MyFavsMapWhy add a Google Maps key?
By default, MyFavsMap geolocates your places with OpenStreetMap: free and zero-config, but sometimes imprecise for small local addresses (a warung in Bali, a neighborhood café, a boutique).
By adding your own Google Maps key, MyFavsMap uses Google's database to find exact coordinates. The result: your favorites sit in the right place, your itineraries are more reliable and travel times more accurate.
It's free for normal use
Good news: Google offers a free monthly quota of about 10,000 requests per API (Geocoding and Places, counted separately). To geolocate your favorites, that's far more than enough — you pay nothing.
Note: the old universal $200/month credit was replaced in March 2025 by these per-API free tiers. Billing only kicks in if you exceed the free threshold, which almost never happens for personal use.
Google asks for my credit card: here's why, and what it means
This is the step where most people give up, so let's be upfront: yes, Google requires a billing account with a card before it will issue a key. Without a billing account the key is capped at one request per day, which makes it useless.
The card verifies your identity and covers any overage. Nothing is charged when you create the account, and you are not switched to a paid plan automatically — Google requires an explicit action from you.
The actual numbers. The free allowance is 10,000 geocoding requests per month. Importing a library of 350 favourites uses 350 requests, that is 3.5% of the monthly allowance. You would have to re-import your entire library 28 times in one month before paying anything.
Let's be accurate rather than reassuring at any cost: Google states plainly that a budget alert is a notification, not a cap, and that you remain responsible for charges caused by an unrestricted key. That is exactly why the next section exists — two minutes that turn “it shouldn't happen” into “it can't happen”.
Create and add your key in 7 steps
1. Go to console.cloud.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
2. At the top, click the project selector → New project → Create.
3. Menu ≡ → Billing → Link a billing account, then enter your card. Nothing is charged at this step — see the section above.
4. Menu ≡ → APIs & Services → Library. Enable Places API (New) and Geocoding API.
5. APIs & Services → Credentials → + Create credentials → API key.
6. (Recommended) Restrict the key: under “API restrictions” select only Places API (New) and Geocoding API.
7. Copy the key, then in MyFavsMap → Import tab → Advanced settings → Google Maps API key, paste it, Save and click ▶ Reload.
Lock your spending down in two minutes
1. Restrict the key. Credentials → your key → Application restrictions → Websites, then add myfavsmap.com and *.myfavsmap.com. The key becomes unusable anywhere else, even if it leaks.
2. Cap the number of calls. APIs & Services → Geocoding API → Quotas tab, then lower “Requests per day” to 300. Repeat for Places API (New).
300 requests a day covers importing a whole library in one go, and 300 × 30 = 9,000 a month, just under the 10,000 free ones. Past the cap the API returns an error instead of carrying on counting: your spending is bounded by design, not by a promise.
Keep your key safe
An API key is a secret: don't share it publicly. Always restrict it (by API, and if you use it on a website, by HTTP referrer myfavsmap.com/*).
You can also set a budget alert in Google Cloud (Billing → Budgets & alerts) to be warned of any overage. In MyFavsMap, your key is stored locally and synced across your devices via your account; you can remove it anytime.
Screenshots, step by step
