The $95 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is turning into a $150 question for a lot of households this year.
Chase has been notifying cardholders that the fee on new and renewed accounts is moving higher, and the internet reacted the way it always does when a beloved travel card gets more expensive.
Some people are already planning to downgrade, cancel, or switch to a no-fee card before the next statement closes.
Here is the part that matters for your budget: an annual fee is only worth paying if you actually use the perks that come with it.
The Sapphire Preferred still offers a sign-up bonus, points on dining and travel, and a credit toward a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application every four years.
But if you are not traveling, not using the portal, and not transferring points to airline or hotel partners, that fee is just money leaving your account every year.
At $150, you need to earn or redeem at least that much in value just to break even.
A single $50 travel credit does not cover it.
The card's real value comes from stacking rewards on spending you were already going to do, plus the occasional transfer bonus that turns points into a cheap flight.
If your spending is mostly groceries and gas with a couple of streaming subscriptions, a flat-rate cash-back card with no fee often wins.
You can call Chase and ask for a retention offer, which sometimes means bonus points or a statement credit in exchange for keeping the account open another year.
You can downgrade to the no-fee Chase Sapphire, though you give up some earning rates.
Or you can cancel outright, but do it after you have used any points, since you generally lose them when the account closes.
One more thing people miss: the fee usually posts on your renewal date, and you have a short window to cancel and get it refunded.
If you are on the fence, check your statement right after the anniversary.
Waiting three months to decide often means eating the charge.
Also worth noting, the fee increase is not the only cost shift.
Travel cards across the board have been raising fees and trimming benefits, partly because banks are paying more to run these programs.
That means the bar for "worth it" keeps rising, and the cards that made sense in 2019 may not make sense now.
Our take: treat every annual fee like a subscription you have to justify.
If you cannot name the specific trips or perks that will cover the cost in the next twelve months, downgrade and keep the cash.
Final Thoughts
Loyalty to a card brand is not a financial strategy.