Stop Paying for a Credit Card You Barely Use

Travel credit cards with high annual fees offer some pretty flashy benefits.

And those can be really great … if you actually use them.

Team Clark believes that travel cards can be a fantastic tool for frequent travelers. Benefits like status upgrades with hotels and airlines, airport lounge access, travel protections, and bonus rewards for travel spending can be well worth the annual fee if you travel multiple times per month.

But what if you’re paying a premium annual fee (some of the higher-end cards now charge upwards of $900 per year!) and traveling just a couple of times per year?

The math can get murky.

Think of it in terms of a five-year period: That can be thousands of dollars that you’re paying for the privilege of carrying a premium card.

In this article, we’ll talk about how to determine whether you’re paying for a card you don’t need, explore an option to downgrade that card without closing it, and offer recommendations for more cost-effective travel cards, as well as options for ditching travel cards altogether.

Assess Your Annual Fee Cards and Consider a Downgrade if Needed

If you have a high-annual-fee card in your wallet and you’re not a frequent traveler, it’s time to complete an honest assessment.

1. Review the last 12 months of usage for this card. Check your multipliers to see if you’re getting the boosts you were expecting from spending with this card. Isolate the earnings you’re able to make above 2% back, which should be the baseline rewards you’d earn from a non-travel card. A year’s worth of spending is a fair assessment of your current spending patterns.
2. Review the benefits and credits you get from this card. Many of the high-end annual fee cards create “value” for cardholders via a vast menu of travel benefits and statement credit opportunities. Identify which of these benefits you’ve used in the last 12 months. Try to differentiate between benefits you’re using because you need them and ones that you’re using simply because the card offers them.
3. Compare the numbers from Steps 1 and 2 with your card’s annual fee. Once you’ve calculated the net benefit you’ve received from the card over the last 12 months, you can compare it to the annual fee you’re paying. If your benefits outweigh the cost, then you’re likely justified in continuing to pay for the card. If the number is breakeven or worse, you may want to consider making some changes.

Consider a Downgrade or Product Change if Needed

If you’ve done the math on your annual fee card and realized that you’re not receiving enough value, you should have some options beyond simply canceling the card.

Many high-end travel credit cards have a companion card that has a lower annual fee. These are often $95 annual fee cards that have similar branding but offer a different set of benefits that aren’t quite as enticing.

Contact your card issuer to inquire about downgrading your high-annual-fee card to its cheaper sibling card. This is a way to both protect your spending power and credit history without canceling the card and applying for a new one.

Alternatively, your card issuer may offer you the option to “product change” to one of their no-annual-fee cards as a way to remain an active customer without paying for the higher fee cards. Just make sure they’re not asking you to apply for a new line of credit in this process.

Downgrading or product changing can be a preferred alternative to canceling the card outright.

Travel Cards We Recommend with Manageable Annual Fees

If you feel like you need a travel card but don’t want to be stuck paying an extremely high annual fee, we have some options for you to consider.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is money expert Clark Howard’s favorite recommendation in this space and it is one that he carries in his personal wallet.

It has an annual travel credit and anniversary points bonus that essentially negate the annual fee.

At a lower annual fee price point, we also like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

The card also has an anniversary statement credit for hotel purchases made through Chase Travel that can negate the impact of the modest $95 annual fee.

Maybe a No-Fee Cash Back Credit Card Is More Your Speed

If you’re trapped in the “travel rewards” ecosystem and find that it’s not lucrative for your spending habits, perhaps it’s time to consider a full strategy change.

You could switch from Team Travel to Team Cash Back.

Cash back credit cards don’t have the flashy travel benefits and rewards point ecosystems. They simply reward you with a percentage of your purchase back.

Clark recommends getting a no-annual-fee cash back credit card that awards unlimited 2% cash back on all your spending to use as a “catch all” or “everyday spender.”

You can carry that in your wallet with confidence, knowing that you’ll get what equates to a 2% discount on everything you purchase without having to worry about spending categories or restrictions.

There are several good 2% cash back cards on the market. Here are a few of our favorites:

Once you have a 2% card in your wallet, you can enhance your cash back earnings by branching out to no-annual-fee cards that offer a higher rate of cash back in the categories in which you spend the most each month. Examples for many people include dining, groceries or gas purchases.

Team Clark has a cash back credit card tool to help you find the right match for your wallet based on your spending habits.

Are you paying for a card you don’t need? We’d love to hear about your experience in the Clark.com community.

Not all available financial products and offers from all financial institutions have been reviewed by this website.

The information related to Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® and Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® has been collected by Clark Howard, Inc. and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.

* CASHBACK REWARDS: Valid on net purchases (less credits, returns and adjustments) of goods and services made with a Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® earned will be applied as a statement credit within 2 billing periods after an eligible purchase is made. Cash advances, fees and interest charges do not qualify to earn cash back. Account must be open and in good standing at the time the purchase is made and the statement credit is applied. See the Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® Rewards Terms for details.

* NO ANNUAL FEE: For New Synchrony Premier World Mastercard Accounts as of January 1, 2026: Variable Purchase APR 17.49%, 26.49%, or 33.24%. Variable Bal Trans APR 17.49%, 26.49% or 33.24% and 4% Fee ($10 min). Variable Cash APR 20.49%, 29.49% or 36.24% and 5% Fee ($10 min). Variable Penalty APR 27.49%, 36.49% or 39.99%. Minimum Interest Charge is $2. Foreign Trans Fee is 3%.

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