Featured Review: Credit Cards worth Paying Annual Fees without Spending

Featured Review: Credit Cards worth Paying Annual Fees without Spending (NOT updated)

Updated May 5, 2018. Please see our dated review here.

In this review, we will cover some credit cards that we think worth paying annual fees without ever making a purchase with them. For most of them, you don't even need to carry them in your wallet but rather putting them in drawers collecting dust. The idea is that even though these cards may not be great in earning rewards compared to our favorites, they offer special perks that value much more than the annual fees you are paying.

Amex Hilton Honors Ascend ($95)

Benefits in a nutshell: As long as you have the card, you will have Hilton Gold status, which is the second best hotel mid-tier elite status and is worth much more than the annual fee. In addition, after you spend $15K each year, you will earn a free weekend night at any Hilton worldwide portfolio hotels, which can be redeemed at luxury properties such as Conrad Maldives, Conrad Koh Samui, Conrad Bora Bora Nui, Conrad Tokyo, Hilton Seychelles Labriz, Hilton Seychelles Northolme, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, etc.
Why not putting spending on the card? It returns three Hilton points for general purchases (6x on dining | groceries | gas station, and 12x on Hilton), and Hilton points are generally worth much less than one cent a piece (our current valuation is 0.4 so 3x on general spending doesn't translate to great rewards). However, spending $15K a year to earn the free weekend night will be a wise thing to do, especially when you are spending on Hilton.
In the drawer? Yes unless you are working on earning the annual free weekend night.

Amex Hilton Honors Aspire ($450)

Benefits in a nutshell: The effective annual fee becomes $200 after considering the annual $250 airline credit. With that, this card offers four major perks: (1) complimentary Hilton Diamond status which has all the Hilton Gold's benefits plus more such as guaranteed lounge access at Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree, Curio Collection, and Tapestry Collection hotels and resorts, (2) an annual free weekend night at most Hilton worldwide portfolio hotels or resorts, (3) annual $250 statement credits for purchases made at any Hilton portfolio resort, and (4) Priority Pass Select membership with unlimited access to 50+ domestic lounges and 1,000+ international lounges for you plus two guests. Note that free weekend night and Diamond status will be linked to your Hilton Honors account and you will receive a separate Priority Pass Select membership card for airport lounge access.
Why not putting spending on the card? The same reason as Hilton Ascend (see above).
In the drawer? Yes unless you are spending on Hilton.

Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa ($75)

Benefits in a nutshell: You receive an annual economy class companion certificate for you to take a companion at only $99 on any Alaska flight including those to/from Hawaii and Alaska. This companion certificate is the best among those offered by credit cards since most others are limited within contiguous U.S. Obviously, when used wisely, this alone can save you hundreds of dollars.
Why not putting spending on the card? It returns one Alaska mile per dollar spent for general purchases (and 3x on Alaska), and even though these miles are very valuable we think you can do better with Amex SPG whose points can be transferred into 30 partner programs including Alaska at 1:1.25 ratio when transferred in bulks of 20K.
In the drawer? Yes.

JPM Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite ($450)

Benefits in a nutshell: The effective annual fee after considering the annual $300 airline credit is $150. The six major perks come with that are: 1) three club level upgrades at Ritz-Carlton each year, 2) complimentary Ritz-Carlton & Marriott Gold status (can also be matched to SPG Gold) for the first year and after $10K annual spending thereafter, 3) privileges at over 1,500 luxury hotels worldwide through Visa Infinite, 4) access to 50+ domestic lounges and 1,000+ international lounges for you plus guests through Priority Pass Select, 5) $100 companion discount per trip for domestic coach class airfare, and 6) primary rental car collision coverage.
Why not putting spending on the card? It returns one Ritz-Carlton/Marriott Rewards point per dollar spent for general purchases (and 2x on airfare, car rental and dining, and 5x on Ritz-Carlton & Marriott), and these points are generally considered less than one cent a piece (our current valuation is 0.75).
In the drawer? Yes, unless you are activating certain benefits of the card (club level upgrades, Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, companion airfare discount, primary rental car coverage).

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Visa ($95)

Benefits in a nutshell: Your receive an annual free night at an Marriott portfolio hotel at a redemption level of up to 35,000 points. Capped at 35,000 points, the free night is mostly good for mid-range hotels; however, in some parts of the world, you can still find very nice hotels in this range. In addition, you receive 15 night credits each year toward elite status, which can be valuable to Marriott frequent guests.
Why not putting spending on the card? It returns 2 Marriott points per dollar spent (and 6x Marriott), and Marriott points are generally considered less than one cent a piece (our current valuation is 0.75). Based on our value, you would be better off using a 2% cashback card such as Citi Double Cash.
In the drawer? Yes, unless spending at Marriott portfolio hotels.

Chase Hyatt Visa ($75)

Benefits in a nutshell: You receive an annual free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt brand hotels worldwide. Currently Hyatt has seven categories and this certificate is mostly good toward mid-range hotels; however, just like with Marriott, you may still find very nice hotels in these categories. You also receive complimentary Hyatt Discoverist, their entry-level status, as long as you have the card; however, the benefits are limited. You will be upgraded to Hyatt Explorist, their mid-tier status, after you spend at least $50K per year; while Explorist does come with some great benefits such as four Club upgrades, the $50K spending requirement is a bit too high in our opinion.
Why not putting spending on the card? It returns one Hyatt point per dollar spent (and 2x dining, airfare and car rentals, and 3x Hyatt purchases), and even though Hyatt points are considered second to SPG points in value among hotel currencies (our current valuation is 1.3 cent per point), we will recommend using Chase Sapphire Reserve (or Chase Sapphire Preferred) instead since its bonus rewards cover more categories and its Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to 11 partner programs including Hyatt.
In the drawer? Yes.

Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier MasterCard ($89)

Benefits in a nutshell: You receive an annual free night at an IHG hotel with a redemption level up to 40,000 points. IHG's current top-tier hotels require 70,000 points per night, so the annual free nights are mostly good for mid-range hotels. The annual free nights offered by the old IHG MasterCard used to be un-capped, meaning you might redeem them at top-tier IHG hotels. Thus the 40K cap is obviously a pretty huge devaluation; however, the annual free night is still worth much more than the $89 annual fee, because based on our value, 40K IHG points are worth ~$160 and the value of the free night certificate will be a little less due to the expiration policy. In addition, you are also granted IHG's top tier elite status Platinum as long as you have the card; this status doesn't have great published benefits (so not as great as SPG Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, or Marriott Platinum) but it some parts of the world (such as Asia) it can still be very valuable.
Why not putting spending on the card? It returns one IHG Rewards point per dollar spent for general purchases (and 2x on gas, groceries and dining, and 10x IHG hotel purchases), and these points are generally considered less than one cent a piece (our current valuation is 0.4).
In the drawer? Yes.

US Bank Club Carlson Premier Visa ($75)

Benefits in a nutshell: You will receive 40,000 Club Carlson points every year you renew your card. Based on our current valuation at 0.25 cent per point, these bonus points are worth more than the annual fee. As long as you have the card, you will have Club Carlson Gold status, which is generally less valuable than Hilton Gold but may still be of good value. In addition, if you spend at least $10,000 in the previous year, you will receive an anniversary free night, which you may redeem at their top-tier hotels such as The May Fair in London, Radisson Blu Champs Elysees Paris, Radisson Royal Hotel in Moscow, Radisson Blu 1919 Hotel Reykjavik, Radisson Blu Plaza Sydney, Radisson Blu Aqua Chicago, etc.
Why not putting spending on the card? It returns 5x for general purchases and 10x for Club Carlson hotels, and that translates to 1.25% and 2.5% cashback equivalent earning based on our current valuation, which is not that attractive.
In the drawer? Yes, unless you are working on earning the annual free night.