Can I get Chase to waive my credit card’s annual fee?

It’s certainly worth a try to ask Chase to waive the annual fee. The Chase customer service line is 1-800-432-3117. If you use the card a lot and are a responsible customer – meaning, you swipe often so Chase makes money on the processing fees and you consistently pay on time – you may be able to get them to waive the fee for a year or offer you an incentive to keep the card, such as a points bonus if you spend a certain amount within a specific time frame. Then again, Chase may not offer anything and you can then consider whether a product change is right for you. It’s anybody’s guess, but you won’t know unless you try.

One note: If you’re considering applying for the CardName, you could try applying in-branch. There is anecdotal evidence that you can get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® annual fee waived for the first year if you apply for the card in-person in a Chase branch rather than online. Obviously, you’ll want to make sure that the in-branch bonus offer is as good as what you can snag online.

And that bonus offer part is important: Keep in mind that annual fees exist because the credit cards that have them usually offer a lot of generous cash back rewards or points that can be redeemed for awards or miles that can go toward travel purchases. If you’re irked about the fee, maybe you aren’t getting enough mileage out of the credit card and should either try and use the rewards more, to get more bang for your buck out of the credit card, or look into applying for a Chase credit card with no annual fee. There several out there, such as CardName, and CardName.

Some customers may find that if they call the customer service phone number (1-800-432-3117) and mention they’re thinking of canceling or downgrading their credit card, Chase might offer a retention credit of $150 to $250 to remain a Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card customer.

That said, you could also call and subtly or not so subtly ask for a Chase Sapphire Reserve® retention credit and be politely informed that there is no such thing, or that you aren’t eligible.

You’re most likely to get a retention offer if you’ve used the card quite a bit during the previous year and kept the account paid up, always paying your bill by the due date. That said, the anecdotal evidence for Sapphire Reserve® retention offers isn’t good. That doesn’t mean they don’t happen; it just means they don’t seem to be common.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® annual fee is AnnualFees (plus, $. Yes, that’s an eye-popping amount, no doubt about it, although there are cards with higher fees. On the other hand, it isn’t smart to dismiss all credit cards that have a high annual fee, or any annual fee. You’ll want to look at the benefits and rewards that come with the card, and Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a lot. Check out our CardName to decide if the annual fee makes sense for you to pay or not.

While you’re poring through all of the benefits and rewards, if you do some basic math, you should be able to quickly determine whether you’re going to save and earn back more than AnnualFees a year. If it looks like you easily will, then that AnnualFees annual fee could be worth it. If you realize that you aren’t traveling much (Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers a lot of benefits and points for travelers), and that you’re not really going to be using the credit card all that often, then, sure, suddenly AnnualFees isn’t such a great bargain, and you probably should find a Chase credit card with no annual fee or at least a smaller one.

Here’s what you should know about Chase Sapphire Reserve® annual fee waivers: you likely won’t be able to get one. Right, that’s not what you want to hear. When the pandemic first started and nobody was traveling, Chase Sapphire Reserve® offered a $100 annual fee waiver to many of its cardholders, reducing the AnnualFees annual fee to $450.

Recently, Chase Sapphire Reserve® stopped offering its annual fee waivers. At least officially. Maybe if you call customer service, you will have luck getting a $100 annual fee waiver or a retention credit. Some customers have found that they’ve had luck getting a retention credit if they mention that they’re thinking of downgrading or canceling their credit card.

It has been tough to utilize some credit cards to its full potential, like travel rewards credit cards, during the ongoing pandemic, which is why some credit cards have been more generous in recent times with annual fee waivers.

Yes, the CardName annual fee makes a lot of sense, especially when you look at it compared to other cards under $100.

For starters, Chase Sapphire Preferred® gives you 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. That’s worth $750 when you redeem them for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Additionally, it offers bonus rewards when you spend in popular everyday categories, in addition to travel, so it’s an easy card to rack up rewards with. Especially if you travel a lot, the annual fee is easy to offset.

But like any credit card, it’s only worth paying the annual fee if you use the a lot – and in the right categories. If you only use Chase Sapphire Preferred® at the supermarket and rarely eat out or grab carryout, and you never travel, another credit card may be a better bet, maybe one without an annual fee or one that offers a lot of cash back when you spend money in other categories.

Chase is a top-tier brand that offers a lot of excellent credit cards. Chase has a wide array of credit cards, some that are especially focused on travel rewards (like the CardName and the CardName), some that are generous with rewards for general everyday spending (CardName) and others that are excellent for business owners (i.e., CardName).

So, yes, one can make a great case for why Chase is worth keeping in your wallet.