Are premium credit cards worth the annual fee?

October 10, 2024Last Updated: October 10, 2024

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Amex Centurion (black) card benefits — and how to get them without the card

I remember the first time I heard about a credit card with an annual fee of over $400. I scoffed. “No way I’ll ever sign up for one of those.”

Years later, I now hold multiple premium credit cards. This can present some sticker shock to my relatives and to people who are new to the points and miles hobby. “Are those premium credit cards really worth the high annual fees?” they ask.

My answer? It depends.

On the one side, you will find many people who say premium credit cards are worth it because of the numerous perks they offer. On the other side, you will find many people who want to keep their expenses low and can’t justify the high price tag associated with these luxury-focused credit cards.

Let’s take a look at what premium credit cards can offer so you can decide for yourself whether one of them might fit your lifestyle.

Popular premium credit cards

Before we talk about what premium credit cards can offer, let’s first look at some examples.

Possibly the most popular example is The Platinum Card® from American Express, with an eye-watering annual fee of $695 (see rates and fees). Slightly less expensive is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, which confers automatic Platinum Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy but comes with an annual fee of $650 (see rates and fees).

Moving further down the pricing scale, you’ll see premium credit cards like the all-around travel card in Chase Sapphire Reserve® ($550 annual fee) or Hilton’s premium credit card, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, which offers top-tier Diamond status for a $550 annual fee (see rates and fees).

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The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

There are also premium credit cards from the major U.S. airlines offering lounge access as a cardmember perk. These include the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card with a $650 annual fee (see rates and fees), the United Club℠ Infinite Card with a $525 annual fee and the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees) with an annual fee of $595.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a relative newcomer to the premium credit card realm. It also has the lowest annual fee, $395 (see rates and fees).

Now that we know what some common premium credit cards are — and what it costs to keep them in your wallet — let’s look at what they offer to see whether these high annual fees are worth it.

Lounge access

This may be the most obvious perk of these cards and the one most likely to catch the attention of your friends and family. Premium credit cards will provide lounge access of some type, but what it is and how easily you can access it varies by card.

On one end of the spectrum, you have cards that provide access to multiple lounges, allow you to bring guests and don’t have restrictions based on which airline you’re flying that day.

Those with the Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Venture X cards can take advantage of Priority Pass Select membership, which includes unlimited visits to Priority Pass lounges and the ability to bring guests into the lounge with you. Enrollment is required.

If you have the Platinum Card, you’ll also have access to American Express Centurion lounges, Delta Sky Club lounges, Escape Lounges — The Centurion Studio Partner, Airspace lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, Lufthansa lounges and other Global Lounge Collection partner lounges. Note that enrollment is required in advance for some benefits, and access to Delta lounges is limited to when you’re flying on Delta that day.

Effective 2/1/2025, eligible Platinum Card Members will receive 10 Visits per Eligible Platinum Card per year to the Delta Sky Club or to Grab and Go when traveling on a same-day Delta-operated flight.

Venture X cardholders also have access to Plaza Premium lounges and Capital One lounges.

Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive access to six Chase lounges, with another five slated to open in the near future.

On the other side, there are credit cards that provide access to airline-affiliated lounges. You’ll have access to these lounges only when flying on that airline and won’t have access to other lounges through these credit cards. This includes access to Admirals Club lounges with the AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, United Club lounges with the Club Infinite card and Delta Sky Club lounges with the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card.

Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 15 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, and each calendar year thereafter.

Annual credits

Out of the many benefits offered by premium credit cards, these will be the easiest to quantify since they have monetary values assigned to them.

Consider the Amex Platinum, which offers over $1,400 in annual value if you enroll for and use the benefits. This includes everything from reimbursing your Clear Plus membership fee and up to $200 in airline incident credits per year. You’ll also have access to up to $200 in hotel credits per year. Enrollment is required.

For its part, the Venture X offers cardholders $300 in annual travel credits on bookings made in the Capital One Travel portal and 10,000 bonus miles on each account anniversary.

Sapphire Reserve cardholders also enjoy up to $300 in annual travel credits, and these are easier to use because they apply broadly to anything considered “travel” and apply automatically to the first $300 of these purchases in a year. There’s no requirement to book using a certain website.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant cardholders receive up to $300 in dining credits per year on their card. This comes in the form of statement credits, available as up to $25 in credits for restaurant purchases each month. Takeout and delivery are included. Enrollment is required.

Elite status

Hilton Aspire cardholders automatically receive top-tier Diamond status with Hilton Honors for as long as their account is open. This status provides suite upgrades, bonus points earning and free breakfast or food and beverage credits during your stay.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant cardholders receive automatic Platinum Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, which offers perks like welcome gifts of bonus points, free breakfast, upgrades to suites when available at check-in and accelerated points-earning rates.

Amex Platinum cardmembers can enroll for Gold Elite status with both Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy. These status levels can provide bonus points on each stay, higher points-earning rates when paying for hotel rooms and upgrades to preferred rooms — though not to suites.

On the other hand, while these aren’t elite status tiers, you can receive status-like benefits from the United Club Infinite, Delta SkyMiles Reserve and AAdvantage Executive cards.

With the Club Infinite card, you’ll get two free checked bags for you and one companion on your same reservation when flying with United, plus priority access at check-in and other elitelike benefits. Delta Reserve cardmembers can enjoy a free first checked bag on Delta-operated flights for the cardholder and up to eight companions on the same reservation. For AAdvantage Executive cardholders, you and up to eight companions on the same reservation get a free first checked bag on American Airlines flights, as well as priority check-in, priority boarding and priority airport screening where available.

The Venture X and Sapphire Reserve cards don’t offer any type of elite status on a permanent basis.

Reduce travel stress

Travel can be stressful — even when everything goes according to plan. The crowds, the lines…it can be a lot to deal with. Premium credit cards can help you to reduce stress by getting through the crowds quickly and helping you when things go wrong during a trip.

Looking at the first option (the crowds and the lines), premium credit cards can help you by offering reimbursement for your application fee to Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Additionally, the United Club Infinite and Sapphire Reserve cards will reimburse your application fee for Nexus, which is a cross-border program between the U.S. and Canada. You’ll need to pay with your eligible card to receive reimbursement for these programs. With American Express cards, you may also need to enroll for the benefit in advance before making your payment.

Clear Plus is another program helping to expedite your path through airport security. Your annual membership fee can be reimbursed if you pay for it with your Amex Platinum. However, you must enroll for this benefit before making your payment.

Premium credit cards should offer benefits like trip cancellation insurance, trip delay insurance, lost or delayed baggage coverage and emergency insurance in case of injuries or emergencies that happen during a trip. These can reduce stress and help when problems arise during a trip.

Trip cancellation protection will reimburse you for lost money when you must cancel a trip for a covered reason, and these reasons can vary across insurance providers. They’ll generally cover things like being called into work or a sickness in your family that prevents you from traveling. Trip delay protection will reimburse you for extra expenses you incur during a delay, such as needing to purchase meals or pay for a hotel because your flight is departing later than expected.

When your luggage is lost or delayed, you can be reimbursed for necessary expenses you incur while waiting — think of clean underwear and toiletries, for example — or the value of your belongings if the suitcase is permanently lost. It’s worth noting here that only the United Club Infinite and Sapphire Reserve cards provide benefits for delayed baggage.

Premium credit cards also can protect your rental car on an upcoming trip. It’s worth distinguishing whether your card provides primary coverage or secondary coverage. The Venture X and Sapphire Reserve provide primary rental car insurance. Cards from American Express (including the Delta Reserve, Platinum Card, Hilton Aspire and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant) provide secondary coverage.*

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered, and geographic restrictions apply. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

Protect your purchases

Premium credit cards can also protect you and your belongings while at home. These protections come in the form of benefits like purchase protection, extended warranty, return protection and cellphone protection.

Purchase protection can protect items purchased with your card that have been accidentally damaged, stolen or lost for a period of time.

The extended warranty benefit can add an extra year of warranty protection to a manufacturer’s warranty when making a purchase with an eligible credit card. Meanwhile, return protection typically covers you for items purchased on your card within the last 90 days, but the store won’t accept returns.

Cellphone protection provides coverage for a stolen or damaged phone that you purchased using an eligible credit card or a phone associated with a mobile phone plan for which you paid the bill on your eligible card during the previous billing cycle.

*For American Express cards, eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Points-earning opportunities

To be clear, premium credit cars are not always your best credit card for every purchase. They likely aren’t your best credit card for everyday spending, either.

That being said, there are some categories where you can rack up extra points and miles by making purchases with a premium credit card.

For example, the Amex Platinum Card is the best card for purchasing airfare. Platinum cardmembers earn 5 points per dollar on airfare purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per year, then 1 point per dollar).

Additionally, most premium cobranded cards offer an unmatched return on purchases within their brand. For instance, Hilton Aspire cardholders can earn 14 points per dollar at hotels in the Hilton portfolio — a much higher earning rate than you’ll find on any other card.

Again, these premium cards likely aren’t your best bet for everyday spending, but they can offer some significant value if you spend a lot in their bonus categories.

Bottom line

As you can see, premium cards offer a lot, but what they offer isn’t always the same. The annual fees also range from $395 to $695 — a difference of $300 per year. Determining whether premium credit cards are worth their annual fees will depend on which perks you’re able to use and how much value they provide for you.

If the value provided by the card is close to the cost of the annual fee, you’ll probably consider it worthwhile. Those who can maximize the benefits of their premium credit cards may have it even better: You may find that the bank is essentially paying you to keep the card each year because you’re unlocking more value than what you pay for the annual fee.

Apply here: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Apply here: Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
Apply here: Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card
Apply here: The Platinum Card from American Express
Apply here: United Club Infinite Card

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Amex card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card, click here.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

October 10, 2024Last Updated: October 10, 2024

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