Apparently, the 19th-century playwright Oscar Wilde was on to something when he quipped that “nothing succeeds like excess.” The happiest US credit card holders, data show, are the ones who pay the highest fees.

And presuming that their satisfaction increases when annual fees rise further, holders of JPMorgan Chase’s Chase Sapphire Reserve premium credit card, which climbed from $550 to $795 last year, and American Express’s Platinum card, which jumped from $695 to $895, may be ready to splurge in celebration.

The two lenders aren’t competing only with each other in leveraging Americans’ champagne tastes: Citigroup, which had sat on the premium plastic sidelines since 2021, rejoined the scrum with its Strata Elite, with an annual fee that’s practically pennies at $595. The Capital One Venture X premium card, which saw no fee increase? Now mere breadcrumbs at $395.

Take a (Fee) Hike

While any of those price points might seem like a bit much for the average household, a JD Power survey of nearly 40,000 Americans published last year found that “those with an annual fee of $500 or more are more satisfied with the overall card experience than their counterparts who have an annual fee under $500.”

Of course, that may also reflect the fact that premium cardholders are typically required to have a super-prime credit score, usually 720 or better, for approval. Their finances are less stressed than those of others to begin with, and a significant number are high earners who tend to have higher credit limits that allow for big-ticket purchases.

Data also shows that higher fees are making up a bigger chunk of revenue for issuers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported last year that annual credit card fees reached $8.7 billion in 2024, nearly three times the $3 billion recorded in 2015. At the same time, the average fee roughly doubled, from $62 to $127.

For premium card users, the higher annual fees are a testament to what they want: perks.

Chase and AmEx, in particular, have launched a duelling banjos contest over annual hotel and travel credits, rideshare credits (with Uber One in AmEx Platinum’s case and Lyft in Chase Sapphire’s), access to members-only airport lounges, comped or discounted memberships to streaming services and gyms, early access to concert tickets, and, of course, an old staple of the industry: points or miles rewards for purchases that can be turned into holidays, gift cards or merchandise from retail partners.

As the competition heightens, some perks are becoming increasingly elaborate.

AmEx, because it bought online restaurant booking platform Resy in 2019, has been able to offer its premium members “Platinum Nights,” where they get priority at desirable restaurants, where being George Clooney might be the only faster way in.

Center Court Cuisine

Chase, which owns the naming rights to the San Francisco arena where the Golden State Warriors play, offered an even more unique dining experience by hosting a dinner for Sapphire members last year on the court where Steph Curry normally cooks up threes.

A dinner on the court of New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden is planned for later this month, while another at the Warriors’ home will follow in March.

Tallies of how many premium cardholders each company has aren’t generally disclosed to the public. However, AmEx’s Platinum card is widely considered the most popular based on brand recognition, with Sapphire its most buzzworthy competitor.

In recent months, neither company has made it a secret that they consider the business a highly lucrative one.

During AmEx’s fourth-quarter earnings report on Friday, executives said that cardmember spending increased 8% year over year while luxury market spending rose a much greater 15%. AmEx’s earnings presentation also noted that premium cards were the primary driver of a 17% increase in net card fees.

In October, after AmEx revamped its Platinum card, CEO Stephen Squeri told analysts and investors that “acquisitions are running at twice the level before the refresh” that ushered in the higher fee with expanded perks.

That same month, JPMorgan Chase Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said on an earnings call that 2025 had already been “the best year ever” for new accounts at its Sapphire business.

Executives at both firms have also stated that premium card lines have given them increasing access to younger customers, who are, of course, the drivers of future affluence. A TransUnion survey released in November found that 44% of Gen Z and 46% of millennials said they plan to apply for new credit or refinance existing lines in the next year.

A-OK Shaped Economy

Overall, credit card demand is expected to remain steady this year. TransUnion estimates card balances will rise 2.3% in 2026 to nearly $1.2 billion. While that’s slower than the 4.4% increase in 2025, balances have risen for more than a decade, with the exception of 2020, when the pandemic shut down a wide swath of the US economy.

What’s just as important, of course, is who is doing the most swiping. For that, we turn to consumer spending data, which shows that putting a premium on premium is simply good strategy for Chase, AmEx and others.

Moody’s analysts estimated last year that US consumers in the top 10% of earners were accounting for 49% of spending, up from 43% in 2020. That’s a radically different world from the 1990s, when they accounted for roughly a third of spending. Last month, Moody’s calculated that if the pool were broadened out to the top 20%, high earners accounted for 59% of spending, with the 41% attributable to the bottom 80% of earners marking a record low.

That’s reflective of a so-called K-shaped economy, which describes what happens when two different groups or industries experience radically different fortunes simultaneously. If you plot the data on a line graph, the two lines representing each shoot off in opposite directions, forming a letter K on the vertical (Y) axis.

Where Credit Is Due

In this case, that’s what’s happening with consumer spending. The wealthy, who have continued to do well amid robust stock market performance and soaring real estate values, are buying more, while spending among middle-income households is relatively flat as they cut corners, buying less because virtually everything costs more.

So that’s one part of the equation. The wealthy now account for a larger share of the spending pie.

The other part is that they love to pay with plastic. According to Federal Reserve research, households with income above $150,000 make 51% of their payments with credit instruments, 18% with debit and just 9% with cash. For households that make $75,000 to $99,999, the share of payments that involve credit falls to 29%. Credit use decreases as household income declines.

That’s why major credit card issuers size up a high-income applicant as hungrily as auto dealers eye someone pulling into the lot in a Maserati: That’s their next customer.