{"id":93,"date":"2026-07-08T13:48:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedonlineshopping.com\/?p=93"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:48:05","slug":"credit-card-barely-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedonlineshopping.com\/?p=93","title":{"rendered":"Stop Paying for a Credit Card You Barely Use"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"credit<\/p>\n

Travel credit cards<\/a> with high annual fees offer some pretty flashy benefits.<\/p>\n

And those can be really great \u2026 if you actually use them.<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But what if you\u2019re paying a premium annual fee\u00a0(some of the higher-end cards now charge upwards of $900 per year!)\u00a0and traveling just a couple of times per year?<\/p>\n

The math can get murky.<\/em><\/p>\n

Think of it in terms of a five-year period: That can be thousands of dollars<\/em><\/strong> that you\u2019re paying for the privilege of carrying a premium card.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll talk about how to determine whether you\u2019re paying for a card you don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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Assess Your Annual Fee Cards and Consider a Downgrade if Needed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you have a high-annual-fee card in your wallet and you\u2019re not a frequent traveler, it\u2019s time to complete an honest assessment.<\/p>\n

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  1. Review the last 12 months of usage for this card.<\/strong> Check your multipliers to see if you\u2019re getting the boosts you were expecting from spending with this card. Isolate the earnings you\u2019re able to make above<\/em><\/strong> 2% back, which should be the baseline rewards you\u2019d earn from a non-travel card. A year\u2019s worth of spending is a fair assessment of your current spending patterns.<\/li>\n
  2. Review the benefits and credits you get from this card.<\/strong> Many of the high-end annual fee cards create \u201cvalue\u201d for cardholders via a vast menu of travel benefits and statement credit opportunities. Identify which of these benefits you\u2019ve used in the last 12 months. Try to differentiate between benefits you\u2019re using because you need them and ones that you\u2019re using simply because the card offers them.<\/li>\n
  3. Compare the numbers from Steps 1 and 2 with your card\u2019s annual fee. <\/strong>Once you\u2019ve calculated the net benefit you\u2019ve received from the card over the last 12 months, you can compare it to the annual fee you\u2019re paying. If your benefits outweigh the cost, then you\u2019re likely justified in continuing to pay for the card. If the number is breakeven or worse, you may want to consider making some changes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Consider a Downgrade or Product Change if Needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    If you\u2019ve done the math on your annual fee card and realized that you\u2019re not receiving enough value, you should have some options beyond simply canceling the card.<\/p>\n

    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\u2019t quite as enticing.<\/p>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    Alternatively, your card issuer may offer you the option to \u201cproduct change\u201d 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\u2019re not asking you to apply for a new line of credit in this process.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Downgrading or product changing can be a preferred alternative to canceling the card outright.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    Travel Cards We Recommend with Manageable Annual Fees<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    If you feel like you need a travel card but don\u2019t want to be stuck paying an extremely high annual fee, we have some options for you to consider.<\/p>\n

    The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card<\/strong> is money expert Clark Howard\u2019s favorite recommendation in this space and it is one that he carries in his personal wallet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    It has an annual travel credit and anniversary points bonus that essentially negate the annual fee.<\/p>\n