What are typical credit card fees?
Cards can charge annual fees ($0-$895+), late fees, cash advance fees (typically the greater of ~$10 or 3-5%), foreign transaction fees (1-3%), and balance transfer fees (3-5%). Many cards waive some of these — always read the Schumer Box first.
Every fee is disclosed in the standardized Schumer Box that federal law requires on each application. Annual fees run from $0 on basic cards to $895 on the priciest premium cards we track (Amex Platinum); the CFPB's biennial credit card market report to Congress (Dec. 2025) puts the market-wide average annual fee at $127 in 2024, up from $105 in 2022, driven mostly by premium rewards cards adding fees or raising them. Late fees are capped by regulation, and the exact cap has been the subject of ongoing CFPB rulemaking and litigation — verify the current figure at cfpb.gov rather than relying on a static number. Cash advance and balance transfer fees are usually 3-5% of the amount — that's a typical issuer range, not a single regulated figure, so check your own card's Schumer Box for its exact rate; cash advances also accrue interest immediately with no grace period. Foreign transaction fees run 1-3% and are waived by many travel cards, and a returned-payment fee applies if a payment bounces. The purchase APR appears in the box too, but it's technically an interest rate rather than a fee.
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