The pandemic has been terrible for the economy, but few industries were hit as hard as the travel industry. The amount of people flying these past few months has been a fraction of what it normally is. In fact, many of those would-be plane passengers are choosing instead to take a road trip to lessen their potential exposure to COVID-19. Plenty of them might have a credit card that they pay an annual fee for in exchange for miles as well as perks at airports and onboard planes. Well they might be able to get some money back because of the current state of air travel.
Most credit card companies don't want to lose customers and are willing to go to great lengths to retain them. If you are paying an annual fee for a travel-related card and you call them to let them know you are considering cancelling your membership because you aren't using the card, there is a high probability they will offer you a partial or full refund on the annual fee to keep you as a customer.
It might be your best option to take the refund too - cancelling the card could cause your credit score to take a hit. However, there is another option if you truly do not want to pay the fee anymore, and that is downgrading your card to one with a lower annual fee or none at all. Of course, with that comes fewer benefits and rewards. If you chose to do that, make sure you ask about what happens to any unused rewards you might already have earned. Also, make sure you won't get hit with any penalties.
Even if your card doesn't reward you in miles but you still have an annual fee, it doesn't hurt to call and try to get the fee lowered or waived. You've got nothing to lose.
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