1. Credit card annual fees vary widely, from a few dozen dollars to several thousand: In general, secured cards tend to have lower annual fees, usually a little over $30. Most co-branded hotel and airline cards are in the $89-$100 range, and many banks’ mid-tier perks cards are around $99. Slightly more premium cards are often in the $200 range. Premium cards commonly charge $400-$550 annual fees, such as Sapphire Reserve and Platinum. The most expensive is probably the AMEX Centurion, which has an annual fee as high as $5,000.

2. The vast majority of banks charge the full annual fee all at once: The annual fee usually appears on the first statement each year, but it may post in the middle of a statement cycle or even the day before the statement closes. I’ve heard that some issuers split it into 12 monthly charges, but I haven’t seen that myself.

3. Quite a few annual-fee credit cards waive the fee for the first year: This gives users a trial period. If you think the card is worth keeping, you can renew into the second year; otherwise, you can close the card.

4. A first-year annual fee cannot exceed a certain percentage of your credit limit: Under U.S. law, the first-year annual fee cannot exceed 25% of the credit limit. So if some cards allow the credit limit to be lowered, the first-year annual fee may be refunded. That said, I wouldn’t recommend abusing this.

5. The annual fee does not count toward minimum spending requirements and does not earn rewards: When calculating spending toward a welcome bonus, be sure to exclude the annual fee. Similarly, interest, cash advance, and balance transfer transactions do not count toward minimum spend and do not earn cash back or points.

6. Annual fees do not qualify for 0 APR: Some cards offer 12 months of 0 APR on purchases, but the annual fee does not qualify for that 0 APR. If your annual fee posts, the best move is to pay off that annual-fee balance first before making purchases. That way, once the statement closes, the remaining balance will all be purchase balance. To be safer, don’t carry a balance on the first statement at all—pay off both the annual fee and any other charges in full, then start carrying a balance from the second month and pay the minimum.

7. A credit card’s annual fee cannot be changed during the first year, and later changes require 45 days’ advance notice: In practice, issuers do seem to follow this rule quietly. New applicants and cardholders who have already paid that year’s annual fee generally do not have to pay extra just because the card’s annual fee was increased, though the benefits are usually updated at the same time. News about annual fee changes for cards like AMEX Platinum, Delta Platinum, and Sapphire Reserved has typically been released in advance.

8. Credit card annual fees can sometimes be waived: Although the annual fee is a fixed amount, if you call customer service, talk through the card’s drawbacks, and indicate that you’re considering closing the card, the representative may try to keep you by waiving that year’s annual fee or offering additional spending incentives. If you’re planning to close a card, I recommend asking whether the annual fee can be waived. See also: Introduction to Credit Card Retention Offers

9. You may be able to get an annual fee refunded when closing a credit card: In general, if you see the annual fee post to your account, don’t panic. Most issuers have a policy allowing annual fee refunds if you close the card. For example:

  • AMEX, BofA, Chase, and Capital One all allow you to close the card within 30 days after the annual fee posts and receive a full refund. After that, they generally won’t refund it.
  • Citi is a bit more generous: full refund within 30 days, and prorated annual fee refunds after 30 days.
  • Barclays gives you 60 days, and Credit One will fully refund the fee as long as you haven’t made any purchases after the annual fee posted.
  • The worst is HSBC, which does not refund annual fees at any time.

10. You may also be able to get an annual fee refund through a product change: If you unfortunately miss the 30-day window, you can consider downgrading to a no-annual-fee card or a lower-fee card. AMEX, Citi, and Chase all support prorated refunds of the old annual fee after a product change, then charge the new annual fee going forward.

11. Active-duty military members and their families may have annual fees waived: AMEX publicly states that annual fees are fully waived; Chase, BofA, and Citi also waive annual fees on credit cards; smaller banks are unknown.

12. If you are a bank’s premium customer, your credit card annual fee may be waived: A well-known example is the Citi Prestige: if you have Citi Gold, the annual fee is only $350. We have also shared a way to waive the annual fee on the Morgan Stanley version of the AMEX Platinum

13. Authorized users may also have annual fees: In general, authorized users on mid-tier cards with annual fees under $100 usually do not have their own annual fee, while premium cards such as AMEX Platinum and Sapphire Reserve do charge annual fees for authorized users. At the same time, those authorized users may also receive certain benefits. So if you upgrade to a premium card, be sure to check whether you should remove authorized users first, otherwise an unexpected annual fee could be awkward.