FAQ - Annual fees (2024)

FAQs

How to get annual fee waived? ›

This is like a membership fee that you pay once a year to your credit card company for using their card. Not all credit cards have an annual fee. So, if your credit card has an annual fee of $60, that means you'll pay $60 per year, usually added to your credit card bill, just for the benefit of using that card.

Having a no-annual-fee card can help you earn more points, improve your credit and save on interest fees. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Credit cards are an excellent way to build credit and get rewarded for everyday spending.

Many card issuers will usually credit an annual fee if you close the account and request a refund quickly enough. You have about 30 days after an annual fee posts to do this—give or take a few days. It varies by issuer and is not always guaranteed.

When requesting a fee waiver, you'll need to explain why you are seeking financial assistance and how a fee waiver would help you pursue your academic goals. For example, you could mention the financial hardships your family is facing.

Annual fees might be justified if you're getting enough benefits out of your card, but if not, you have options. Call your issuer and see if they'll waive or reduce the fee. Consider a no annual fee card or downgrading to another product with your issuer with a smaller fee.

An annual fee is one of the ways credit card companies can earn a profit. The fee may cover some or all of the card's extra benefits, such as miles, points, or cash back.

You could ask to speak to your credit card issuer's retention department and tell them that you want to cancel your card to avoid being charged the annual fee. If they're worried about losing your business, they may offer to waive the fee.

If a card issuer charges an annual fee for a card, it's usually to offset the costs of rewards the card offers. But just because a card offers rewards doesn't mean those rewards will be worth more than the annual fee.

Contact Your Card Issuer Before It Charges the Fee

Explain why you want to keep the card and how you're going to use it, then ask if there's anything the person can do about the card's annual fee. You might ask for a fee waiver directly, or ask them to look for any retention offers on your account.

Is annual fee bad? ›

You can find plenty of rewarding credit cards that won't charge you for the privilege of carrying them. But generally, cards that do charge annual fees offer even better benefits or perks — extras that can easily outstrip the cost of such fees. In many cases, you'll come out ahead, despite the upfront cost.

If the card's rewards are valuable enough to cover the annual fee while still putting money back in your account, it's a good one to choose. However, you need to be sure you spend enough annually to earn enough rewards. Many reward credit cards have a no-annual-fee counterpart.

Experts generally don't recommend you ever cancel a credit card, unless you're paying for it (such as in the form of an annual fee) and not ever using it. And if this is the case, canceling a card once probably won't hurt you as long as you have a healthy credit history otherwise.

Key Takeaways

Credit card fees are not deductible for individuals and are deductible for businesses. Businesses can deduct all credit card fees as well as finance charges. Businesses are eligible to deduct credit or debit card processing fees associated with paying taxes, but individuals are not.

Many card issuers have criteria for who can qualify for new accounts, but Chase is perhaps the most strict. Chase's 5/24 rule means that you can't be approved for most Chase cards if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months.

When negotiating a fee waiver, it's important to be specific and straightforward. Call the bank, mention the fee you incurred and say you would like to have it waived by the bank. If the bank isn't immediately open to helping you, try to show you're a valuable customer.

Credit One normally doesn't grant annual fee waivers outside of its Credit Protection Program, but if you call customer service and the representative declines to waive your annual fee, state that you'd like to close the account. They may offer to waive the annual fee to keep you as a customer.