Contents [Hide]
- 1 About First-Year Annual Fee Waivers
- 2 AMEX Delta Gold
- 3 Chase United Explorer
- 4 Citi American Airlines Platinum
- 5 AMEX Blue Cash Preferred
- 6 AMEX Delta Gold Business
- 7 Chase United Business
- 8 Citi American Airlines Platinum Business
- 9 Capital One Spark Cash
- 10 US Bank Leverage Business
- 11 US Bank Altitude Connect Business
About First-Year Annual Fee Waivers
Many credit cards with annual fees now offer a waived first-year annual fee, so you can try the card for a year without pressure and see whether it fits your needs. In addition, this fee waiver can be used very effectively together with a product change (Product Change). Get the big welcome bonus from an annual-fee card, enjoy a year of great annual-fee-card perks, and when the first-year annual-fee waiver ends, product change the card into a no-annual-fee card and quietly ride off into the sunset! Some cards even offer upgrade bonuses after you downgrade to a no-annual-fee version. Just wait for the next bloom!
So below are several good cards with a waived first-year annual fee, along with some downgrade options after a year, so you can follow the playbook~
AMEX Delta Gold
- First-year annual fee waived, plus a 50,000-80,000 welcome bonus. Worth about $1,000
- Enjoy one year of Delta priority boarding and free checked bags. Also $100 hotel reimbursement
- Best downgrade option: the no-annual-fee Delta Blue, then wait for an upgrade bonus offer
First two checked bags free; Delta flight perks, plus $100 hotel reimbursement each year
- Welcome bonus: Up to 80,000 miles (spend $2,000 in six months)
- Rewards: Delta purchases, supermarkets, restaurants 2x; everything else 1x
- Redemption: Redeem for Delta flights and SkyTeam partner award tickets; 15% off redemptions
- Annual fee: $150（Annual fee waived for the first year）
- Apply now>>
Chase United Explorer
- First-year annual fee waived, plus a 70,000 welcome bonus.
- Enjoy one year of UA priority boarding and free checked bags. $120 Instacart and $60 rideshare reimbursement
- Best downgrade option: the no-annual-fee United Gateway card, then wait for an upgrade bonus offer
Chase United Explorer Credit Card
Annual Club Passes; free checked bags; plus plenty of statement credits!
- Welcome bonus: 50,000 UA miles (spend $3,000 in the first 3 months) + 10,000 (add a supplementary card within 3 months)
- Rewards: 5x on hotels booked through UA channels; 2x on airfare booked on the UA website, dining, and hotel purchases; 1x on all other purchases
- Redemption: Redeemable for domestic and international flights on UA and Star Alliance members, valued at 1.6 cents/point
- Annual fee: $150（Annual fee waived for the first year）
- Apply now>>
Citi American Airlines Platinum
- First-year annual fee waived, plus an 80,000 welcome bonus (click for details to see how to get the 80,000 bonus).
- Enjoy one year of AA priority boarding and free checked bags. Also a $180 tubo reimbursement
- Best downgrade options: the no-annual-fee Citi Double Cash, Citi Custom Card, and Citi Strata Card. All three cards are useful, with different cash back categories, so choose based on your needs.
Citi AA Platinum American Airlines Credit Card
No annual fee for the first year!
- Welcome bonus: 80,000 AA miles (spend $3,500 in the first 4 months)
- Rewards: 2X on AA website ticket purchases; 2x at restaurants and gas stations; 1x on all other purchases
- Redemption: Best value when redeeming for flights between China and the U.S. or between the U.S. and Europe; business-class redemptions can also offer solid value.
- Annual fee: $99（No annual fee for the first year）
- Apply now>>
AMEX Blue Cash Preferred
- First-year annual fee waived, plus a $250-$300 welcome bonus.
- Enjoy one year of 6% cash back on grocery and streaming purchases
- Best downgrade option: the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday. Earn 3% cash back on groceries, then wait for the next upgrade bonus and upgrade back to BCP.
AMEX Blue Cash Preferred Credit Card
6% cash back at supermarkets and on streaming services! Added $84 annual credit!
- Welcome bonus: $300 after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Rewards: 6% at supermarkets (up to $6,000); 6% on streaming services; 3% on transit and gas; 1% on everything else
- Redemption: Can be redeemed for cash back directly; discounted gift card redemptions occasionally available
- Annual fee: $95（First year waived）
- Apply now>>
AMEX Delta Gold Business
- First-year annual fee waived, plus a 50,000-80,000 welcome bonus. Worth about $1,000
- Enjoy one year of Delta priority boarding and free checked bags. Also $150 hotel reimbursement
- Best downgrade option: none
AMEX Gold Delta Business Credit Card
First two checked bags free; Delta flight perks, $150 hotel reimbursement each year
- Welcome bonus: 60,000 Delta miles (spend $4,000 in the first 6 months)
- Rewards: Delta purchases, supermarkets, restaurants, shipping, advertising 2x; other purchases 1x
- Redemption: Can be redeemed for Delta flights and SkyTeam partner flights; redemptions get 15% off
- Annual fee: $150（No annual fee for the first year）
- Apply now>>
Chase United Business
- First-year annual fee waived, plus a 70,000 welcome bonus.
- Enjoy one year of UA priority boarding and free checked bags. Also $120 Instacart and $100 rideshare reimbursement, $50 car rental reimbursement, and $100 hotel reimbursement
- Best downgrade option: none
Chase United Business Credit Card
Annual Club Passes; free checked bags; and lots of statement credit benefits!
- Welcome bonus: 100,000 UA miles + 2,000 PQP (spend $5,000 within 3 months) + 10,000 UA miles (add one supplementary card within 3 months)
- Rewards: 2x on local transit, dining, gas, office supply stores, and airfare purchased on the UA website; 1x on everything else
- Redemption: Can be redeemed for domestic and international flights on UA and Star Alliance partners, with a value of 1.6 cent/point
- Annual fee: $150（No annual fee for the first year）
- Apply now>>
Citi American Airlines Platinum Business
- First-year annual fee waived, plus a 75,000 welcome bonus.
- Enjoy one year of AA priority boarding and free checked bags
- Best downgrade option: none.
Citi AA Platinum Business American Airlines Business Credit Card
AA airline card with first-year annual fee waived
- Welcome bonus: 65,000 AA miles (spend $4,000 in 4 months)
- Rewards: 2x on AA website ticket purchases; 2x on telecommunications, car rentals, and gas; 1x on everything else
- Redemption: Best value for redeeming flights between China and the U.S. or between the U.S. and Europe; business-class redemptions can also offer solid value.
- Annual fee: $99（First-year annual fee waived）
- Apply now>>
Capital One Spark Cash
- First-year annual fee waived, get the $1,000 bonus, and enjoy one year of 2% cash back
- Best downgrade option: Capital One Spark Cash Select, no annual fee, 1.5% cash back
Capital One Spark Cash Credit Card
2% cash back on all purchases!
- Welcome bonus: $1,000+$250 travel reimbursement (spend $10,000 in 3 months)
- Rewards: 2% cash back on all purchases; 5% on Capital One Travel purchases
- Redemption: Redeem for cash back
- Annual fee: $95（No annual fee for the first year）
- Apply now>>
US Bank Leverage Business
- First-year annual fee waived, get the $750 bonus, and enjoy one year of 2% cash back on select spending
- Best downgrade option: the no-annual-fee US Bank Triple Cash. 3% includes gas, charging, office supplies, restaurants, phone bills, and more, so it is pretty well suited to business spending
A great one-year keeper with excellent value!
- Welcome bonus: $750 (Spend $750 within 120 days)
- Rewards: 5% on select hotels and car rentals; 2% in your top two spending categories; 1% on everything else
- Redemption: Cash back
- Annual fee: $95（$0 annual fee for the first year）
- Apply now>>
US Bank Altitude Connect Business
- First-year annual fee waived, get the $600 bonus, and enjoy one year of $100 rideshare reimbursement
- Best downgrade option: the no-annual-fee US Bank Triple Cash. 3% includes gas, charging, office supplies, restaurants, phone bills, and more, so it is pretty well suited to business spending
U.S. Bank Business Altitude Connect Business Credit Card
4x on travel, 2x on dining; complimentary airport lounge access
- Welcome bonus: 75,000 points (spend $6,000 within 180 days of account opening)
- Rewards: 5x on hotels and car rentals booked through its own website; 4x on travel (up to $15k per year); 2x on dining and cell phone bills; 1x on everything else
- Redemption: Redeem directly: 100 points = $1 cash back
- Annual fee: $95（$0 annual fee for the first year）
- Apply now>>