A video on MSN.com lists credit card costs you shouldn’t ever pay. The first one listed is an annual fee. The video offers up a solution to call the credit card company to have the fee waived or to switch to a card that doesn’t charge a fee. While it’s possible your credit card company will waive your fee, this would be an exception rather than an expectation.
On the contrary, there are certain instances where it not only makes sense to pay an annual fee for your credit card, but you would be financially savvy in doing so. Let’s look at an example using 3 popular credit cards that offer cash back for grocery purchase: Blue Cash Preferred from American Express, Blue Cash Everyday from American Express and the Citi Double Cash Card. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average US household spent $4,942 on groceries in 2020. Below is a table that shows the net cash back from each card based on this average grocery spend.
Card | Annual Fee | Cash Back Percentage | Cash Back Earned | After Fee Cash Back |
| Blue Cash Preferred from American Express | $95 | 6% | $296.52 | $201.52 |
| Blue Cash Everyday from American Express | $0 | 3% | $148.26 | $148.26 |
| Citi Double Cash Card | $0 | 2% | $98.84 | $98.84 |
Does this math work for all cases? It does to a point. You will net the same cash back with the Citi Double Cash card compared to the Blue Cash Preferred once you spend a total of about $20,500 due to the fact that the American Express card reduces the cash back percentage to 1% once you exceed $6,000.
Card | Annual Fee | Cash Back Percentage | Cash Back Percentage (After $6k) | Cash Back Earned | Cash Back Earned (After $6k) | After Fee Cash Back |
| Blue Cash Preferred from American Express | $95 | 6% | 1% | $360 | $145 | $410 |
| Blue Cash Everyday from American Express | $0 | 3% | 1% | $180 | $145 | $325 |
| Citi Double Cash Card | $0 | 2% | 2% | $120 | $290 | $410 |
Additionally, if you spend about $3167 or less on groceries per year, you would earn the same net cash back with either American Express card (although if you spend in other categories, such as gas, you could be better off with the preferred card).
Card | Annual Fee | Cash Back Percentage | Cash Back Earned | After Fee Cash Back |
| Blue Cash Preferred from American Express | $95 | 6% | $190.02 | $95.02 |
| Blue Cash Everyday from American Express | $0 | 3% | $95.01 | $95.01 |
| Citi Double Cash Card | $0 | 2% | $63.34 | $63.34 |
Credit Critics Conclusion:
Fact Check: “You Should Never Pay to an Annual Fee for a Credit Card”
False