Cash-back annual fee calculator
Annual-fee break-even calculator.
Compare what stays in your pocket after the fee. Count spending you already expect to make, with rates that apply to that spending.
Does the higher rate cover the annual fee?
Change the example below. Your numbers stay in this browser and are not sent to our analytics.
Use numbers without commas, with at most two decimal places. Amounts may be $0–$1,000,000; rates may be 0–100%.
The two options tie
$0.00 per year
- Rewards with the annual fee
- $360.00
- Minus annual fee
- $90.00
- Net rewards after fee
- $270.00
- No-fee alternative rewards
- $270.00
At these rates, the estimated break-even point is $18,000.00 in eligible annual spending.
What this estimate assumes
Both options earn the entered cash-back rate on the same eligible spending. The no-fee alternative has no annual fee. Rewards and fees are rounded to cents; the break-even estimate uses the rate difference and rounds spending up to the next cent. Category limits, bonus offers, credits, interest and other fees are excluded.
These are hypothetical examples, not current card offers. Check the payment provider’s and card issuer’s terms.
A text file with your numbers, result and assumptions. Created on this device.
Compare the extra reward.
The question is how much more you earn than you could earn without an annual fee. A hypothetical 2% rate is only 0.5 percentage points ahead of a hypothetical 1.5% rate.
Annual fee ÷ extra cash-back rate = break-even spending.
$90 ÷ 0.005 = $18,000 per year.
This is a rewards comparison. It cannot tell you the value of benefits you might not use. If you expect to carry a balance, interest may outweigh the difference in rewards.