Are High Annual Fee Credit Cards Worth It?

The case against the expensive cards...

Capital One Venture X Credit Card, $395, 1st card reviewed in the article and strongest case.

$300 travel credit-ok, I value that.
10,000 miles-I value that at $70 or 0.7 cents per mile in the era of devaluation

2 mile earnings....not any different from 2% cash back

Lounge access....like a prison full of greedy people. Some lounges lack scenic views. Just as easy to find a quiet gate and work. We are not dogs or horses that rejoice at free food.

They can be worth signing up for because of the initial perks. But not necessarily worth keeping longer-term.

For example I used to have Chase Sapphire Reserve but now consider the Preferred to be better value. Likewise I migrated from Hilton Aspire to Surpass.

The problem is that the high-end cards suck you into spending more than you otherwise would, e.g. with all those credits. And of course more generally that is the point of all these loyalty programs - to get you to spend more!

Ben, you may consider the CSR’s travel credit to be “as good as cash” but you’re still handing over a big lump sum annual payment to Chase.

I do wonder at what point you’d step back and think “wait a minute.” For example, if the CSR had an annual fee of $800 albeit with $550 travel credit would that be fine? How about $1k fee with $750 fee?

In other words, a lower annual fee would always be more consumer-friendly than a travel credit, assuming a similar degree of perks.

Agreed. I downgraded from CSR to CSP and haven’t looked back. 90% of the sapphires benefits are contained within CSP, unless you really really love Chase’s travel portal.

High value customers don’t get charged the fees.

I have never paid an annual fee and I have 2 Amex cards including Centurion.

And, you use the Centurion card for exactly what type of spending?

But, there are different perks. The CSR gives access to 10X on hotels and rental cars in some cases -- what's that worth? The CSR gives access to 1.5cpp redemption value in some cases -- what's that worth? If it's your only Priority Pass cards, what's that worth? Each person can assess these values for oneself. A good deal for some but not for others.

Fred, that is exactly the thing. If the model for high-fee cards is to get you to spend more, then the model for waiving that high fee is to get you to spend orders of magnitude more again.

And nurturing a sense of "importance" and "status" is part of that subtle manipulation.

Personally I think that $99 annual fee cards with simple benefits is the sweet spot.

What about the united infinite card for united club access since you included the aadvantage executive for admirals club?

Tom, based on Paul's prior comments, he understands the points game. And, Paul is a retired senior executive of a major publicly traded company and doesn't need a Centurion card for a sense of importance. So, my point is this: If Paul is the points-savvy guy I think he is, why in the world is he putting spend on a 1X for everything card? I'm very familiar with the benefits of both the personal Centurion and the business Centurion. The opportunity cost lost on points is significantly greater than the dollar value of the benefits. (No matter what anyone at TPG says.) I have advised others to downgrade to the Platinum . . . and let Amex waive the annual fee on it.

PS - Tom, along your line, I think the Citi Strata Premier and Wells Fargo Autograph (Journey) are great cards. WF is adding transfer partners and I think it will give other card issuers something to ponder.

The Citi AA Executive gives 10X on hotels and rental cars booked via the AA travel portal. To me, that pulls the card into the "premium" category. United's club card and Delta's club card are not there. Another travel blog includes any card affording lounge access in the "premium" category even though a card has a weak rewards structure. Not in my book.

You can redeem the points for 1 cent each for travel... so $400 value for $395 plus you get priority pass and the capital one lounges for free. Also, if you like points, you can get outsized value. Capital One X is the only true keeper card for me other than free ones.

Ben, I don't get why this blog sleeps on the US Bank Altitude Reserve. $400 AF, $325 credit (used similar to CSR), 8 PP visits which include restaurants (at least for now) and *most importantly* mobile wallet purchase give a 3x return on everything, redeemable for 1.5X on travel. And it's Visa Infinite so you have some decent protections.

If someone has found better than 4.5% return on unbonused spend, I'd love to know what that is.

I agree that in general, Priority Pass is no longer a perk. If they took it away and didn't devalue airline miles values, that's a trade I'd happily make.

It’s decent if you use the 1.5 cents per point perk. Here are the reasons why it’s not mentioned as much:

1. Many folks does not like booking travel over an OTA. Thus the 1.5 cents per point is hard to justify.

2. Doesn’t have any (currently ) transfer partners for the points, arguably the most valuable way to use points these days. Maybe this will change.

3. 3x on mobile wallet is fine, but many folks here carry multiple cards and tend to know how to use specific cards for specific purchases and usually will do just as good 3x earn with transferable points.

4. PP restaurant access is good but it’s not unlimited and if you really want that perk as your main, you’d go with Bank of America visa instead especially if you have platinum level or higher with them.

Ultimately, it also might be because bloggers don’t get as much kick back as the rest of the cards. Good luck

@Davisson

You obviously don't carry this card.

However, you are right US Bank and BofA doesn't get much love from any bloggers.

What you did not cover is travel insurance. Not sure what all these cards offer, but the Chase Infinite Mileage Plus (United) Club Card offers travel inusrance. I recetly received 19k reunded when I fell ill just before my spouse and I were scheduled for a Viking Cruise. That 19k will cover years and years of the annual fee … which I believe is now $595.

For me, one of the best perk for Amex plat is car rental 4 hrs grace period.

@Davisson - not sure about you, but the glory days of transferrable or airline miles seem to be behind us. Between slivers of inventory, rampant devaluation and the scourge of "dynamic pricing" (which is a devaluation on steroids), cash seems to becoming king again.

Agreed OTAs aren't fun, but all the 1.5 cpp redemptions (like CSR) work that same way, so I don't see this as hugely problematic.