Credit Cards Fees – My Annual Total

When I first started really getting in to using credit card points and miles, I shied away from cards that had fees. There are so many cards with no fees… at first I didn’t understand why would I PAY a credit card fee?

BUT then I learned that if I reallllly wanted to use my points well, annual fees were part of the deal. And even that some cards had such incredible benefits I’d pay $695 for a card. Tell 15 years ago me that and she’d say you were nuts.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Annual fee: $95
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Am I keeping it? Yes
Benefits I personally use that make it worth it…

• Chase has only THREE cards that allow you to transfer Chase Ultimate Reward points and of the 3, this is my favorite. I HAVE to be able to transfer my Chase points, so I can’t go without this card.
• This card comes with some great travel protections like trip interruptions, trip cancelation, lost baggage protections. And my favorite is the primary car rental insurance.
• $50 annual Chase travel Hotel Credit
• And it’s a decent earner of Chase points (my favorite points)…. 3x on dining, 3x on online grocery, 2x on travel purchases.

Estimated value TO ME: priceless (Annual $50 hotel credit, but… value is priceless because it let’s me transfer Chase Ultimate Reward points which means lots of free Hyatt stays)

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Annual fee: $395
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Am I keeping it? yes
Benefits I personally use that make it worth it…

• $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel
• Up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
• 10,000 Capital One miles every year after 1st year of holding the card
• Excellent travel protections including primary car rental insurance
• Fantastic lounge access for yourself PLUS 2 guests at Capital One lounges and Priority Pass lounges
• Incredible authorized user benefits – you can add up to 4 authorized users at NO charge and they will get the SAME lounge access benefits
• 2x miles per dollar on ever purchase

Estimated value TO ME: $700 ($300 travel credit, value 10K Capital One miles at $100 + $300 lounge access)

Ritz Carlton Card

There is no link to sign up for this card… the only way to sign up is – After having a Chase Marriott card for 1 year, you can call Chase and ask that your current card is “product changed” to the Ritz Carlton card
Annual fee: $450
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Am I keeping it? Yes
Benefits I personally use that make it worth it…

• Annual 85K Marriott free night certificate – Marriott allows you to “top off” certificates with up to 15K Marriott points, so potentially, you could use this + 15K top off for 100K points/night room
• $300 airline incidentals credit – to be used on seat upgrades, luggage fees, seat fees, lounge access – I love how flexible this credit is BUT you have to call Chase to have the fees credited – it’s not automatic
• $100 TSA Global Entry credit every 4 years
• The BEST level of Priority Pass lounge membership – this one includes Priority Pass restaurant access which is very rare now
• Sapphire Reserve lounge access – THIS is a HUGE benefit, since I don’t plan on holding the Sapphire Reserve card, this is an excellent way to access these new, fabulous lounges!

Estimated value TO ME: $1650 (I am using my 85K night certificate at a hotel in Hawaii that has a nightly fee of $1200, $300 airline incidental, $150 Priority Pass restaurant access)

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Annual fee: $695
Rates and Fees can be found here – Please contact me directly for best current welcome offer
Am I keeping it? Yes (but I was definitely on the fence)
Benefits I personally use that make it worth it…

• Up to $200 annual credit on Fine Hotel & Resort program bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card – I actually really love this benefit – When you book a hotel via this program, you’ll get the $200 credit (one time), breakfast included, late check out, $100 spa or food credit, upgraded room on availability
• Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year with qualifying, selected airline for incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, when charged to your Platinum Card
• Up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on your Platinum Card- up to $50 in statement credits on a semi-annual basis.
• Access to American Express Centurion lounges (for yourself only), Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium lounges
• Up to $15 in Uber Cash to use on eligible orders with Uber Eats or rides with Uber in the US each month, plus a bonus $20 in December.
• Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your American Express Card. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Receive up to $189 in statement credits per calendar year after you sign up and pay for a CLEAR Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Platinum Card

Estimated value TO ME: $939 (I always use the $200 Fine Hotel & Resort credit, $200 airline credit, $100 Sak’s credit, about $150 of the Uber credits, $189 of the CLEAR credit & visit Amex lounges a few times a year since our home airport, Denver, has one)

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Annual fee: $695
Rates and Fees can be found here – Please contact me directly for best welcome offer
Am I keeping it? no

I will admit 100% I signed up for this card for the HUGE welcome offer.. over the summer they had a 200K American Express Membership Rewards welcome offer. I hadn’t planned on opening this card, but that offer made it worth it.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card

Annual fee: $95
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Am I keeping it? Yes
Benefits I personally use that make it worth it…

• One free night Category 1–4 Hyatt free night certificate every year after 1st year
• Earn an extraCategory 1–4 Hyatt free night certificate after spending $15,000 on your World of Hyatt credit card
• Earn 2 additional qualifying night credits every time you spend $5,000 on your card (THIS helps me reach Globalist status!)

Estimated value TO ME: $300 (only counting the guaranteed free night certificate value for myself here)

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

Annual fee: $69
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Am I keeping it? Yes
Benefits I personally use that make it worth it…

• 2 EarlyBird check ins each year

Estimated value TO ME: $50 (the value of 2 EarlyBird check ins)
**When my annual fee was due last year, I called and asked if there was a retention offer on the card – they offered me $70 to keep the card open – so essentially last year I did NOT pay any fee
**This card was quite valuable to me when I signed up for it because it helped me get my Southwest Companion pass.

Total Annual Fees Currently:

$2399

I definitely believe this is more than most people pay in fees. The 2 Amex Platinums are a huge part of this total and I would say of all the cards listed above, the 2 least impressive in benefits.

We travel about 1x per 45 days. For this reason, having lots of card benefits makes sense for OUR situation.

Credit card annual fees are almost always worth it the 1st year for the sign up bonus.
Once you’ve had a card for 1 full year, analyze the benefits and decide if you should keep it. If you don’t want to keep it, see if there’s a $0 annual fee you can downgrade to (best for your credit). If not, and you want to cancel, I at least suggest calling and asking for a retention offer for the account before you close it. If you get a great retention offer, it may be worth keeping that card open.