Premium travel credit cards keep raising their annual fees, so the obvious question is whether they still pay off. A new analysis from The Points Guy crunched the numbers on 13 cards that, once you count welcome bonuses, statement credits and fee credits, deliver at least $1,500 of value in year one — net of the annual fee.

The methodology is refreshingly blunt. The site valued each welcome offer using its own points valuations, added only perks with a hard dollar figure (so lounge access and elite status don't count), and subtracted the annual fee at the end. Nothing here relies on vague 'experiences' math.

At the top of the table sits The Business Platinum Card from American Express. With a welcome offer worth as much as $6,000 and a long list of credits — Dell, hotels booked through Amex Travel, Indeed hiring tools, ChatGPT Business subscriptions, airline fees and more — the theoretical first-year total reaches $9,519. Even after the $895 fee, that's up to $8,624 in net value.

The personal Amex Platinum isn't far behind: up to $6,614 in first-year value against the same $895 fee, driven by a welcome bonus worth up to $3,500 plus credits for hotels, Resy dining, Uber, Walmart+, Equinox, Lululemon and streaming services. The catch, and it's a real one, is that most of these credits require active enrollment and only pay out if you'd genuinely spend in those categories anyway.

Chase's Sapphire Reserve for Business lands third, with 200,000 bonus points worth $4,100, a $500 credit for stays booked through The Edit, a $300 general travel credit, and assorted DoorDash, Lyft and ZipRecruiter perks — up to $5,465 net of its $795 fee. The Amex Business Gold, Chase's premium personal cards, and several mid-fee options round out the list, including a couple of $95-fee cards that still clear $1,900 in first-year value thanks to generous welcome offers.

Worth remembering: these are maximums, not guarantees. Welcome offers vary by applicant, several credits are spread across the year in monthly or quarterly instalments, and some are tied to specific merchants that expire on set dates. If you don't naturally spend on Dell computers or DoorDash, those credits are worth zero. But for travellers who already book hotels, check bags and subscribe to streaming services, the right premium card can easily out-earn its fee within a year — and the biggest wins usually come from timing an application to a boosted welcome offer.

Story via The Points Guy.