Good morning everyone! For the past few years, I’ve shared a year-end recap of the total credit card annual fees I paid and whether the benefits were worth it. In my most recent post from December 2024 (I Paid $5,341 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2024 – Was it Worth it?), I calculated a net profit of $15,914, factoring in $5,341 in annual fees and $360 in retention offers.
I didn’t mind jumping through many hoops to maximize those card benefits last year, but with a baby girl arriving in early August, my wife and I recently decided it’s time to simplify our lives. That means cutting back on complexity and costs by reducing the total annual fees we’ll pay in 2025. In this post, I’ll break down our credit cards into four categories: cards we have already closed, cards we plan to close later this year, cards we will downgrade, and cards with annual fees we will keep. Let’s get started..
Cards We Have Already Closed
| Credit Card Name | Annual Fee | Notes |
| Laura’s AMEX Gold | $325 | Closed card in February |
| Barclays JetBlue Plus | $99 | Closed card in March |
| Bank of America Air France / KLM | $89 | Closed card in March |
We didn’t receive any retention offers on these cards. While the AMEX Gold Card includes a variety of coupons / credits, it simply wasn’t worth the effort to maximize them this year.
Cards We Plan To Close Later This Year
| Credit Card Name | Annual Fee | Notes |
| AMEX Delta Platinum Business | $250 | Close card in July |
| Laura’s Barclays Hawaiian Airlines | $99 | Close card in August* |
| AMEX Business Gold 3 | $375 | Close card in November |
While both AMEX cards include a variety of credits / coupons, these cards do not provide enough value for us to justify paying the annual fees for another year.
* The Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Card might be saved if meaningful Alaska Airlines benefits are added before the next annual fee posts.
Cards We Will Downgrade
| Credit Card Name | Annual Fee | Notes |
| AMEX Business Platinum | $695 | Downgrade to AMEX Business Green Card in September** |
| AMEX Hilton Surpass | $150 | Downgrade to no annual fee Hilton Card in October |
I plan to keep both no annual fee cards and see if I receive decent upgrade offers in the future.
** I upgraded to the AMEX Business Platinum in September 2024 and the $695 annual fee posted in March 2025. If I downgrade to the AMEX Business Green in September 2025, I should receive a prorated refund on the annual fee.
Cards We Will Keep
| Credit Card Name | Annual Fee | Credit Card Benefits |
| Laura’s JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton | $450 | 85K Marriott Free Night Certificate + $300 Airline Incidental Credit |
| JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton | $450 | 85K Marriott Free Night Certificate + $300 Airline Incidental Credit |
| US Bank Altitude Reserve | $400 | $325 Travel Credit + 4.5% cash back with ApplePay |
| Capital One Venture X | $395 | $300 Travel Credit + 10K Anniversary Points + Capital One Lounge Access |
| Laura’s Chase Southwest Airlines Priority | $149 | 7,500 Southwest Airlines Points + $75 Southwest Airlines Travel Credit |
| AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business | $125 | 50K Marriott Free Night Certificate |
| Barclays Hawaiian Airlines | $99 | 70K Hawaiian Airlines Miles (Sign Up Bonus) |
| Chase IHG Rewards Business | $99 | 40K IHG Free Night Certificate |
| Chase IHG Rewards Premier | $99 | 40K IHG Free Night Certificate |
| Laura’s Chase IHG Rewards Premier | $99 | 40K IHG Free Night Certificate |
| Laura’s Chase World of Hyatt | $95 | Category 1-4 Hyatt Free Night Certificate |
| Chase Ink Plus (Travel with Grant) | $95 | 5x Office Supplies / Internet / Cable + ability to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to partners |
| Laura’s Chase Sapphire Preferred | $95 | 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards (Sign Up Bonus) |
| Citi Strata Premier | $95 | Ability to transfer Citi ThankYou Points to partners |
| Laura’s Bank of America Alaska Airlines | $95 | Alaska Airlines Companion Fare |
| Bank of America Alaska Airlines | $95 | Alaska Airlines Companion Fare |
| Bank of America Alaska Airlines Business | $95 | Alaska Airlines Companion Fare |
| Barclays Wyndham Rewards Earner Business | $95 | Wyndham Rewards Diamond Status + 15K Anniversary Points |
| Laura’s Capital One Venture Rewards | $59 | Laura’s oldest credit card and everywhere else credit card |
| Chase IHG Rewards Select | $49 | 40K IHG Free Night Certificate (Capped) |
This final table includes 20 credit cards with a combined total of $3,233 in annual fees. With a baby girl on the way, I’m not entirely sure how much travel we’ll manage in the coming year, but I’m optimistic that the value we’ll get from these credit card benefits and sign up bonuses will still outweigh the cost. Plus, many of these cards offer referral bonuses, so there’s potential to earn a little extra when friends, family, or readers use our referral links (found here).
By closing 6 credit cards and downgrading 2 others, we’re set to save between $1,500 and $2,000 in annual fees this year. Those savings will definitely come in handy for baby-related expenses like diapers, food, and clothes.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with the cards we’re keeping or closing? Please leave a comment below and let me know. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
Hi Grant – Great analysis and it’s always fascinating to hear your thoughts on cards to keep or cancel. It makes total sense to adjust your holdings to your new family situation.
A few thoughts – On your BofA Alaska cards, they each now require $6,000 spend to earn a new companion certificate. That’s a fair bit of spend that could potentially be valuable elsewhere. I know AS is your #1 airline but it would be a consideration in whether those cards are keepers. Also, the BofA AS Biz card is churnable (or at least it was the last time I tried), so it could be worth a look to see if you could cancel and then get a new card with SUB a few months later.
Last thing, I think the FNC on the Amex Bonvoy Biz card is 35k instead of 50k. That could make a difference in your decision whether to keep that card.
Hi Craig, we got all of our AS CC before the $6K spend requirement was added. I’m not sure I would keep multiple AS CC of those versions. I would be afraid to churn the AS Biz CC since the current version doesn’t require the $6K spending.
You’re right about the Marriott FNC. Here is what it says on the AMEX website: “Earn & Redeem Free Nights
Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month.‡ Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.”
I can still make good use of a 35K FNC for the $125 AF. It is kind of nice to have FNCs at the 35K, 50K, and 85K levels. I can pick and chose which cert to use according to the price of the hotel.
Gotcha. I didn’t realize the AS Companion Fare was grandfathered for longtime cardholders. For you, those AS cards are definitely keepers.
I continue to keep the Amex Bonvoy Business card, too, at least so far. Given that the annual fee is a deductible business expense for me, that brings the net cost of the 35k FNC down to less than $100. That works fine. My challenge is that I’m up against the Amex credit card limit, and that card looks like a relatively easy target to cut if I want to get another Amex credit card. I’ve resisted so far, but I can definitely see the use for another Amex Hilton card where I could earn more Hilton FNCs (as well as a SUB). Those Hilton FNCs are incredibly valuable to us, especially now that they can be used on any day of the week and with being able to use them at SLH hotels.
Yes, good point on the deductible business expense. I do that for my business credit cards too. The AMEX Marriott Biz CC can be closed after the FNC posts to your Marriott account and then you can go for another Hilton CC. I’m sitting on one Hilton FNC that I need to use in the coming months.