Recently, I wrote about tracking credit card benefits with Google Calendar. That system works great if you're cross-platform or use Android. But if you're all-in on Apple, there's an even better option.
I also used the Reminders app on my iPhone to help track benefits ever since iOS 13 introduced family sharing and shared reminders.
The more native integration helped improve the experience by a whole lot, from home screen widgets to the reminder tags and customizable recurring reminders.
I used this system for managing multiple cards. It worked better than I expected. My wife and I seemed to be able to stay on top of the benefit usage in general. We used it until we created CardGenius. But that's just because we had so many cards that the reminders started piling up and it became overwhelming to organize them into lists, tags, assign users, etc.
If you're an iPhone user and you want a friction-free tracking system for a small number of cards, this is a perfect solution. Native integration, zero learning curve, and it actually works.
In this article, I will provide you with an example of how I set up my iPhone Reminders to track my benefits.
TL;DR
- iPhone Reminders + Notes app = complete tracking system
- Works perfectly if your household is all-Apple (iCloud sync)
- Best for tracking a small number of cards
- Key advantage: Home screen widgets, Siri commands, customizable recurring reminders
- Free, built into every iOS
- Requires manual setup benefit by benefit
- Falls apart if your partner uses Android (no iCloud sync)
Why iPhone Reminders Works Better Than You'd Think
Let's first talk about why I would recommend starting to track benefits using the iPhone Reminders app.
You already have Reminders on your iPhone. Nothing beats something that's already there. Plus, you may already be using it for some other things.
iPhone Reminders also shows up in your lock screen notifications. You can add reminders with Siri while you're driving. It syncs across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac automatically via iCloud. And the home screen widget means you see upcoming benefits without opening an app. And now with iOS 26, reminders are also integrated into the calendar app automatically so you will see the reminder alongside your events.
Native checkboxes, iCloud sync, collaboration features that you can share with your family so you both see what's been used and what is expiring, it just works better than separately setting up tracking spreadsheets.
It's simply the most friction-free manual system you can build on iPhone.
Example Setup Guide: Step-by-Step
Let's walk through setting up iPhone Reminders to track credit card benefits step-by-step.
What You'll Need Before Starting
Before you start creating reminders, you will need:
- An iPhone / iPad / Mac
- iCloud enabled on your Apple ID (Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → make sure Reminders is toggled on) if you want syncing across devices / family sharing.
- A list of all your credit cards and their benefits (check your card issuer's app or website for monthly credits, annual credits, and semi-annual or quarterly benefits)
- Card anniversary dates (find the "Member since" date in your card app for benefits that reset on membership year instead of calendar year)
- A partner with an iPhone if you want household tracking (if your partner uses Android, iCloud sharing doesn't work well)
Step 1: Create Your Dedicated Reminders List
Don't mix credit card benefits with your grocery list. Trust me.
Open the Reminders app. Tap "Add List" at the bottom. Name it "Card Benefits." Pick the credit card emoji 💳 as the icon. Choose orange or red as the color so it stands out from your other lists.
Tap "Done." You now have a dedicated list just for credit card benefits.
This list automatically syncs via iCloud. If you have an iPad or Mac, the same list appears there instantly. No manual setup, no export/import, just automatic sync.
Step 2: Add Your First Monthly Reminder
Let's use the Amex Gold $10 dining credit as the example because it's the most common monthly benefit people track.
The benefit is simple. Spend $10 or more at eligible merchants (Grubhub, Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, etc.), and Amex credits you back $10. Resets every month. Doesn't roll over.
Open your "Card Benefits" list. Tap "New Reminder." Type the title: "Amex Gold: Use $10 dining credit."
Tap the info button (i) to open details. Turn on "Date" and set it for the 27th of the current month.
Why the 27th? Statement credits take 1-3 business days to post after your purchase. If you order food on January 30th, the restaurant might not post the charge until February 1st or 2nd, and by then the January credit is gone forever (no rollover, no carryover). Setting your reminder for the 27th gives you a comfortable buffer.
Set the time for 9:00 AM (or whenever you actually check your phone). Don't set it for 6:00 AM if you ignore notifications until 10:00 AM.
Tap "Repeat" and select "Monthly." This reminder now fires every month on the 27th forever. Set it once, never think about setup again.
Tap "Priority" and set it to "High." This adds three exclamation marks (!!!) to the reminder and makes it stand out in your list.
Now add details in the Notes field:
BENEFIT: $10 dining statement credit
MERCHANTS: Grubhub, Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Five Guys
DEADLINE: Last day of month
REMINDER DATE: 27th (gives 1-3 day posting buffer)
HOW TO USE: Order $10+ from any merchant, credit posts automatically in 5-10 days
CARDHOLDER: Amex Gold P1
That "CARDHOLDER: P1" line tells you which player's card to use. P1 means you, P2 means your partner. When you see the reminder, you immediately know whose card to grab. Using the wrong card is actually worse than forgetting to use the benefit at all!
Tap "Done." Your first benefit is tracked.
Quick Tip: Finding Your Card's Benefits and Reset Schedules
Setting up reminders is easy. Knowing what to set reminders for is harder.
Check our card catalog for a complete list of benefits for different credit cards. For each card, we show you every benefit with its exact reset schedule.
You'll see the exact reset type: Calendar year (January 1), membership year (your card anniversary), statement period (your billing cycle), or monthly (1st of each month). This tells you exactly when to set your reminders.
Different benefits on the same card reset on different schedules. The Amex Platinum has some benefits that reset January 1st and others that reset on your card anniversary. If you set all reminders for January, you'll miss the anniversary ones.
That's why tracking gets confusing. And why having a reference that breaks it all down helps you set up your reminders correctly the first time.
Step 3: Add More Monthly Reminders
Now add your other monthly benefits. For the Amex Gold, that's the Uber Cash and Dunkin' credit.
Uber Cash reminder:
- Title: "Amex Gold: Use $10 Uber Cash"
- Date: 25th monthly
- Priority: High
- Notes: "Uber rides or Uber Eats, expires end of month, P1"
Dunkin' credit reminder:
- Title: "Amex Gold: Use $7 Dunkin' credit"
- Date: 25th monthly
- Priority: High
- Notes: "Reload Dunkin' gift card in app, expires end of month, P1"
Stagger the reminder times to avoid all three hitting at once. Set dining for 9:00 AM, Uber for 9:15 AM, Dunkin' for 9:30 AM. This prevents notification overload.
Step 4: Add Annual Reminders for Card Anniversary Benefits
Annual benefits are trickier because they don't all reset on January 1st. Some reset on your card anniversary. The Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 travel credit is the classic example. If you opened your card on April 15, 2023, your credit renews every April 15.
First, find your exact anniversary date. Log into the Chase app. Go to your card details. Look for "Member since" or "Account opened." That's your anniversary.
If your anniversary is April 15th, you don't want to set your reminder for April 15th. Set it 45 days earlier, on March 1st, because you need time to actually use the credit. If you wait until April 10th and then scramble to book travel, you're stressed and making rushed decisions, but setting the reminder 45 days early gives you time to plan.
Create a new reminder. Title: "Chase Reserve: Use $300 travel credit."
Date: [Your anniversary minus 45 days]. In this example, March 1st.
Repeat: Yearly (not monthly).
Priority: High.
Notes:
BENEFIT: $300 annual travel credit
RESET: Card anniversary (April 15)
ELIGIBLE: Flights, hotels, rental cars, Uber, Lyft, parking, tolls
STRATEGY: Book summer trip in March to use credit early
CARDHOLDER: P1
The "STRATEGY" line is your future self's reminder. Don't wait until the last minute. Use the credit early in the year.
Now create a backup reminder for 2 weeks before your anniversary. Same benefit, different date. Title it "URGENT: Chase Reserve $300 credit expires in 2 weeks." This two-reminder system catches you even if you ignore the first one.
Step 5: Add Semi-Annual Reminders
Some benefits reset twice per year, like the Amex Gold $50 Resy credit. You get $50 from January 1 to June 30 (H1) and another $50 from July 1 to December 31 (H2), so you'll need two separate reminders for this.
H1 Reminder:
- Title: "Amex Gold: Use $50 Resy credit (H1)"
- Date: June 15
- Repeat: Yearly
- Priority: High
- Notes: "Deadline June 30, check Resy app for restaurants"
H2 Reminder:
- Title: "Amex Gold: Use $50 Resy credit (H2)"
- Date: December 15
- Repeat: Yearly
- Priority: High
- Notes: "Deadline Dec 31, great for holiday dinners"
Why June 15 and December 15? Same reason as the monthly credits. You need buffer time. Resy reservations require advance booking. If you wait until June 28th, good restaurants are already booked up.
Add backup reminders for June 25th and December 26th in case you ignore the first ones.
Step 6: Share with Your Partner
If both of you have iPhones, sharing works seamlessly and you can just share the reminder list.
Open "Card Benefits" list. Tap the three dots (•••) in the top-right. Select "Share List." Add your partner's Apple ID or phone number. Set permission to "Can make changes" (not just view). Tap "Add."
Your partner gets a notification. After they accept, they see the same list. When one of you checks off a reminder or adds a new one, the other sees it instantly.
Share the Notes tracker. Open your tracking note. Tap the share icon (box with arrow). Select "Add People." Add your partner's Apple ID or phone number. Set permission to "Can make changes." Send.
They accept the invitation and now you both see the same checkboxes.
If you and your partner are already using Family Sharing, this is even easier. The shared reminders and notes sync automatically without extra setup.
Step 7: Add the Home Screen Widget
You can also add a Reminders widget to your home screen. This will put your upcoming benefits directly on your home screen.
Long-press your home screen until the icons jiggle. Tap the "+" button in the top-left corner. Search for "Reminders." Choose the medium-sized widget (shows 3-5 items). Drag it to your home screen.
Tap the widget to configure it. Select your "Card Benefits" list from the dropdown. Tap outside the widget to save.
Now your next 3-5 benefit reminders are always visible. You see them every time you unlock your phone. You don't need to open the Reminders app. You just glance and know what's coming up.
You can even check off reminders directly from the widget by tapping the circle next to each item.
This widget kept me from missing benefits more than any other feature.
Step 8: Use Siri for Quick Adds
You can also use Siri to add reminders easily.
Try these commands:
- "Hey Siri, remind me to use my Amex dining credit on the 25th"
- "Hey Siri, add a reminder to Card Benefits for Chase travel credit"
- "Hey Siri, show my card benefits reminders"
This is perfect when you're researching a new card and discover a benefit you want to track. Just tell Siri to remind you, and clean up the details later when you have time.
When iPhone Reminders Breaks Down
iPhone Reminders works great for a small/medium number of cards. Once you hit 5+ cards, the system starts to become overwhelming.
Signs you've outgrown this:
- Managing 15+ recurring reminders cluttering your list
- Dismissing reminders without acting on them because there are too many
- Your partner ignores the shared list completely
- A card's benefits changed and you have 6 different reminders to update manually
I hit this wall after a few years. I was tracking Amex Gold, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Capital One Venture X. That's 3 cards with about 9 trackable benefits. Totally manageable.
Then I added Amex Platinum. Suddenly I had 15+ reminders, and I started missing benefits again. Not because the system didn't work, but because the reminder volume was overwhelming.
That's when automatic tracking makes sense. CardGenius handles automatic reminders, syncs across any device (iPhone, Android, desktop), tracks what you've used, and updates when benefits change. But if you have 2-4 cards and you're an iPhone household, start with Reminders. It's native, it's free, and the home screen widget is genuinely helpful.
Bottom Line
iPhone Reminders + Notes works. I used it for a few years and it's the best manual tracking system for iOS users managing 2-4 cards. You're already using Reminders for other stuff, so this is just adding a few more recurring reminders.
But it requires discipline. You need to act on reminders instead of dismissing them. You need to update your tracking Note after using benefits. You need to review and update reminders when benefits change after a credit card refresh.
But if you're willing to do that work, it's the smoothest manual system you'll find.
Eventually this may become overwhelming to manage. Too many reminders, too much maintenance, too easy to develop reminder fatigue. And if your partner uses Android, the household sharing doesn't work.
If you don't want to set all this up manually, CardGenius does it for you automatically. We track all your benefits, send reminders, and handle the reset dates without you thinking about it. But iPhone Reminders works great if you want to do it yourself and you're an Apple household with 2-4 cards.
Sources
- Personal experience using iPhone Reminders for benefit tracking and building CardGenius
- Apple iOS and iCloud
- American Express Gold Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Capital One Venture X