Calculate if your credit card's annual fee is worth it
Updated October 2026Built and checked by MaverickHow it's calculatedReport an error
Recurring net
$650
annual value − fee (year 2+)
Year 1 net
$1,050
incl. sign-up bonus
Total benefits
$900
6 value sources
Worth it?
Yes
benefits exceed fee
Only count benefits you'll genuinely use: phantom value (unused lounge access, ignored credits) makes a card look better than it is.
The card is worth keeping if the benefit bar is taller than the fee bar: year 2 onward.
If a renewal hike pushes the fee past your benefit ceiling, downgrade to a cheaper tier (or no-fee card).
A card with an annual fee is worth it only if the benefits you'll actually use are worth more than the fee. This calculator adds up the value you put on each benefit - rewards, travel credits, lounge visits, insurance - and sets it against the fee.
As of 7 November 2026, the lowest credit card purchase rate is 7.49%, from Unity Bank's Low Rate Visa Credit Card, while the typical best across 51 institutions is 12.49%.
$400 annual fee. A $300 travel credit, 3 lounge visits you value at $120, $350 of rewards and insurance you value at $150.
If you'd use them all, the benefits are worth $920, $520 more than the fee. Count only what you'd actually use: without the travel credit and lounge visits it's $500, $100 more than the fee.