So following my thread on Credit cards, there's an interesting tid bit I read on SMH
http://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/want-zero-card-fees-al…
"Anyone with a premium credit card could, by just spending five minutes on the phone with their card provider, save a couple of hundred dollars a year."
Six consumers with cards from a variety of providers threatened to close their accounts if they did not get their fees waived or reduced.
Of the six shadow shoppers, four were offered sweeteners. A NAB rewards card-holder implied he was going to cancel the card and switch providers. NAB waived his $200 annual fee for 12 months.
Annual spend is $18,000, rewards $88
The typical annual spend on all types of credit cards is about $18,000. On this spend, the average rewards card delivers just $88 in value each year, the analysis shows.
One in five cards have such high fees and low value in rewards that the average spender will not earn enough in rewards value each year to outweigh the cost of the annual fee.
Lamont says rewards cards are marketed as delivering huge benefits, such as international flights and luxury hotel stays, but card-holders would need to be spending huge amounts receive these rewards.
With one rewards card, the card-holder would have to spend $64,000 a year to earn enough points to receive a $100 gift card, Lamont says.
She says card-holders should not be fooled by how many points each dollar of spending on the card earns.
Lamont says it is all about how the card issuer values its points and how many points need to be redeemed to get the reward.
For example, 50,000 points gives the card-holder 7.2 return flights from Sydney to Melbourne, but just 1.3 return flights on another card.
She says consumers should look for rewards cards aligned to an airline's frequent flyer points' scheme as they tend to deliver the best bang for the consumer's buck.
Yes, I tried it earlier this year and they waived my annual card fee. I called them when I saw the annual fee appeared on the monthly statement.