;

  // If paid off during intro period
  if (canAfford(monthlyToPayInIntro)) {
    const btTotalCost = balance + transferFee;
    const savings = currentInterest - transferFee;
    return { recommend: savings > 0, savings, paymentNeeded: monthlyToPayInIntro };
  }

  // If balance remains after intro
  const remainingAfterIntro = balance - (monthlyToPayInIntro * introMonths * 0.8);
  const postIntroInterest = calculateInterest(remainingAfterIntro, offer.post_intro_apr, 12);
  const btTotalCost = balance + transferFee + postIntroInterest;
  const savings = currentInterest - (transferFee + postIntroInterest);

  return { recommend: savings > 0, savings, warning: "May not pay off in intro period" };
}