{"id":35088,"date":"2025-08-11T10:49:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T10:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=35088"},"modified":"2025-08-11T10:49:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T10:49:19","slug":"how-to-know-if-a-travel-credit-card-with-an-annual-fee-is-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=35088","title":{"rendered":"How to know if a travel credit card with an annual fee is worth it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div id=\"RegularArticle-ArticleBody-5\" data-module=\"ArticleBody\" data-test=\"articleBody-2\" data-analytics=\"RegularArticle-articleBody-5-2\"><span class=\"HighlightShare-hidden\" style=\"top:0;left:0\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imageEmbed\" id=\"ArticleBody-InlineImage-107314714\" data-test=\"InlineImage\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<p>Oleksandra Yagello | Moment | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>As some popular travel credit cards boost annual fees and amend benefits, experts say it&#8217;s time to reassess which cards \u2014 if any \u2014 merit a spot in your wallet.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Annual fees are not inherently bad; you just need to make sure that you&#8217;re getting value from [the card],&#8221; said Ted Rossman, an industry analyst at Bankrate. &#8220;It&#8217;s getting harder to maximize, though.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/media.chase.com\/news\/the-most-rewarding-cards-are-here\" target=\"_blank\">June<\/a>, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card raised the annual fee to $795. That&#8217;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/06\/17\/chase-sapphire-reserve-credit-card-new-perks-fee.html\">45% jump<\/a> from $550, its previous annual cost.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More from Personal Finance:<\/strong><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/08\/06\/paying-for-college-gets-increasingly-difficult-as-tuition-rises.html\">Paying for college gets increasingly difficult as tuition rises<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/08\/05\/trump-big-beautiful-bill-charitable-deduction.html\">Trump&#8217;s &#8216;big beautiful bill&#8217; slashes this tax break for high earners in 2026<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/08\/05\/ny-fed-credit-card-debt-second-quarter-2025.html\">Credit card debt reaches $1.21 trillion\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Other credit cards have been changing terms to access perks like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/06\/07\/capital-one-airport-lounges.html\">airport lounges<\/a>. Earlier this summer,<span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/COF\/\"> Capital One<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> announced that, starting in February, customers using its Venture X Rewards and Venture X Business cards \u2014 each of which have $395 annual fees \u2014 will no longer be able to bring guests to the lounges free of charge.<\/p>\n<p>That follows news from American Express that travelers who have an American Express Platinum card \u2014 which<a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanexpress.com\/us\/credit-cards\/business\/business-credit-cards\/american-express-business-platinum-credit-card-amex\/\" target=\"_blank\"> costs $695 a year<\/a> \u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/global.americanexpress.com\/card-benefits\/detail\/lounge-guest-access-pass\/business-platinum\" target=\"_blank\"> must spend $75,000 in eligible purchases<\/a> before they can bring up to two guests to an airport lounge. Previously, there was no minimum spend and cardholders could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/article\/travel\/centurion-lounge-guest-policy\" target=\"_blank\">bring up to two guests<\/a> for free, according to NerdWallet.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how to decide if a travel credit card is worth the investment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"one-habit-will-easily-diminish-travel-card-value\" class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline0\"\/>One habit will &#8216;easily diminish&#8217; travel card value<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>A travel rewards card isn&#8217;t likely to be a good value if you&#8217;re carrying a balance from month to month, experts say.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Any interest that you owe will easily diminish the value of any of these benefits,&#8221; said Sally French, a travel expert at NerdWallet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It may also be harder to pay down debt. While the average annual percentage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bankrate.com\/credit-cards\/advice\/current-interest-rates\/\" target=\"_blank\">rate for credit cards<\/a> is about 20.13%, the typical rate on premium travel cards can be closer to 25% to 30%, according to Rossman.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Generally speaking, rewards cards charge higher rates,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"decide-broad-travel-card-or-brand-specific\" class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline1\"\/>Decide: Broad travel card, or brand specific?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>You&#8217;ll come across two kinds of travel credit cards. Co-branded credit cards are usually tied to specific airlines, hotels or even cruise chains, and provide benefits that are more valuable at that brand, French said.<\/p>\n<p>If you frequently use a specific airline or tend to stay with a certain hotel chain, a co-branded credit card may be worth it, experts say.<\/p>\n<p>An airline credit card, for instance, might have benefits like free checked bags, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/08\/02\/early-boarding-upgrade-value.html\">priority boarding<\/a>, premium status tiers and sometimes discounts or points for spending at that airline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s only free check [checked?] bags on that airline,&#8221; said French. &#8220;Your Southwest credit card won&#8217;t get you anything on United.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/07\/29\/jetblue-united-partnership-gets-go-ahead-from-dot.html\">Some airlines<\/a> belong to partnership networks such as Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. If you&#8217;re looking at a brand-specific card, see if the company has partnerships that allow you to transfer points or miles to allied brands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>On the other hand, general travel credit cards are &#8220;really good for people who don&#8217;t want to be married to a specific brand,&#8221; as you can earn and use rewards more broadly, French said.<\/p>\n<p>Some travel credit cards do not charge annual fees; for those that do, the cost can range from $95 to upwards of $500 a year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/article\/travel\/are-airline-credit-cards-worth-it\" target=\"_blank\">per <\/a>NerdWallet. Keep in mind that travel credit cards with little to no fees may not offer the same level of benefits and rewards as paid cards.<\/p>\n<p>Both kinds of travel cards tend to have a set of similar perks, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsa.gov\/precheck\/credit-cards-offer\" target=\"_blank\">credits<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/07\/28\/tsa-precheck-value-airport-screening-changes.html\">TSA PreCheck<\/a> and other pre-screening memberships, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/07\/26\/using-credit-cards-to-pay-for-your-wedding.html\">big sign-on bonuses<\/a> when you spend a certain amount of money on the card within a short period of opening it. As a frequent traveler, such benefits can help make the card fee worth the cost, experts say.<\/p>\n<p>To assess the benefits of the card, look at a detailed list of the perks on the issuer&#8217;s website, said French. A card might charge an annual fee, but say it includes one free checked bag for you and a certain amount of guests. With just that perk, the card could pay for itself within a trip or two for a family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"how-to-know-what-card-is-best-for-you\" class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline2\"\/>How to know what card is best for you<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>While some of the perks and rewards can seem enticing, it&#8217;s important to consider your travel habits and lifestyle, said Rossman. Also consider what your credit habits are like, experts say.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For those who do not travel often, a travel credit card without an annual fee is probably going to be the best option, said French.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t want to be paying an annual fee on a credit card that has benefits that you might not use,&#8221; she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108148270\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108148270\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000376855\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"\/><span\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>If you travel frequently in a given year and typically with a specific airline, a co-branded credit card can make sense, French said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you currently hold a card with a high annual fee, but realize you&#8217;re not getting the most use out of it, you may be able to downgrade to a less expensive or free card offered by the issuer, Rossman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Doing so will be better for your credit rather than closing out the card altogether, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/08\/11\/travel-credit-card-annual-fee.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oleksandra Yagello | Moment | Getty Images As some popular travel credit cards boost annual fees and amend&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":35089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-investing","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}