I just found out my 'perfect' 2% cash back card has been costing me $120 a year in fees I didn't know about.

4 comments

4 Comments

Look at the fine print before you sign up, man. That $120 probably gets you way better fraud protection or travel insurance than a free card. My buddy's no-fee card got cloned last year and the bank took weeks to fix it. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

nguyen.lily2mo ago

But free cards have the same legal fraud protection, right? Banks have to refund you if it's not your fault. Paying extra just for faster service feels like a tax on impatience.

michaeld4813d ago

Whoa, hold on @nguyen.lily - I get where you're coming from, but there's another layer to this. The legal fraud protection is the same on paper, but free cards often have way stricter rules about when they'll actually help you. Like, my buddy had a free card and the bank said since he waited 3 days to notice the fraud, they weren't going to refund him because of some buried policy about "timely notification." With paid cards, they're usually more flexible because you're a paying customer. Also, the travel insurance on cheaper cards is basically worthless - like, good luck getting a hotel refund after a storm cancels your flight. So yeah, you're paying for better service, but it's more about avoiding headaches than just being impatient.

anna5782mo ago

Never thought about it that way but @ray_martinez82 makes a good point.