It All Adds Up, Credit Cards with Annual Fees
| June 5, 2009 |
On a recent post by Plastic Rap, they stated the number of credit cards with annual fees have increased around 10 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008.
At first glance I did not really think anything of the increase, because my credit cards don’t have annual fees, but still provide pretty good perks (or at least better than some cards in my opinion). But as I think about it more and more, this 10 percent will probably continue to grow as we get closer to the date that the Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act takes effect. I mean at least theoretically it will because as July 2010 approaches many credit card issuers will be finding ways to make up for any lost income that may arise because of government regulations.
Since the average consumer carries more than one credit card, annual fees could take away more of your bank account than you think. From sub-prime cards to prime cards, many that do have an annual fee are anywhere between $50 and $150, with some even being higher than that. If you multiply that by two, three, or four credit cards you have chosen to pay what many people pay on their monthly car note.
When all is said and done, you should still have choices of no annual fee credit cards available that also offer some pretty good perks (Cash back, rewards, etc.). So still having multiple cards will still be an option for many consumers.
What amount for an annual fee do you consider too high? How many cards would you carry if all had annual fees?
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Nice post. I agree with you, I would not carry more than one credit card that has an annual fee. And that one card better be a good one. I need a real reason to pay $50 per year for the “priviledge” to use a
particular credit card.
Thanks for pointing this out.
R
Comment by Rudy in West Palm Beach — June 8, 2009 @ 9:18 am
I would have to weigh the benefits against the annual fee. The greater the earnings potential the more I would pay. I personally wouldn’t carry a card that has an annual fee if it didn’t offer rewards. I pay my balance off monthly so I don’t want to pay for something that doesn’t benefit me. I might as well use a debit card in that situation.
Comment by Scott in USA — June 11, 2009 @ 10:49 pm
[...] an earlier post entitled "It All Adds Up, Credit Cards with Annual Fees", I briefly discussed how many credit card issuers were thinking about adding annual fees to [...]
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