Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Select Mastercard

The Select doubles the earn rates of the free Choice Privileges card for a $95 annual fee: 10x points at participating Choice Hotels properties and 5x on gas, groceries, home improvement, and phone plans, with 1x on everything else. The 30,000 point anniversary bonus each year is the strongest argument for the fee, since it is described as roughly three reward nights at participating Choice hotels and arrives whether or not you use the card heavily. Add automatic Platinum Elite status with a 25% points bonus on Choice stays, up to $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every four years, and no foreign transaction fee, and the fee is straightforward to justify if you stay with Choice at all regularly. The signup bonus is 60,000 points after $3,000 in three months, the same headline number as the no-fee version but at triple the spend requirement. If Choice is not a brand you book, the 10x rate is dead weight and the anniversary points will not clear the fee on their own.