By KBC Associate 
Annual fees are generally worth it when you can maximize a credit card’s benefits and earning structure. But it’s understandable if you’re hesitant to add several premium travel rewards cards with high annual fees to your wallet.
Luckily, with competition fierce among card issuers for new customers, many of the best credit cards have annual fees of under $100. These are our top picks.
Best credit cards with annual fees under $100
Comparison of the best credit cards with annual fees under $100
| Card | Welcome offer | Earning rates | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred Card | Earn 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. |
|
$95 |
| Ink Business Preferred Credit Card | Earn 90,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. |
|
$95 |
| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening, plus a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year. |
|
$95 |
| Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express | Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership. |
Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout. |
$0 introductory annual fee for first year, then $95 (see rates and fees) |
| Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card | Earn a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. |
|
$0 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card | Earn three free nights (each night valued at up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months from account opening.
Certain hotels have resort fees. |
|
$95 |
| Wells Fargo Autograph Journey | Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. |
|
$95 |
Now that you have a snapshot of how these cards compare, here are the details.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
You could argue that the Chase Sapphire Preferred ignited the sub-$100 market segment when it started offering 3 points per dollar on dining and 2 per dollar on travel (plus several other categories).
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This is a record-high bonus for the card.
Why it’s worth it: The Sapphire Preferred consistently makes any list of the best travel credit cards, which is no surprise because you can get great value from Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring to Chase’s airline and hotel partners.
This card also gives you 1.25 cents per point in value when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel. There are no foreign transaction fees.
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
For more information, see our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
The Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is one of the best small-business cards on the market.
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Why it’s worth it: This card offers 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on up to $150,000 spent each account anniversary year in combined purchases on travel, shipping, internet, cable and phone services and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines. You earn 1 point per dollar spent elsewhere.
Like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer points to airline and hotel programs and receive 1.25 cents per point when redeeming your points for travel in the Chase Travel portal. This card has plenty of travel insurance and purchase protections, including a cellphone protection plan.
For more information, see our full review of the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
Apply here: Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is excellent for casual travelers and those looking for a card that will earn consistently on everyday purchases. After all, you’ll earn at least 2 miles per dollar on every purchase.
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening, plus a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year.
Why it’s worth it: There are plenty of ways to use your Capital One miles for maximum value. While you can redeem your miles by transferring to airline and hotel partners, you can also redeem at a fixed value for eligible purchases.
For more information, see our full review of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Learn more: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
The Blue Cash Preferred is one of the best cash-back cards out there.
Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for first year, then $95
Current welcome offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new card within the first six months of card membership.
Why it’s worth it: You’ll earn 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services and on the first $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year (then 1% cash back). You’ll also earn 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and transit and 1% cash back on everything else. Cash back is received as Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
For more information, see our full review of the Blue Cash Preferred Card.
Apply here: Blue Cash Preferred Card
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great cash-back credit card. Specifically, you’ll earn 3% cash back on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 3% at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target) and 1% on all other purchases.
Annual fee: $0
Current welcome offer: Earn a $200 cash bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within three months from account opening.
Why it’s worth it: If you also have the Capital One Venture Rewards card, you can convert your cash-back earnings to miles. So, you could earn 4 miles per dollar on dining and entertainment and 3 miles per dollar at grocery stores if you have both these cards.
For more information, see our full review of the Capital One Savor.
Learn more: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card comes with automatic Silver Elite status, 15 elite night credits each year and a free night certificate on each account anniversary that’s valid at any Marriott property costing 35,000 points or less.
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn three free nights (each night valued at up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months from account opening. Certain hotels have resort fees.
Why it’s worth it: You’ll earn up to 17 Bonvoy points per dollar spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3 points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on gas stations, grocery stores and dining and 2 points per dollar spent everywhere else.
Marriott Bonvoy points are easy to redeem for both hotel awards and transfers to airline partners.
For more information, see our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless.
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey is an upgraded mid-tier version of the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph® Card (see rates and fees). It comes with perks like a $50 annual statement credit for airline purchases (with a $50 minimum airline purchase) and more valuable earnings rates on travel and dining purchases.
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.
Why it’s worth it: Look for this card to grow in value as the refreshed Wells Fargo Rewards program continues to add transfer partners. Right now, you can transfer your points to seven partners, including Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Choice Privileges.
For more information, see our full review of the Autograph Journey.
Apply here: Wells Fargo Autograph Journey
Bottom line
Evaluating whether a credit card with an annual fee makes sense is important. Although this isn’t a comprehensive list of all the credit cards with low annual fees, these are our favorites and some of the best on the market.
By picking up one of these cards and maximizing its respective bonus categories (and welcome offers), you’ll be well on your way toward your next travel adventure. Sometimes, it pays to have a card with a small annual fee, whether moving up from a no-annual-fee card or pairing it with a premium travel rewards card.
If you use your card to spend in its bonus categories and redeem worthwhile rewards, you can reap much more value than its annual fee.
Related: How to decide if a credit card’s annual fee is worth paying
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred, click here.