A streak is the number of consecutive periods you've used a specific credit. If you redeem your $10 Uber credit every month for six straight months, you have a six-month streak. Streaks are a way to gamify your credit usage. The more consistent you are, the longer the flame burns.
Pro feature. Streaks are included with Cardzen Pro. Free users see the My Credits page normally, but the flame badge and streak surfaces are hidden.
What counts as a hit
When Cardzen evaluates your streak, each period you've used the credit counts as a hit. Both of these usage states count:
- Used (fully redeemed the credit that period)
- Partially Used (redeemed some of the credit that period)
What breaks a streak
A period marked not used at the end of that period breaks the streak. The streak drops to zero and starts fresh the next time you use the credit.
These states do not break a streak. They're skipped during the streak walk:
- Not Tracked (you turned tracking off for that period)
- Disabled (system-disabled because the period fell outside the card or credit's effective dates)
The current period is also given grace. A freshly opened month, quarter, or year starts marked "not used" by default. That zero is not counted as a miss while the period is still open, so a new month does not break an active streak before you have a chance to redeem.
Where the flame badge shows up
The flame badge appears on the credit row in My Credits showing the count ("3 month streak", "4 year streak", etc.) once your current streak reaches the threshold for that credit's period:
- Monthly credits: 4 or more months in a row
- Quarterly credits: 3 or more quarters in a row
- Semiannual credits: 3 or more half-years in a row
- Annual credits (including anniversary credits): 2 or more years in a row
The thresholds are tuned so a badge signals a real habit rather than a trivial short run. Monthly credits need a full quarter of consistent use, quarterly and semiannual credits need nearly a year, and annual credits show up after two years because every year is already a meaningful commitment. The badge sits alongside the expiring badge when both apply, and they do not replace each other.
The flame also appears as a small inline icon in the app sidebar and mobile header beside the credit title.
Period units
The streak count uses the credit's own period:
- Monthly credits: "N month streak"
- Quarterly credits: "N quarter streak"
- Semiannual credits: "N half-year streak"
- Annual credits: "N year streak". This applies to anniversary credits as well, where one cycle equals one year from your card anniversary
Personal best
In addition to your current streak, Cardzen tracks your personal best, the longest streak you've ever had on a given credit. When your current streak breaks, the personal best is preserved so you always have a target to beat.
The personal best is displayed in the credit drawer (open a credit to see it). The flame badge itself only shows the current streak.
Retroactive edits count
If you forgot to mark a past period as used and later update it, the streak recomputes and may extend backward. Example: your current streak is three months (Feb/Mar/Apr). You go back and mark January as used. Next sync, the streak reads four months.
This works in both directions. If you undo a "used" mark, the streak shortens on the next recompute. Your personal best never decreases, though.
If you close or permanently remove a card
Closing a card hides its current streak badges because the card is no longer active. Saved credit and streak facts remain stored, and a current streak is recalculated from eligible tracked periods if the Past card becomes active again. A gap between ownership periods is skipped rather than counted as a miss, so the resulting current streak may not exactly match the badge shown before closure. The personal-best value remains based on saved history.
Use Account was closed for a real issuer closure so the card keeps a Past-card timeline and history. Use Added by mistake only for a Cardzen entry that should not have existed. That action permanently deletes the card's saved credit and streak history, including its personal best; adding the same card later starts clean.
Ask Cardzen AI
The Cardzen AI agent can answer questions about your streaks:
- "How's my Uber credit streak?"
- "Which of my streaks are about to break?"
- "What's my longest current streak?"
- "Am I close to a new personal best?"
Try opening the chat and asking.