---
title: "What is Annual fee? | Benefit Systems"
description: "An annual fee is the fixed yearly price of holding a card, charged regardless of how much is spent on it or which benefits are used."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Annual fee?

An annual fee is the fixed yearly price of holding a card, charged regardless of how much is spent on it or which benefits are used.

Also called: Card fee.

## How it works #

The only honest calculation weighs the fee against what would genuinely have been paid in cash without the card. Credits for services that would never be bought otherwise count as an incentive, not as value received. The calculation is redone every year, because benefits get cut and fees get raised while the accumulated balance stays where it is.

## Not to be confused with #

An annual fee is not the same as a foreign transaction fee: one is charged once a year for holding the card, the other is a percentage on every purchase in another currency.

## In German #

The German term is Jahresgebühr. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/jahresgebuehr)

## Related terms #

- [Statement credit](/en/glossary/statement-credit): A statement credit is an amount the card issuer refunds against qualifying purchases instead of awarding points for them.
- [Product change](/en/glossary/product-change): A product change is swapping an existing card for a different one from the same issuer without closing the account and reapplying.
- [Welcome bonus](/en/glossary/welcome-bonus): A welcome bonus is a one-off points credit for opening a new card and meeting a minimum spending requirement within a set period.

## Articles that use this term #

- [At what annual fee does a travel card stop paying for itself?](/en/knowledge/annual-fee-math)
- [Cancel the card or downgrade it?](/en/knowledge/cancel-or-downgrade)
- [How much is a welcome bonus actually worth?](/en/knowledge/welcome-bonus-value)
- [What is a point actually worth, and how do you work it out yourself?](/en/knowledge/point-value)
- [When collecting points isn’t worth it](/en/knowledge/when-points-arent-worth-it)
- [What does your card’s travel insurance actually cover?](/en/knowledge/card-travel-insurance)