Hot take: I dropped $50 on a travel rewards credit card that was supposed to save me hundreds

Signed up for one of those premium travel cards everyone raves about, figured $50 annual fee was nothing compared to the points I'd earn. But after 6 months of buying groceries and gas on it, I only racked up enough points for a single one-way flight from Dallas to Houston. Meanwhile my buddy used a free card with no fee and scored a round trip to Denver because he played the sign up bonus game right. Did I just pick the wrong card, or are these things overhyped for regular folks who don't fly first class every week?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jana22d ago

Oh I feel you SO hard on this. I fell for the exact same trap with a $95 fee card that promised "exclusive lounge access" and I ended up literally paying for my own airport snacks because the lounges were always full. That sign up bonus game is REAL, I learned the hard way that these cards are designed for people who can drop $3k in three months without breaking a sweat. Regular folks like us just end up subsidizing the perks for the road warriors.

the_rose22d ago

The sign up bonus is the bait, the annual fee is the hook. Didn't we all learn this the hard way?