Get your credit card annual fee refunded

[ryanthequark]

I didn't even know this was possible.

I signed up for both the Rapid Rewards Premiere and the Rapid Rewards Plus (with Chase/Southwest) when each carried a bonus of 50,000 miles with Southwest when you met the minimum spend requirement ($2000 for each). That was easy for me to do, since I simply paid down my student loans. Then after paying off each card in full (and the annual fees - $99 for the first and $69 for the second), I canceled them. Why? To de-clutter my life, and in case I might qualify sooner for future bonuses (my understanding is that currently, you have to wait two years).

In any case, I didn't expect to get my annual fees refunded.

But they were! Both of them! I didn't have to do a thing; Chase is sending me a check for each annual fee.

All this is a few weeks after I canceled the cards. The next statement revealed the refund, and they're taking two weeks to mail me the check.

Apparently this happens because I canceled the cards so soon after acquiring them. I canceled after the 30-day mark had passed, but before the 60-day mark had passed. In my reading online, that appears to be the cut-off with Chase - cancel before then and get your annual fee refunded.

So, despite my ignorance, I'm getting my $168 back. Whoopie!

[forummm]

Did you get to keep the points?

[TheAnonOne]

Did you get to keep the points?

I am assuming the points were used before the cancellation. This is somewhat normal operating procedure for the churning club.

[misschedda]

Wow, sounds lucky! I frequent some churning forums and haven't heard of that happening before.

[ryanthequark]

Yup, I used the points. All the miles were transferred to Southwest before I cancelled, so I got them. And since they convert into Amazon gift cards at a rate of 100:1, I actually cashed them out that way (I don't need the miles, or the companion pass). So I got more than a thousand dollars with Amazon.