LendingTree Money Insights: Trusted Advice From Our Experts
35% of Cardholders Wouldn’t Cancel If Their Annual Fee Jumped $100
Written by Matt Schulz, edited by Dan Shepard — published Sept. 16, 2025
“If your primary credit card’s annual fee rose by $100 without adding any benefits, would you keep it?”
LendingTree asked this question in July to more than 800 Americans with an annual fee credit card, and 35% said yes.
I was stunned. Closing a credit card isn’t something to be done lightly, but the fact that more than 1 in 3 people we asked would willingly absorb a $100 annual fee increase without getting anything new in return blew me away.
High-income earners, millennials ages 29 to 44, Republicans and men are among the most likely to say yes. Here’s a closer look.
- 50% of those making $100,000 or more a year say they’d keep the card, versus no more than 31% among lower-income brackets
- 46% of millennials, versus 39% of Gen Zers ages 18 to 28, 33% of Gen Xers ages 45 to 60 and 10% of baby boomers ages 61 to 79
- 44% of Republicans, versus 35% of Democrats and 28% of independents
- 44% of men, versus 25% of women
We wanted to ask this because sky-high annual fees have been in the news lately. Several major credit card issuers have introduced new high-annual-fee cards or announced plans (or been rumored to do so soon) to hike the annual fee on a current high-annual-fee card. Unlike the hypothetical card in our question, these updated cards are expected to come with at least some new benefits. Still, given that many high-end cards already have annual fees of $500 or higher, any new increases are noteworthy.
There’s risk for card issuers with any annual fee increase. A 2024 LendingTree survey of credit cardholders (including those who don’t have an annual fee card) found that just 9% of cardholders would consider paying an annual fee of $400 or more on a card, including 3% who said they’d be willing to pay $1,000 or more depending on the benefits. Meanwhile, 45% would never pay an annual fee and another 30% would never pay $100 or more for one.
Still, the results of our July survey clearly show that people haven’t hit their ceiling when it comes to credit card annual fees. That means we can expect to continue seeing banks push the envelope in the future.
What to do in case of an annual fee increase
- Ask for a fee waiver or reduction. A separate 2025 LendingTree survey found that a stunning 95% of cardholders who asked to have an annual fee waived or reduced in the past year got their way, though just 39% of those with an annual fee credit card asked. It stands to reason that a bank might be more willing to waive an $89 fee than a $695 fee, but it can’t hurt to ask. That 95% success rate means that it isn’t just people with low annual fees, 800 credit scores and long track records getting their way.
- Downgrade to a no-annual-fee version. This isn’t always possible, but it’s certainly worth asking about. When it comes to your credit, downgrading isn’t seen as closing an account and opening a new one. Instead, it’s seen merely as changing to a different version of the same card.
- If all else fails, it’s likely OK to cancel the card. Generally speaking, when in doubt, you should probably just keep that credit card you’re considering closing. One major exception to that rule is when an annual fee is involved. If a card has an annual fee and you know that you’re not going to use it anymore, you’re likely better off canceling the card. There’s no need to pay that annual fee just to protect your credit.
Credit pro tip: If you cancel the card, consider asking for a credit limit boost on another one of your cards. That new credit can replace the available credit you lost with the newly closed card and minimize the damage the closing did to your credit.
