Is a Card’s Annual Fee Worth It? Break-Even Calculator
A fee card only wins if the extra rewards beat the fee. Enter your monthly spend and both cards’ reward rates to see the break-even point and your actual gain or loss.
Uses one blended rate per card. If rates differ by category, use your biggest category’s rates, or run the calculator per category and add the results.
How this is calculated
Break-even annual spend = annual fee divided by (fee card rate minus no-fee rate). Net gain = annual spend times the rate difference, minus the fee.
Worked example: a $120 fee card earning 4% against a no-fee card earning 2% breaks even at $6,000 of spending a year, or $500 a month. Spend $1,500 a month and the fee card nets you $240 a year. Verified with an independent calculation.
For the full logic with real cards, see is a cash back card annual fee worth it.
General information, not financial advice. Welcome bonuses and insurance perks are not modelled. See how we check the numbers.