“2025.5 Update” The Knowledge Planet trial launch will officially end on April 30, and the annual fee will return to ￥399. New users can check here for a general idea of the real services we provide. For other member perks such as cashback, rewards, and featured posts, see the trial summary below

About

In the past few days, experts from our partner groups came together to create the US Card 101 Knowledge Planet.

This Knowledge Planet invites top members from different fields to join directly, while regular members need to join by paying a yearly fee. The trial period is currently running until April 30, 2025. You can join at a discounted rate during the trial. After the trial ends, or when all discounted slots are filled, the price will return to the original annual fee of ￥399. After the trial ends, we will introduce additional perks for full-price members, and those who joined during the discounted trial period will automatically get those perks for one year as well.

Planet Content

The regular annual fee is ¥399, about $59, which is lower than many standard credit-card annual fees. What kind of information and services can we provide?

  • Information Consolidation and Curation: We have dedicated team members read major U.S. blogs, forums, and private groups every day. They collect the latest credit card, airline, hotel, and deal information, filter it for content suitable for Chinese users, and post it on the Knowledge Planet for easy reading.
  • Exclusive Information Sharing: Unlike our 101 blog, the Planet will also share content not suitable for public posting, such as churning, reimbursement, exclusive offers, and personal experiences. If you want first-hand updates quickly and want to be among the first to get in early, you can join the Planet.
  • Trading Platform: As you know, most regular blogs and forums do not allow members to post trading or referral information freely. Because the Planet has a paid or direct-invite entry threshold, we can allow some exchange of recommendations, plus limited sale activity, and trading of miles, points, and hotel-voucher-like assets among members. We will also screen trusted, long-term mileage/hotel voucher buyers to join, so members can sell unused miles, points, and vouchers at decent prices directly. In addition, members can list their own credit card referral links with clear pricing and split referral rewards with the group.
  • Cashback System: In addition to standard credit card and platform referral rewards, we also have additional resources. If you apply for a credit card, investment platform, or bank checking account through our links, we can provide extra cashback. Many of our cashback offers are above $50, so one use can already cover the annual membership fee!
  • Cloud-Player Information: Since part of our audience is not based in the U.S. but is still very interested in U.S. credit cards, hotels, and airlines, we also have experts on our team specializing in those topics. Members can discuss and share together. Information shared in the Planet can be saved and bookmarked as high-quality content, making discussions more efficient than in regular chat groups.
  • Join an Elite Private Group: All Planet members can join an exclusive WeChat group to discuss and ask questions with guests, partners, and the planet owner in real time.

At the trial stage, we mainly plan to provide the content above and help everyone get familiar with it gradually. Later, based on member needs, we’ll add additional membership benefits. Stay tuned.

Guests and Partners

We have currently selected 20 guests to join the Planet, and after the trial ends we will choose 3-5 of them to become partners. Guests and partners can stay in the Planet for free.

If you join as a member during the trial and have strong ability, actively participate in community interaction, and are also interested in helping with operations and management, you can also be selected as a guest and even a partner. It is currently planned that we will not add new partners after the trial phase. We will work together for a full year, then make changes after that period. So if you are interested, be sure to join during the trial! The number of guests may be increased based on group needs. Regular members who become guests or partners will receive a full refund of previously paid fees.

Guests

Guest requirements are as follows (including new members and previously shortlisted guests)

  • Have at least 2 years of solid experience and be relatively proficient in at least one of the following: credit cards, hotels, airlines, promotions, bank accounts and investment rewards, manufactured spend, cloud-player playstyles, or Knowledge Planet/community operations
  • Participate actively in Planet activities, posting, and interaction every month, and rank high in Planet points
  • At least one post selected as a featured post, or selected by the US Credit Card 101 blog as article content (after the trial, the guest standard will increase to three featured posts or submitted articles)
  • Other significant contributions can waive the above requirements (for example, bringing in many members, getting collaborations, sponsorships, etc.)
  • If there is no contribution for two consecutive months without a valid reason, the guest will be removed and the slot opened for others (guest cap is 60)

Guest benefits are as follows

  • Free permanent presence in the Planet
  • Higher cashback: members get $50 cashback, and guests get an additional +$10
  • Invite members to join and get half-year fee cashback (for full-price members only); if you do not want cashback, you can message me and I can issue a ￥200 discount coupon for a friend (for full-price members)
  • Participate in management, discussion, and decision-making
  • Regular material rewards for top rankings in monthly activity lists
  • Join the guest, admin, and owner-only groups for additional private information
  • Members need to pay to ask designated guests private questions
  • When needed, the US Card 101 blog will prioritize placing credit card and other platform invitation links

Partners

Partner requirements are as follows

  • Meet all guest requirements
  • Actively participate in Planet operations and management, and serve as an admin for at least one content section
  • Discuss Planet operations and growth together and actively work on attracting more members
  • Partners must be able to work together for at least one year; leaving early without valid reason will forfeit full revenue-share rewards

Partner benefits

  • All guest benefits
  • Invitation links for credit cards and various other sites can be posted on the US Card 101 blog (with a certain random allocation)
  • Revenue sharing from member income and other service income
  • Higher cashback than guests: for example, guests get $60, partners get an additional +$10
  • Decide Planet direction and operation content together with the host
  • Can invite two members to become guests for free (no guest requirements apply)

Some Thoughts

I want to share some thoughts. A few years ago, I helped build a Yunzhongke forum with Credit Card Guide. At first, many people joined and the atmosphere was very active. There were many new posts every day. But later, as manufactured-spend opportunities tightened and bank policies tightened, many low-barrier offers died. With nothing to do, posting gradually slowed, and eventually Yunzhongke closed. In hindsight it’s a pity—at that time I met many interesting friends on the forum, and then everyone scattered.

I have been playing cards for about ten years and writing blogs for about ten years. The writers around me have turned over several rounds. The ones who started together with me, including one more day, and later chanye, have since moved on and are not very active now. Jiugé is continuing his story in another world. Thinking back, the authors in this niche come and go, which is somewhat emotional. Card-chasing really is like this: sometimes there’s a period of extreme enthusiasm, staying up late every night and digging deep into blogs and strategies. But after one or two years, most good cards have been applied for, and most sign-up bonuses have been claimed, so the excitement slowly fades. The fact that I’ve been able to keep at it this long is probably because blogging has provided relatively stable income. So I hesitated quite a while before launching this Knowledge Planet. I was also afraid that, like the old forum, we would run things for a bit and then everyone would drift away. So I took time to think about how to run a platform like this sustainably. On one hand, I hope the Planet can gather experts in a smaller circle to share information, while I also provide my own channels to generate additional income. On the other hand, I also hope more people will join as paying members and benefit from these information and featured posts. Then, we can share the income with those who provide information and interaction, creating a positive cycle. I think only when people are satisfied both mentally and materially can they sustain something they enjoy for the long run.

Of course, I only represent the perspective of one player and one operator. In the end, we still need to see the results of this trial launch and how things go over the coming year. Let’s grow the Planet and the members together, and see where we go from here.

Planet members have a 72-hour protection period, during which a full refund is available. If after three days you don’t feel it has benefited you, please feel free to request a refund.

Finally, if anyone has ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment in the Planet, the WeChat group, below, or message me directly. Thank you all for your continued support and love of US Card 101!