Do you ever pay the annual cc fee?

[ssmjlm]

I joined the cap one venture rewards for the 2x points per dollar.  It was for our upcoming trip to Disney.  I know the 1 year is coming up and that they don't usually waive the annual fee ($59).

I'm wondering if we should pay the fee for the 2x rewards or go to something else.  We do charge everything we can and pay it off each month.

FWIW, we probably won't be doing that much big travel in the near future given E is only 2.  I'm thinking of cancelling and switching to the citi double cash back.

[um]

I do. My card gives bonus points worth the value of the fee we could use in lieu of paying the fee. I've done the math and it's better for me to pay the fee.

[protozoa]

No. I have the Fidelity Retirement Rewards Amex which is 2 PTA per dollar if you deposit into a Fidelity account, and the new-ish Citi double cash MasterCard, neither of which charges an annual fee.

[v]

I have one card with a $350 annual fee. The rewards and benefits are such that it pays for itself many times over, so it is worth it for me.

I would never pay an annual fee without trying to negotiate either a discount or a retention bonus first though. (This year's retention bonus on the $350 annual fee card got us something like $400 worth of extra rewards, so... even more worth it).

If I can get the same rewards structure/value of benefits with a no-fee card, however, I'm not going to pay an annual fee. Like, I had a Barclay Arrival Plus card (that gave me 2.2% back towards travel) for the free annual fee first year, but then I downgraded to the no annual fee version when they going into my second year they were going to hit me with an $89 fee and wouldn't give me a discount or retention bonus. While I loved the Arrival Plus card, I have a no-fee card that gives me 2% back on everything, and it would take a LOT of spending to justify paying $89 a year for a 0.2% increase in rewards.

[y4m]

I wouldn't pay one for rewards - the Citi Double Cash card has no fee and is great there.

I definitely pay a few for travel perks. Mama needs her club access.

[thefield]

I pay a $49 fee for a Flex Perks card. We end up with several free flights per year so it's worth it to me.

[arch01]

We paid the Sapphire Preferred fee this year, mainly because we have a ton of points sitting right now that we'll use in 2016 for travel and the perks far outweigh the fee at the moment. When the 7% annual dividend goes away, we're cancelling.

[mbcdefg]

I've never had the need or the desire for any cards that have an annual fee. It wouldn't be worth it for our lifestyle. 

I've had the Citi Double Cash card for almost a year and I'm happy with it. I got it because I have to use my own CC to book work trips (I get reimbursed later) so I wanted a card with some sort of rewards system.

We use MH's Amex Blue for our vacation bookings and large purchases, and he gets some decent rewards from that. 

[Susie]

I've paid the Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee once or twice. The Barclay Arrival card, I'll probably either try to negotiate or cancel and have Calvin open one for the sign on bonus and no annual fee.

[ssmjlm]

I'm thinking I'll downgrade to the no fee one, use up the points and just make the citi card our main card.

DH does not play the cc game. He uses whatever I hand him.

[hamster]

If you charge over 8k a year on that card, you cross over the threshold where you earn more in points than you spend on the annual fee.

[v]

Mar 2, 2015 10:13:22 GMT -5 hamster said:

If you charge over 8k a year on that card, you cross over the threshold where you earn more in points than you spend on the annual fee.

But -- there are other cards that would give you 2% back with no fee!  So I think for the annual fee to be worth it, there has to be something justifying paying a fee for that card rather than changing to a no fee card with the same level of rewards.

Sometimes there is a way to justify it, sometimes there isn't.

[jinkies]

I pay a $49 annual fee. But we get one free night at a hotel each year for that-- we've used it for NYC the last two years (paying for the stay would have been $300+).

We also use the points we accrue on that card for our family vacation each year.

Overall I'm happy to pay $50 for a family vacation + a weekend away.

[Mushe]

Yes, when the benefits outweigh the fee. I do try to negotiate retention bonuses though, like v said, when I have time at the time the fee hits.

[kadams767]

Mar 2, 2015 9:55:23 GMT -5 v said:

 Like, I had a Barclay Arrival Plus card (that gave me 2.2% back towards travel) for the free annual fee first year, but then I downgraded to the no annual fee version when they going into my second year they were going to hit me with an $89 fee and wouldn't give me a discount or retention bonus. While I loved the Arrival Plus card, I have a no-fee card that gives me 2% back on everything, and it would take a LOT of spending to justify paying $89 a year for a 0.2% increase in rewards.

When you downgraded, did your points just carry over to the downgraded version or did you end up with a whole new account?  What is the difference between the Arrival Plus and the downgraded version (not sure what that one is called)?

[felicity]

Mar 2, 2015 10:02:25 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

I'm thinking I'll downgrade to the no fee one, use up the points and just make the citi card our main card.

DH does not play the cc game. He uses whatever I hand him.

Would he be up for letting you do the work of signing him up for cards and tracking the cancellations? My DH does this. He'll ask me first of course, but we switch off who has which cards. After a couple years (maybe longer, not sure) we have been able to sign up for the same cards again for the sign on bonuses and rewards points/miles. 

[imojoebunny]

Nope

[imojoebunny]

Mar 2, 2015 10:15:44 GMT -5 v said:

Mar 2, 2015 10:13:22 GMT -5 hamster said:

If you charge over 8k a year on that card, you cross over the threshold where you earn more in points than you spend on the annual fee.

But -- there are other cards that would give you 2% back with no fee!  So I think for the annual fee to be worth it, there has to be something justifying paying a fee for that card rather than changing to a no fee card with the same level of rewards.

Sometimes there is a way to justify it, sometimes there isn't.

What card gives 2% cash back?  I have one that gives 2% for like $5k, but then 1% after that.  I charge between $40k and $60k a year, so it's not an insignificant amount of cash.  

[hbomdiggity]

Mar 2, 2015 11:46:01 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Mar 2, 2015 10:15:44 GMT -5 v said:

But -- there are other cards that would give you 2% back with no fee!  So I think for the annual fee to be worth it, there has to be something justifying paying a fee for that card rather than changing to a no fee card with the same level of rewards.

Sometimes there is a way to justify it, sometimes there isn't.

What card gives 2% cash back?  I have one that gives 2% for like $5k, but then 1% after that.  I charge between $40k and $60k a year, so it's not an insignificant amount of cash.  

Citi double cash. No fee. No limit on cash back.

[simpsongal]

DH does for his miles card. I don't think it's worth it

[hbomdiggity]

And to answer op, yes we have an Amex gold and I think it's $175. But we get that back in bonus points for charging a certain amount.

[v]

Mar 2, 2015 11:42:02 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Mar 2, 2015 9:55:23 GMT -5 v said:

 Like, I had a Barclay Arrival Plus card (that gave me 2.2% back towards travel) for the free annual fee first year, but then I downgraded to the no annual fee version when they going into my second year they were going to hit me with an $89 fee and wouldn't give me a discount or retention bonus. While I loved the Arrival Plus card, I have a no-fee card that gives me 2% back on everything, and it would take a LOT of spending to justify paying $89 a year for a 0.2% increase in rewards.

When you downgraded, did your points just carry over to the downgraded version or did you end up with a whole new account?  What is the difference between the Arrival Plus and the downgraded version (not sure what that one is called)?

Points carried over; biggest differences are is 1.1% rewards instead of 2.2% and no EMV chip.

[v]

Mar 2, 2015 12:15:16 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

Mar 2, 2015 11:46:01 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

What card gives 2% cash back?  I have one that gives 2% for like $5k, but then 1% after that.  I charge between $40k and $60k a year, so it's not an insignificant amount of cash.  

Citi double cash. No fee. No limit on cash back.

also Fidelity Amex

[shaynaatl]

We do it for the Delta Platinum card. The free companion certificate is worth more than the annual fee.

[sporky]

Yes, we have one card with an annual fee. We upgraded to the fee version because the bonus points and travel perks far outweighed the $75 a year.

[Deleted]

Yes, the rewards more than offset the fee compared to free cards.

[elcjet]

I do -- I keep refinancing or buying homes and I am too chicken to drop the card because of the impact on my credit (age of accounts - it's my oldest account now!). It's a Frontier Airlines card -- I used to rely heavily on the miles, and now I don't really travel so I am paying for something I don't use.

[v]

elcjet -- call the bank and see if they can switch the account to another card without an annual fee. Many times they can without disturbing the credit history.

[rikki]

I pay a lot of annual fees, probably $700 a year or so, but the benefits are worth it to me.

[elcjet]

Mar 2, 2015 13:39:21 GMT -5 v said:

elcjet -- call the bank and see if they can switch the account to another card without an annual fee. Many times they can without disturbing the credit history.

Ugh, I wish they would do this -- they used to have a no annual fee option, but I've called twice in the past 5 years to request to switch over and they told me they would have to cancel the account.  It has been a few years-- maybe I can try again.