Rewards cards can seem like a great deal — until you read the fine print.
Around 16% of credit cards have annual fees, with the average annual one totaling $127. Some cards charge much more than that, though. In fact, the Mastercard Black Card will run you $699 a year to be a cardholder, while the American Express Platinum card charges a whopping $895 annual fee as of August 2026.
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While these fees are very high, these are luxury cards that come with lots of perks, including airline lounge access, points for flights and hotels, global dining deals and statement credits for certain purchases. So the fee may seem worth it for the perks.
But some credit card experts say those perks are actually becoming more difficult to use, even as the cards become costlier. This makes it harder for card issuers to justify charging you a premium for the privilege of having their card in your wallet.
"Cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Platinum, Amex Gold and even the Bilt program have gone through recent overhauls and refreshes that added more credits and benefits, but also raised the annual fee," Nick Romito, founder of Points Theory, a personal finance and travel site, told Moneywise.
The good news is that experts believe rewards cards can still be valuable. You just need to find the right one and use it wisely.
Managing credit card rewards and perks can be a full-time job
When it comes to credit card benefits, there's good and bad news for consumers.
"The banks and credit card programs are certainly not scaling back in terms of the sheer quantity of benefits and perks," Romito said. "But they do seem to be scaling back on the quality and ease of use of the benefits and perks on offer."
Brian Rooney, founder of Chapter7Reset.com, which helps people rebuild after bankruptcy, told Moneywise, "I think we're seeing less of a simple across-the-board reduction in rewards and more of a shift in how issuers deliver value."
Rooney explained that many perks now require you to meet high minimum spending thresholds, and many cards want you to claim a long list of statement credits to justify the fee.
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