Premium Travel Cards Are Leaving Average Consumers Behind

Here’s something credit card experts know but you might not: it’s getting much tougher for the average person to find a great travel credit card that unlocks luxury experiences without the price tag.

Major credit card issuers have steadily made premium credit cards more exclusive in recent years. Before, they might have tried to woo you with the promise of the kind of vacations you couldn’t otherwise afford. Now, they seem to be more interested in cardholders who can.

Take The Platinum Card® from American Express, for example. It just announced a new annual fee of $895 — an increase from $695. The card expanded existing statement credit benefits and added new ones, to a potential added value of over $1,400. Redeeming them, however, requires quite a bit of spending and mental work (and sometimes, purchases you wouldn’t have made otherwise). Yet that barely soothes the sting of facing an annual fee bill barely shy of $900. For many Americans, that’s simply a no-go.

With Amex and other top issuers, the average cardholder seems to keep losing the kind of access a premium card could provide — to airport lounges and expedited airport security, to high-end concierge service, and to some of the most powerful travel protections.

The good news is you still have plenty of options to get great perks on cards that align with your regular spending. And no matter what a given credit card issuer’s goals are, you still have a voice when it comes to what cards you choose to use.

Here’s what you need to know about the state of premium travel cards and what you can do to still enjoy travel card perks and rewards.

What’s happening to premium travel cards?

Card issuers have set their sights on the affluent consumer, the type who values and doesn’t mind paying for exclusivity. But there’s no “exclusivity” without excluding — and in this case, it’s the average cardholder who ends up not invited to the fancy metal cardholder club.

Of course, the credit card issuers want you to think their products are as great and valuable as they’ve ever been, and you’d be lucky to be approved for them. But that marketing posture belies a reality that’s becoming increasingly clear: the value of luxury cards is getting harder to extract, while annual fees go up.

American Express raised the annual fee on the Amex Platinum from $550 to $695 in 2021, which in retrospect seems like the start of a movement among top issuers. To be fair, Amex also added over $1,300 in new statement credit benefits at the time. But despite the potential value of those benefits, card experts and points enthusiasts likened the new perks to a “coupon book.”

Among those “coupons” was a SoulCycle credit (up to $300 annually) for purchasing one SoulCycle at-home bike. That was $300 back on the purchase of a stationary bike that could cost as much as $2,500. But if you weren’t interested in a SoulCycle bike, that was $300 in value left on the table. Other benefits force similar dynamics for different customers.

Unsurprisingly, such a move made plenty of people unhappy. The term “coupon book” stuck around. It doesn’t exactly sound luxurious, yet more issuers followed suit, applying the same model to their premium cards.

Four years later, Chase made changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card. The annual fee increased from $550 to $795, with the card now offering more than $2,700 in annual value, which mostly comes from branded credits — the same way it does with the Amex Platinum.

Citi has gone this way, too: the issuer recently announced the new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card with a $595 annual fee and $1,500 in potential annual value. The choice of brands for statement credits on this card makes it clear who the target audience is: someone interested in high-end furniture and fine art, personal training and being driven around by a chauffeur.

Now, Amex is continuing the trend it has established. At $895 per year in annual fees, you get access to new benefits like up to $300 in lululemon credits and up to $200 in Oura ring credits. Do you know what the Oura ring is? I didn’t. It’s a smart ring that monitors health and fitness metrics. And now it’s a part of the Amex Platinum’s value proposition (though the credit only applies to the purchase of a new ring, not the ongoing monthly subscription costs you’ll incur to use it).

You have to hand it to them: card issuers are getting more and more creative when it comes to restricting access to value. That saves them money, without a doubt — but there’s another side to this strategy.

Exclusivity is the point

It’s fair to wonder if these complicated high-fee premium cards simply aren’t worth the effort for most people anymore.

“An $895 annual fee simply doesn’t fit into my values-based budget,” says Katie Kelton, a senior credit cards writer at Bankrate and certified credit counselor. “Personally, I don’t spend enough money or enjoy those luxury perks enough to make the fee worth it.”

If you use these cards’ high annual fees and slate of niche benefits to reverse engineer the type of customer who would actually extract full value from them, that customer might look something like this:

• Someone who doesn’t have to do much budgeting to pay an annual fee north of $500
• Someone who eats at expensive restaurants and stays at luxurious resorts because that’s what their lifestyle affords them — not their credit card benefits
• Someone who wants perks that provide access to something desirable (and perhaps a few hundred dollars back here and there)
• Someone who considers a $10 monthly food delivery credit might be a nice-to-have, but using it is never a priority

This cardholder is a high spender, and a card issuer wants their business. After all, a credit card might just be a gateway product, leading the cardholder to use the bank’s other services.

That description certainly doesn’t fit me. If that description doesn’t fit you either, you might be better off with a different card. And while we can mourn the cards that allowed us to experience certain luxuries without breaking the bank (I know I do), let’s also focus on financial products that can bring us value today. And there are still plenty of credit cards that can.

Your power is in your wallet

Unfortunately, there’s not much individual cardholders like you and I can do to convince issuers to provide more value with their credit cards. But collectively, our power is in our wallets — specifically what cards we use.

Fill your wallet with cards that fit your lifestyle. Plenty of travel cards still offer excellent value. For instance, I’ve always been a huge fan of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. This is probably the last card of its kind, offering practical premium perks at $395 per year in annual fees. You get decent airport lounge access and simple statement credits and anniversary bonuses that more than offset the fee.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an option if you’re not happy with its more expensive sibling. Of course, it doesn’t have a long list of premium perks, but it provides access to the same rewards system and the same valuable transfer partners. The annual fee is only $95.

Citi has an alternative too. The Citi Strata Premier® Card charges an annual fee of $95 and offers $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through CitiTravel.com.

You can also quit annual fees altogether in favor of credit card simplicity. You’ll still earn rewards that can send you on a dream vacation. For example, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card charges no annual fees and earns unlimited 1.25X miles on all purchases. You’ll be able to redeem your rewards through the issuer’s portal and transfer them to one of Capital One’s travel partners.

As for letting card issuers know how you feel about so-called coupon books, I do so enjoy reading all the Reddit threads on the topic, but having the right card allows you to speak with your wallet too. Use credit cards that fit your spending. Don’t let them dictate where to spend your money or change your habits. This is the consumer language banks understand the best.

The bottom line

Premium travel cards aren’t for everyone. At least that’s the message that card issuers seem to be sending by making their cards less and less accessible to the average consumer. If high annual fees and complicated benefit terms deter you, know that there are still plenty of travel cards on the market that can help you reach your travel goals. Don’t change your spending to chase the value — change what belongs in your wallet.