How to avoid credit card annual fees
I personally love getting out of credit card annual fees to me it’s like David and Goliath, you’re David and you’re calling up this huge mega-corporation that’s goliath and trying to avoid the fees they want to hit you with and you can actually win and get out of them! By the end of this video, you’ll know exactly how to get out of credit card annual fees as well. I’m not going to show you the exact steps I take to get out of fees but I’m going to show you proof as well.
I get of out of annual fees on a pretty regular basis here is proof from two different credit cards that I had the waived. My Citi AAdvantage card and my Southwest Rapid Rewards card.
Here are some quick guidelines of what I’m going to go over and what the steps look like to get out of the fee.
Here’s the video version as well if you prefer
Here are the steps to follow!
- Come up with your plan
- Call-in
- Get out of that fee
- Next steps
- Blow the money you just saved! (just kidding -maybe)
Come up with your plan
Before you call you to need to ask yourself, what would be worth it for you to avoid this fee? A certain amount of miles? A certain spending requirement? Are you willing to downgrade to the free version of this card?
These are important because the rep you get on the phone may offer some of these options to avoid the fee so know what you want and what you don’t.
For example, when I called in to get out of the fee for my Citi Airlines AA advantage card the rep said if I spent $300 in 90 days they would reimburse the $95 annual fee. I took them up on that and got the fee reimbursed.
The following year I didn’t really need to keep the card open at all anymore. Because I wanted to be eligible again for the signup bonus again in the future. So when I called in to get out of the fee, the best the rep could do is offer me a downgrade to the free version of that card which was fine by me.
These are two ways to have the fee waived on your credit. Sometimes they will offer you some pretty easy spending hoops to jump through like spending $300 in 90 days as I mentioned or to downgrade your credit card to the free version of it.
Once you have your plan now it’s time to call in!
Call-in
Flip your card over and dial that number, to speed through the automated voice that routes you to the correct party you can usually just say “representative” to get connected with someone
First, build some rapport, you can ask them where they’re from how their day is going. Remember you’re talking to another human on the other end of the phone.
After you build rapport let them know you like the card but you noticed you have a fee coming up and if there’s any way to get out of it.
Next, the representative will most likely make you an offer of sorts or simply remove the fee. I’ve had both happen. Hear out the offer and if it makes sense -take it!
For example, an offer could be -if you spend $500 in the next 90 days we’ll remove the fee or spend $300 as I have with my Citi AA card as I mentioned before the spending amount totally depends on the bank.
If they don’t make an offer, and you’re okay downgrading the card ask if that’s an option!
I’ve downgraded a number of cards because to me it didn’t really make sense to use them anymore after the initial bonus.
I store downgraded cards in a separate wallet that never leaves the house. I also set a calendar reminder on when to use them so they don’t expire and boom! My credit history grows every single day strengthening my credit with virtually no work. Also, when you downgrade it doesn’t count as you closing an account so it doesn’t affect your credit history negatively in any way.
The only thing that could be a negative is now you’re probably eligible for less spending rewards with the free version of that card. But in a lot of cases, in my opinion, it doesn’t even make sense to spend on a number of cards after you’ve already received the signup bonus.
Get out of that fee
Now that you’ve gotten out of the fee take the necessary steps to have the fee removed. It might be paying a certain amount or jumping through other hoops but get it done! If they just waived the fee congrats you made it, that 10-minute call just saved you $95 or whatever it happened to be. Congratulations! Here is also some screenshots of people I’ve helped avoid annual fees and get them lowered literally with a quick phone call!
Next Steps
Now hop on your favorite electronic calendar and set a reminder 11 months out to remind you to call in and get out of the next annual fee when it comes around. Or simply to use the card again if it was downgraded so it doesn’t get closed due to inactivity.
Also, as a quick note If you get a rep you just can’t work with feel free to just hang up and call again. I’ve gotten fees removed on the second call!
Good luck, and make sure to put that money you saved to good use!
If you folks want to learn more about credit, how to get out of fees, get the most out of cards value, improve your credit score, and a whole lot more consider hitting that subscribe button because the goal for my channel is to help you save and make a lot of money!
I’ll see you, folks, soon, thanks for watching!
