'Double Dipping' credits to 'Refund' your Annual Fee

The best premium credit cards often come with outstanding benefits and unfortunately, an outsized annual fee. Cards like the American Express Platinum are currently seeing all time best sign up bonuses, but come with a walloping $695 annual fee. So how do people justify this cost?

Most people don’t maximize their credit card benefits

One of the main reasons companies like American Express or Chase can keep offering these ludicrous bonuses is because the average consumer actually doesn’t take advantage of them to their full potential. And as a result, these cards keep being money-makers for the companies as folks unknowningly shell out the annual fee year after year.

But you don’t have to be like most people. Turn your credit cards into money-makers for YOU!

What is ‘Double Dipping’

Double Dipping refers to the ability to redeem benefits two (or more) times for the cost of one annual fee. How does this work?

Understand the ‘Annual Fee’ refund policy

Most companies will have some rules in place so that if you have a card with an annual fee, and it posts, you have some buffer time to cancel or downgrade it and still receive a full refund!

Oftentimes, like in the case of American Express, that buffer window is 30 days from the Annual Fee posting as a transaction on your statements. So if you are entering year 2 of holding an American Express Platinum card, and the annual fee posts as a transaction with a date of July 1st, you actually have until July 31st to cancel the card and still receive your $695 back.

Difference between ‘cardmember anniversary’ and ‘calendar’ year

For the purpose of this, we’ll stick to annual benefits (i.e. Amex’s yearly ‘Airline Fee Credit’) but this principle applies to the monthly credits too.

Some annual benefits are classified as ‘Cardmember Anniversary’ while others are ‘Calendar’ year benefits. The main difference is:

Calendar year benefits literally mean it refreshes every year. The cut-off from one year to the next is December 31st.

• For example, let’s say you open an American Express Platinum on August 1st, 2022
• You can make an eligible airline purchase on Dec 1st, 2022 and receive up to $200 statement credit because it comes with a $200 airline fee credit.
• You can then make another eligible airline purchase on Jan 1st, 2023 and receive up to another $200 statement credit!

Cardmember Anniversary benefits refer to benefits that refresh on the anniversary date of you opening the card. The cut-off from one year to the next is the actual date you were originally approved for the card, just one year later.

• In this example, let’s say you open a Chase Sapphire Reserve card on August 1st, 2022. The CSR comes with a $300 cardmember anniversary travel credit.
• That means you can make an eligible travel purchase on Dec 1st, 2022 and receive up to $300 statement credit
• If you make another travel purchase on Jan 1st, 2023 you WILL NOT recieve statement credit
• However, if you make a purchase on August 2nd, 2023, you WILL receive another $300 statement
• I should mention that technically, the 2nd year credit refresh for the CSR only appears after the 2nd year annual fee posts but the point still stands

Oftentimes you can easily tell which benefit is which by just searching in the terms for phrases like ‘calendar year’ or ‘cardmember anniversary year’ / ‘anniversary year’.

So how do I come out on top?

All you need to do is combine the 2 things you just learned.

1. Double Dip all credits
2. Downgrade/Cancel your premium card within 30 days of the 2nd annual fee posting

Example: Amex Platinum can be a $483+ money-maker

You applied for an American Express Platinum card and were approved August 1st, 2022. Utilize as many of the credits possible in 2022, such as the:

• $200 airline credit
• $189 CLEAR aiport credit
• $200 Fine Hotel Resorts (FHR)
• $300 Equinox Credit
• $50 Saks Fifth credit
• & all the monthly credits (Uber, Walmart+, etc)

Once 2023 comes, rinse and repeat to do the same. And when your second annual fee hits on August 1st, 2023 ask to cancel the card for a full refund of the 2nd fee. Breaking it down visually:

Grand total: +$483

This doesn’t even take into account all the other yearly or monthly credits.

In Conclusion

By double dipping your credits, you can easily ‘make money’ from these premium cards many times over. And the best part is that this ‘profit’ doesn’t even include the ridiculous signup bonus being offered right now.