Don’t you just love getting a letter in the mail that tells you that your annual fee is being raised on your credit card? Rising annual fees have a lot of credit card users looking elsewhere to help them find the type of accounts they need to manage their credit cards without needing to pay a large portion of money just to keep the credit card account open. AMEX recently announced that they will be increasing the fees on their accounts and members will need to pay an annual fee.
Many credit card companies are asking customers to start paying an annual fee, which can vary for the different accounts. Some people are paying fees upwards of $73 a year where others end up with even higher fees. Can you justify paying an annual fee to have your credit card in use? How often do you use your credit card? You can easily switch over to a credit card that doesn’t come with annual fees and other fees on the account.
If you are planning to continue using the Cue Blue Cash Preferred AMEX card, you can plan on a $75 annual fee. Can you justify spending this much money on the credit card each year? The Premier Rewards Gold Card can cost you $175 a year! A large annual fee like this can be difficult for many people to afford, especially in an economy that is tough for many people.
The reason for the fees is an increase in credit card rewards. Are you willing to pay a large sum of money just to acquire credit card rewards? These rewards may be worth it for some reasons like getting large discounts on airfare but they are not always worth it for the average consumer. Getting cash back and rewards is nice but when it comes with a higher price tag just to have the card, you may end up paying more in fees than you will just to get the rewards back.
Determine if you are planning to pay an annual fee just to keep your credit card open. The best thing you can do is to compare rates on various credit cards and to help you find a credit card that will work effectively for your needs.