AwardWallet is an app with many features, and one of its most popular features allows you to track the balance between points and miles to prevent it from expired.
There is another feature that can be useful if you are likely to use the merchant category lookup tool, what a purchase codes.
You can find Merchant Category Lookup Tools for AwardWallet here. It's great and easy to use – all you have to do is start typing in the name of the retailer you're thinking of buying.
For example, let's say you plan to book a vacation rental through VRBO. Simply enter vrbo and voila.
As you can see, there are some potential categories that VRBO purchases may code – travel, hotels, advertising. I think the ad categories are related to homeowners trying to promote their property on the site, while those trying to book a property have a purchase code as a hotel or a trip.
But it doesn't tell the entire story. For broad categories like “travel”, it's worth clicking and finding more details. For example, selecting one of the travel options will take you to a screen list credit card that may offer bonus points on purchases. However, at the top of the page there is a box saying “See other detected categories.” Click on it to expand and display its code as a travel agent whose VRBO code is a subcategory of travel.
That's important as cards that offer bonus points on travel spending may only do that in certain categories, such as airlines and hotels. Travel agents may not be eligible.
In that example, it is Amex that considers that particular coding to be a travel agent purchase. The Merchant Category Tool in AwardWallet also lists other banks in the same location. For example, if you look up “ezpass”, you will see:
This means that there is a very high chance that Ezpass will code either travel or ground transport. Click on the third option above and click on the “Ezpass Prepaid Toll” trip entry to expand the details and view the Bank of America, Chase and Citi subcategories where applicable.
This tool can provide a good idea of how something is coded, but if possible, it's best to do validation before making a significant purchase. For example, here is the result for Walmart:
Walmart Neighborhood Market is often known for coding as a grocery store purchase, but Walmart SuperCenters is generally not. In fact, many credit card issuers who offer Bonused spending at grocery stores have not specifically qualified for Walmart and Target.
However, the result should rise third from the bottom. Walmart SuperCenter is listed as a coding as a grocery store purchase. Click on the details for that particular entry and you will see:
Looking at that, you might be led to believe that the Amex Gold card will earn four times more with Walmart SuperCenter, but it's not. So, before spending a substantial amount on your local Walmart Supercenter, make a test purchase and finally check the code.
Overall, the Merchant Category Lookup Tool by AwardWallet is a handy little feature that will help you get a much better idea of the credit card you use for a particular purchase.
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