Annual Fees: Is It Worth It?!
Many premium travel credit cards come with an annual fee, which can range from $95 to $695. The AMEX Platinum has the highest fee at $695. Many members often ask me if I have any of these cards and if the benefits they offer are worth the price. This is a valid question, as the cost can make anyone hesitant to pay for such a card.
It’s important to note that everyone’s situation is unique, and what one person looks for in a credit card or its benefits may differ from another. However, if you’re looking to maximize your earnings in the world of Award Travel, avoiding cards with annual fees may significantly limit your potential rewards.
For instance, two popular credit card rewards programs, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and CitiThankYou points, have certain requirements for redeeming points for travel. In the case of Chase, you need to have one of their premium travel cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Reserved, or Business INK Preferred, to use your points for travel. If you have points earned on Chase Freedom or Chase Ink Unlimited, you can only redeem them for cash until you pair them with one of the premium travel cards mentioned above. Similarly, to get the maximum value and ability to transfer to all their travel partners, you must hold the Citi Premier, which has an annual fee of $99, to redeem your CitiThankYou points for travel.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Although you may have to pay a small annual fee on some of your travel cards, most of those cards come with offsetting fees and benefits that far outweigh their annual fees.
For instance, even though I pay roughly $1,500 in credit card annual fees, I receive over $2,500 in statement credits and benefits that alone offset these fees. This technically nets me a profit.
I will start by addressing the most popular question I receive, which is about the AMEX Business Platinum card that costs $695. Like many of you, I was initially hesitant to get this card due to its high annual fee. However, I was offered 150,000 AMEX MR points when I spent up to $15,000 in the first three months, which was the highest required spend I had encountered at the time.
To figure out how to get the most value from the card, I spent hours researching and watching YouTube videos. That’s where I learned about Rakuten and stacking it with my $200 semi-annual Dell credit.
The AMEX Business Platinum card comes with over $1,400 in credits, which include:
- $200 airline incidental credit (I redeem this for Southwest Airlines credits)
- $400 Dell credits
- $189 CLEAR credit
- $100 Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check credit
- $150 Acrobat credit
- $150 Indeed credit
For the personal version of this card, the credits are slightly different, which includes an annual SAK credit!
I took advantage of most benefits as soon as I got my card, including Centurion Lounge access, complimentary Hilton and Marriott Gold status, Car rental status, Purchase, Airline, Car rental protection, and more. I find it a keeper card since I get more value out of it than the fee I pay. Every year, I weigh the credit and benefits against the fee to decide whether to keep the card. I recommend researching if an annual fee card is worth it but don’t avoid thi when trying to earn and maximize travel points. How much do you pay annually?
