I Ask Myself These 3 Questions Every Year About My Credit Cards

This post may contain affiliate links which may compensate us based on your interaction. Please read the disclosures for more information.

I want to make sure I’m using the right credit cards, so I ask some key questions every year. Here’s how to know your credit cards match your spending. 

I have several credit cards I use regularly and keep in my wallet. But, despite the fact I generally like the cards, I don’t want to just get comfortable with them and stick with the same card issuer out of inertia.

To make sure I don’t get stuck in a rut with my cards, there are a few key questions I ask myself about them every year. Here’s what they are.

1. Does the card still justify any annual fee I’m paying?

The first and most important question I ask is whether the card’s benefits are still worth whatever annual fee I am paying — if any.

One of my cards has a hefty annual fee of $450, while another has a $99 fee. Several others do not charge annual fees at all.

I don’t want to pay a fee if the card is no longer offering enough benefits to make it worthwhile. So, each year, I will consider exactly how much the fee is, whether I got enough cardmember benefits the year prior to exceed that amount, and whether anything is changing in the coming year that would prevent me from taking advantage of those benefits.

For example, my card with the $450 fee is worth paying for because it provides me with lounge access, and I regularly fly and use the airline lounge. But, if I was going to stop flying for some reason, I would want to cancel the card since it would no longer be worth the annual cost.

2. Am I still excited about the rewards program and member benefits?

I will only use rewards cards because I want to get points, cash back, or miles for using my credit cards. I don’t want to earn rewards that I won’t redeem or that I am not excited about.

So, I look at each card’s rewards program carefully.

I check to see if I’ll still be able to earn bonus rewards with the kinds of spending I plan to do during the course of the year. So, for example, if I have a rewards card that provides bonus spending for gas purchases but I won’t be driving very much that year, that card may not be one I want to use regularly.

I also check to see what I can redeem rewards for. If I have to redeem them for airline miles but will be mostly taking road trips, then that card may be off the list.

3. Does the card offer any new features I’m not taking advantage of?

Finally, my last goal is to see if the card has introduced any new perks that I wasn’t previously aware of or taking advantage of. If I have a cardmember benefit, I don’t want to leave it on the table.

By asking these questions every year, I make sure I’m using the right cards for my needs, maximizing the rewards I can earn, and not paying an annual fee that doesn’t make sense to pay. It only takes a few minutes to go through my credit cards checklist and it’s well worth the effort.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 2025

If you’re using the wrong credit or debit card, it could be costing you serious money. Our experts love this top pick, which features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, an insane cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee.

In fact, this card is so good that our experts even use it personally. Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

Read our free review

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More