Annual fees are generally worth it when you can maximize a credit card’s benefits and earning structure. But it’s understandable if you’re hesitant to add many premium travel rewards cards with high annual fees to your wallet.
Luckily, with competition fierce among card issuers for new customers, many of the best credit cards have annual fees of under $100. Here are our top picks.
Best credit cards with annual fees under $100
The information for the Capital One Savor and Amex EveryDay Preferred cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Comparison of the best credit cards with annual fees under $100
| Card | Welcome offer | Earning rates | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred Card | Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening | 5 points per dollar on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
3 points per dollar on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out 3 points per dollar on select streaming services 3 points per dollar on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs) 2 points per dollar on all other travel 1 point per dollar on all other purchases |
$95 |
| Ink Business Preferred Credit Card | Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 in the first three months of account opening | 3 points per dollar on travel shipping, internet, cable and phone services and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines (on up to $150,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year)
1 point per dollar on everything else |
$95 |
| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening | 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases (through Dec. 31, 2025) 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
$95 (see rates and fees) |
| Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express | Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card within the first six months | 6% at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1%)
6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions 3% on transit and U.S. gas stations 1% on other eligible purchases |
$0 intro annual fee for first year, then $95 (see rates and fees) |
| Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card | Earn a $300 cash bonus once you spend $3,000 on purchases within three months of account opening | 8% on Capital One Entertainment purchases
5% on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 4% on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services 3% at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target) 1% on all other purchases |
$95 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card | Earn three free night awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening. Certain hotels have resort fees. | Up to 17 points per dollar at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
3 points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on gas stations, grocery stores and dining 2 points per dollar on everything else |
$95 |
| The Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card from American Express | Earn 15,000 points after you spend $2,000 within your first three months of account opening | 3 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar)
2 points per dollar at U.S. gas stations 1 point per dollar on all other purchases |
$95 |
| Wells Fargo Autograph Journey | Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months | 5 points per dollar at hotels
4 points per dollar on airline purchases 3 points per dollar on other travel and dining purchases 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases |
$95 |
The information for the Amex EveryDay Preferred card credit card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Now that you have a snapshot of how these cards stack up against one another, here are the details.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Why it’s worth it: You could argue that this card ignited the sub-$100 market segment when it started offering 3 points per dollar on dining and 2 per dollar on travel (plus several other categories). The Chase Sapphire Preferred consistently makes any list of the best travel credit cards, which is no surprise because you can get great value from Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring to Chase’s airline and hotel partners.
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card also gives you 1.25 cents per point in value when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel℠. There are no foreign transaction fees.
For more information, see our Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review. And before applying, check out what credit score is needed to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and 6 reasons the Chase Sapphire Preferred should be your next card.
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Why it’s worth it: The Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is one of the best small-business cards on the market. It offers 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on up to $150,000 spent each account anniversary year in combined purchases on travel, shipping internet, cable and phone services and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines. You earn 1 point per dollar spent elsewhere.
Like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer points to airline and hotel programs and receive 1.25 cents per point when redeeming your points for travel in the Chase Travel portal. This card has plenty of travel insurance and purchase protections, including a cellphone protection plan. There are no foreign transaction fees.
For more information, check out the full Ink Business Preferred Credit Card review and look at five reasons to get the Ink Business Preferred credit card.
Apply here: Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Annual fee: $95 (see rates and fees)
Current welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Why it’s worth it: The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is excellent for casual travelers and those looking for a card that will earn consistently on everyday purchases. After all, you’ll earn at least 2 miles per dollar on every purchase.
There are plenty of ways to use your Capital One miles for maximum value. While you can redeem your miles by transferring to airline and hotel partners, you can also redeem at a fixed value for eligible purchases — including some travel expenses that generally wouldn’t be covered by rewards, such as Blade helicopter rides.
For more information, see the full Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review. And before you apply, check out five ways Capital One Venture is winning the credit card game.
Learn more: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for first year, then $95 (see rates and fees)
Current welcome offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card within the first six months.
Why it’s worth it: The Blue Cash Preferred is one of the best cash-back cards out there. You’ll earn 6% on select U.S. streaming services and on the first $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year (then 1%). You’ll also earn 3% at U.S. gas stations and transit and 1% on everything else.
To learn more, check out the full Blue Cash Preferred Card review. And, before applying, read nine lesser-known benefits of the Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card and who should (and shouldn’t) get the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card.
Apply here: Blue Cash Preferred Card
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn a one-time $300 cash bonus once you spend $3,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.
Why it’s worth it: The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is a cash-back credit card. Specifically, you’ll earn 3% cash back on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 3% at grocery stores and 1% on all other purchases.
However, if you also have the Capital One Venture Rewards card, you can convert your cash-back earnings to miles. So, you could earn 4 miles per dollar on dining and entertainment and 3 miles per dollar at grocery stores if you have both these cards.
To learn more, see the full Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card review, and check out our card comparisons for Capital One Venture vs. Capital One Savor and Capital One Savor vs. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Related: Best ways to use the cash back from your credit card
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn three free night awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening. Certain hotels have resort fees.
Why it’s worth it: The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card comes with automatic Silver Elite status, 15 elite-qualifying nights each year and a free night certificate on each account anniversary that’s valid at any Marriott property costing 35,000 points or less.
You’ll earn up to 17 Bonvoy points per dollar spent at over 7,000 participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3 points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on gas stations, grocery stores and dining and 2 points per dollar spent everywhere else.
Marriott Bonvoy points are easy to redeem for both hotel awards and transfers to airline partners.
To learn more, see the full Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card review. You can also read about why you need both a personal and business Marriott Bonvoy credit card and what credit score you need to get the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card.
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $2,000 in your first three months of card membership.
Why it’s worth it: The Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card from American Express earns 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 spent annually, then 1 point per dollar), 2 points per dollar at U.S. gas stations and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Those bonus categories are already respectable, but if you make at least 30 transactions during your monthly billing cycle, you get a 50% points bonus, which allows you to earn 4.5, 3 and 1.5 points per dollar, respectively.
There are several ways to redeem American Express Membership Rewards points for maximum value, but the best use of Amex Membership Rewards points is usually to transfer to Amex’s partner airline and hotel programs. The card has a $95 annual fee and a 2.7% foreign transaction fee.
For more information, see the full Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card review, and check out Amex EveryDay Preferred versus Amex Blue Cash Preferred and Chase Sapphire Preferred versus Amex EveryDay Preferred.
The information for the Amex EveryDay Preferred card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: The best ways to earn a 50% point bonus on the Amex EveryDay Preferred card
Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.
Why it’s worth it: The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey is an upgraded mid-tier version of the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card (see rates and fees). It comes with perks like a $50 annual statement credit for airline purchases (with a $50 minimum airline purchase) and more valuable earnings rates on travel and dining purchases.
Look for this card to grow in value as the newly refreshed Wells Fargo Rewards program adds more transfer partners. For now, though, you can utilize a more straightforward travel redemption process while enjoying the upside of a handful of select partners.
For more information, read our full review of the Autograph Journey.
Apply here: Wells Fargo Autograph Journey
Bottom line
Evaluating whether a credit card with an annual fee makes sense is important. Although this isn’t a comprehensive list of all the credit cards with low annual fees, these are our favorites and some of the best on the market.
By picking up one of these cards and maximizing its respective bonus categories (and welcome offer), you’ll be well on your way toward your next travel adventure. Sometimes, it pays to have a card with a small annual fee, whether moving up from a no-annual-fee card or pairing it with a premium travel rewards card.
If you use your card to spend in its bonus categories and redeem worthwhile rewards, you can reap much more value than its annual fee.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred, click here.
