How to Ask for a Credit Card Retention Offer

“The time has come. This is your last chance to impress me and save yourself from elimination.”

No, this is not a lip-sync battle on RuPaul’s Drag Race. This is what I say to my travel credit cards before the annual fee posts. 

Each year, before the card issuer charges me its annual fee, I take a moment to consider whether holding the card provided me with value over the last year and whether it’s worth paying the fee to continue holding it.

If I’m on the fence about it—or if the card charges a hefty annual fee (think $250+)—I ask for a retention offer.

What is a retention offer?  

A retention offer is when credit card issuers offer you an incentive for keeping a card open (and paying its annual fee). Think of it as the proverbial carrot before the stick. 

Retention offers can come in different flavors, but when it comes to travel credit cards, a retention offer can be:

• Bonus points or miles: In exchange for paying your card’s annual fee and keeping the card open, the card issuer may award you bonus points or miles. Often, it comes with a spending requirement attached, similar to a welcome offer (but usually smaller). 
• Annual fee waiver: If the card's annual fee is normally $550, an annual fee waiver could reduce it to about $300. (This type of retention offer seems to be more rare these days.)
• Statement credit: This might be like a rebate on your account after paying the annual fee. 

The dirty little secret about retention offers is that you have to ask for them. They do not magically appear on your account. 

Of course, asking won’t guarantee you’ll get a retention offer, but hey, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

The script for how to get a retention offer 

What do you say to ask for a retention offer? 

The bad news is that using RuPaul’s catchphrase with your credit card issuer is probably not going to get you one. The good news is that you don’t have to lip-sync for one either. 

Below is the script I’ve used with mixed success in the past. You can do this over the phone or via chat in the app, depending on the issuer.

Customer service rep (CSR): Hi, thanks for calling/chatting with [card issuer]. How are you today?

You: Hi, I’m great and hope you are, too. I’m reaching out because I just saw that my annual fee posted on the [card name]. I really like the card, but I’m not just not sure I can justify the annual fee again. I’m considering canceling the card.

CSR: Why are you considering canceling the card? 

You: The annual fee.

CSR: Are you aware that your card offers you benefits X, Y, and Z? [Pause for the CSR to recite the litany of card benefits.]

You: Yes, I’m aware. I really like [X benefit], but I’m just not sure it’s worth the annual fee. Can you check if there are any retention offers on my account? 

CSR: Let me see. 

When should you ask? The best time to do this is right around when the annual fee posts, but you can ask for a retention offer at any time. 

How likely am I to get a retention offer?

Your mileage may vary with trying to get a retention offer. In other words, the result you get may not be the same outcome your friend or loved one got—or even the same outcome you received on the same card a year ago. 

That said, there are some general guidelines for when you have a better chance of getting a retention offer:

• Cards with higher annual fees. If you’ve got a $95 annual fee card, chances are slim.
• You spend heavily on the card. If you just earned the welcome offer, and spend little on the card after, you’re less likely to get a retention offer.

Also, this isn’t scientific, but it seems like retention offers are harder to get these days. During the height of the Covid pandemic, issuers seemed to be a little more generous with giving retention offers. We couldn’t travel as much, so a retention offer provided an incentive to keep the card open. 

For anecdotal evidence, check out this crowdsourced, self-reported list of when people got a retention offer.

If you don’t get a retention offer

What if you didn’t get a retention offer and are stuck with a big annual fee to pay?

Before you decide to cancel the card and tell it to sashay away, you have a couple other options.

Try again

Sometimes one customer service representative will say no and another will say yes. I’m not saying this is a foolproof method, but it could be worth a try.

Downgrade the card 

Instead of canceling because of the annual fee, consider requesting a “product change” from the card issuer. This is when you ask to “downgrade” the card to an alternative with a lower or no annual fee. 

Just be aware that you can only request a product change to a card within the same “card family” that earns a similar type of points or miles.

Before you downgrade to a no-annual-fee card, check with the card issuer if you’ll be able to transfer points to partners. Several no-annual-fee cards do not have this feature. 

A product change isn’t considered opening a new credit account, which means that it preserves your credit history. This could be a good option if you’ve had the card for a long time and want to preserve your stellar track record of on-time payments. 

One word of warning: If you do a product change, you’re often ineligible to earn a future welcome offer on the card you change to. 

Close the card

Of course, you could always close the card. If you’ve had it open only a year or two, this probably won’t affect your credit too much. However, if you’ve had it a long time, this would not be such a great idea. Opt for a low or no annual fee option to preserve the credit history. I have some suggestions below.

No annual fee travel credit card options

Of course, if you’re truly annual fee averse, you can always opt for a card with no annual fee. 

Check out our best picks for travel cards with no annual fee.