Is it worth paying an annual fee on a credit card?
Pooja Hegde Khatri
Asked 18 Mar 2026
Most premium cards charge ₹5,000+ as annual fee. Are the rewards and lounge benefits worth it for someone whose monthly spend is around ₹1,50,000?
2 Answers
I had the same dilemma. The way I decided was: list down my top 3 monthly spend categories, calculate the rewards on each card, and pick whichever gives the highest cashback on MY pattern. Generic 'best card' lists are useless for personal decisions.
On the annual fee — most premium cards waive it if you spend ₹1.5L to ₹3L in the previous year. Wallet loads (Paytm, Amazon Pay balance) usually DON'T count. But utilities, fuel, and grocery do. Spend pattern matters more than absolute number.
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