Don't want to pay your credit card's annual fee? Here's how to ask for a retention offer

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Is that annual fee worth it? CNBCselect has everything you need to know about retention offers and fee waivers.

Some credit cards come with pretty steep annual fees upwards of $500. While these fees might seem high, they can often be offset if you take full advantage of all the benefits the card offers, such as annual statement credits, generous welcome bonuses or exclusive cardmember perks.

However, over the course of the past year, I've opened several other credit cards, and I've been using the American Express® Gold Card less, as some of the other cards in my wallet offer rewards that better suit my spending needs.In my work as a reporter at, I had heard that retention offers and fee waivers exist, and I know people who have lucked out multiple times, so I figured I'd give it a try. After all, it never hurts to ask.

Then the rep asked if I wanted to downgrade my card to the American Express® Green Card, which has a lower $95 annual fee but offers fewer rewards — 2 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on travel booked at amextravel.com and 1 point per dollar on everything else. I declined because it doesn't suit my spending habits and asked the rep if there was a way I could receive bonus points to help offset the fee.

The representative reiterated that there are no such retention offers available to cardholders and listed the benefits provided by my card, also noting that I recently took advantage of some, such as the monthly $10 dining credit at select restaurants and annual $100 airline fee credit. I was again offered to downgrade to the American Express® Green Card. Since the representative was firm on that being the only option, I declined again and ended the approximately 15 minute call.

 

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