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With so many rewards credit cards on the market — especially premium travel credit cards with annual fees of $500 or more — it's easier than you think to end up with thousands of dollars in annual fees every year.
In some cases, it can be worth paying a high annual fee for the best credit cards. For example, if you travel a lot, premium credit card perks like airport lounge access, annual free reward nights, and trip delay insurance are all benefits you can put to use.
But not every credit card annual fee is easy to justify — especially if you can't use all the benefits. There are plenty of cards with perks worth significantly more than the annual fee, but the key is to take a hard look at the benefits and evaluate how many of them you'll actually use. If you're not sure an annual fee is worth it, you do have several great travel credit card options with no annual fees.
If you're considering adding a new credit card to your wallet to earn a new cardholder welcome bonus and enjoy ongoing perks, these options can offer a great return on your investment:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card annual fee)The Platinum Card® from American Express ($550 annual fee)The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (The Business Platinum Card® from American Express annual fee)Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card annual fee)Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card annual fee)IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card ($89, waived the first year annual fee)
We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Best Credit Cards With Benefits Worth More Than the Annual Fee
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Annual fee:
Potential value: More than $1,800 in value during your first year
The
The
- $300 per year in credits toward Capital One Travel bookings
- 10,000-mile bonus each account anniversary (worth an average of $170, per Insider's valuations)
- Priority Pass Select, Plaza Premium, and Capital One airport lounge access
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit (up to $100 in value every four years)
As you can see, the yearly $300 credit and 10,000-mile anniversary bonus are worth an estimated $470 per year. Add to that the Priority Pass airport lounge access (worth more than $400 per year) and the fact that this card has some of the best travel insurance of any credit card, and it's an easy choice.***
You can read our Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review to see why it's one of our favorite premium credit cards.
The Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only
Annual fee:
Potential value: More than $2,000 during your first year
The
It offers the following statement credits each year (among other more niche credits):
- Up to $200 in annual Uber credits** — This breaks down as up to $15 in credits each month, with a $20 bonus in December
- Up to $200 in annual airline incidental fee credits** — When you use the Platinum card to pay for incidentals like baggage fees, flight changes fees, and in-flight purchases with your designated airline, you'll be reimbursed up to $200 each year
- Up to $200 per year in credits toward prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection (with a two-night minimum)
- Up to $100 in Saks credits each calendar year**
- Credits to cover the Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fee ($100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or up to $78 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck®)
- Up to $189 per year in credits for CLEAR® Plus membership**
- Up to $240 in annual digital subscription credits (up to $20 per month)*****
- $12.95 in credits each month toward Walmart+ membership**
These benefits alone add up to more than $1,200 in value if you use them to their full extent.
That's not even counting the welcome bonus offer of
Additionally,
- 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year
- 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked on Amex Travel (where you can use Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts to get benefits such as property credits, free nights, free breakfast, room upgrades, and more)
- 1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
Add in lots of options for airport lounge access — from the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges to Delta Sky Clubs when you're flying Delta to Priority Pass lounges** — and you're getting even more bang for your buck when you travel. You can read our American Express Platinum card review for more details.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only
Annual fee:
Potential value: More than $3,600 during your first year
The
This card has similar statement credits, and also some that are hyper-focused on specific business purchases. Fair enough, as it's a small business card, after all. Here's what you'll get:
- Up to $200 in annual airline fee credits for checked baggage fees, lounge day passes, and more at one selected airline
- Up to $400 in U.S. Dell credits each calendar year**
- Up to $100 to cover the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application every four years
- Up to $120 in credits for U.S. wireless providers each calendar year
- Up to $360 in Indeed credits each calendar year**
- Up to $150 in Adobe credits each calendar year**
- Up to $189 back per year in credits for CLEAR® Plus membership**
That's about $1,500 in statement credits per year. Even if your small business doesn't take advantage of Adobe and Indeed credits, you should still be able to get more than $800 in value each year by using the more mainstream credits.
When you factor in all the card's other benefits — from airport lounge access to free elite status with Hilton and Marriott** to the valuable Amex points you earn — you could get several thousand dollars in value from the Business Platinum card. The card even comes with a 35% points rebate when redeeming points for first or business-class tickets, or for any fare with your selected airline, through American Express Travel — up to 500,000 points back per calendar year.
Read our Amex Business Platinum card review for more information.
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
Annual fee:
Potential value: More than $1,200 during your first year
The
This card has several great features that make it worth the
For starters, cardholders receive an annual free night award that can be redeemed at nearly any Hilton property worldwide — even the ones that cost up to 150,000 points per night. That means you can potentially get a value of $750 from this certificate, per Insider's valuations.
If you're strategic, you can squeeze much more from it, as well. I used mine at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, where the standard room rate is well over $2,000 per night.
It also offers the following annual statement credits:
- Up to $250 in credits each cardmember year for Hilton resort purchases — this includes room rates
- Up to $250 in airline incidental fee credits each calendar year — this works the same as the airline fee credits on the
Platinum Card andAmex Business Platinum Card
The
Even if you don't put the aforementioned benefits to use, the Hilton Aspire's annual $250 Hilton resort credit and $250 airline fee credit can more than offset the annual fee.
Read our Hilton Honors Aspire card review to see how powerful this card is.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card - Product Name Only
Annual fee:
Potential value: More than $1,500 in value during your first year
The
This card's
- Up to $25 in statement credits per month for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide ($300 total per year)
- Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Platinum elite status
- Annual free night award worth up to 85,000 points (worth up to $595, per Insider's valuations)
- 25 elite night credits each calendar year
- Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership** (worth more than $400 per year)
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit (either up to $100 statement credit every 4 years for Global Entry or up to $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck)
You can get a significant value from automatic Platinum status as well if you stay at fancy Marriott hotels even a few times each year. My Platinum status saved me over $1,000 during my stay at the St. Regis Maldives a couple of years ago.
Read our Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card review to see why this card can easily be worth its annual fee.
IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card - Product Name Only
Annual fee:
Potential value: More than $900 during your first year
The
The card may not offer top-tier status or big hotel statement credits, but the card's benefits are pretty generous considering its annual fee of
- Automatic IHG Platinum Elite status
- Diamond elite status after spending $40,000 on purchases and making one additional purchase each calendar year with the card
- Annual free night award worth up to 40,000 points (worth up to $280, per Insider's valuations)
- 10,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit after spending $20,000 on purchases and making one additional purchase each calendar year
- Up to $50 in United TravelBank Cash each calendar year
- Fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a stay of three or more nights
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit
- 20% discount when you purchase points with your card
If you stay at IHG hotels with regularity, this card is a no-brainer. Read our IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card review to learn more.
Credit Cards With Annual Fees Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a credit card annual fee?
Credit card annual fees are effectively a paywall you have to breach if you want to enjoy enhanced (and sometimes super exclusive) benefits you won't find on a no-annual-fee credit card. Think of your credit card as a membership within an exclusive club. You've got to pay each year to renew that membership and reap the privileges that come with it.
Are credit cards with annual fees worth it?
You might think that paying money each year just for the privilege of holding a certain credit card is ludicrous. But credit cards that charge annual fees almost always come with ongoing benefits that you can maximize to offset the annual fee many times over.
It's a simple math problem: Will you organically use enough of your card's statement credits, insurance, annual travel benefits, etc. to more than negate the annual fee? If so, don't think of the fee as money you're losing, but rather a necessary investment to save even more.
Are credit cards with no annual fee better?
If you won't use the benefits and perks of an annual fee-incurring credit card, no-annual-fee credit cards are the way to go. Even if you don't "maximize" all the benefits the card has to offer, you won't lose any value each year.
It's worth noting that there are some fantastic no-annual-fee credit cards that you should open even if you're interested in annual-fee credit cards. No annual fee cards play a very important role in everyone's wallet. Check out our guide to the best no-annual-fee credit cards for more info.