If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, that $95 annual fee just hit your statement again.
And this year, it lands at a moment when every dollar is already stretched thin at the checkout line.
The card's biggest selling point is its 3x points on dining and online groceries.
But grocery prices are up roughly 25% since early 2020, according to federal inflation data.
So even if you're earning more points on food, you're spending far more cash to earn them.
The fee itself hasn't moved in years, which sounds like good news.
In real terms, $95 buys less than it did five years ago, but your paycheck hasn't kept pace with the cumulative rise in rent, insurance, and utilities.
If you carry a balance, the card's APR sits above 20% for most users, and the Fed's rate hikes since 2022 pushed that number higher.
A $95 fee is trivial next to what compound interest does to a $2,000 balance over twelve months.
Points programs are designed to nudge you toward spending more than you would otherwise, because the rewards feel like a discount when they're actually a rebate on money you already spent.
Did you order delivery one extra time last month because you wanted the 3x points?
Did you book a flight through the Chase portal instead of a cheaper airline site because of the 5x bonus?
Those small decisions are where the real cost hides.
The travel credit helps, but only if you actually use it.
Many cardholders forget to claim it, or they book a trip they wouldn't have taken otherwise.
A credit you don't use is just a fee with extra steps.
Closing the card can ding your score by shortening your credit history and cutting your available credit.
So plenty of people keep paying $95 a year not because the card is worth it, but because canceling feels risky.
That's a subscription you're afraid to cancel.
Pull your last twelve months of statements and add up the actual cash value of the points and credits you redeemed.
If that number is under $95, the card is costing you money.
If it's comfortably above, keep it and stop worrying.
If it's close, call Chase and ask about a retention offer or a downgrade to a no-fee card that preserves your credit history.
The same logic applies to every annual fee card in your wallet.
Your credit card fees should be earning their keep, not quietly taxing a budget that's already tight.
My take: rewards cards are a tool, not a personality.
If a $95 fee isn't producing at least double that in real, redeemed value, it's not a perk.
Final Thoughts
It's a leak in your monthly budget, and leaks are exactly what you can't afford right now.