Can you get a credit card annual fee refunded when you cancel?

A refund is not a waiver

A waiver is a request to remove or credit the fee and leave the card open. That request, and the US disclosure rules, are on how to get a credit card annual fee waived. A refund on cancel is what the agreement says happens to a fee already billed if you close the account. The issuer can say no. Nothing on this page is a promise that calling will work.

Find the fee on the statement first. It may say annual fee or membership fee. Write the statement closing date and the amount. A store purchase is not this fee. How to read a statement PDF separates fees from purchases. Named US late fees are a different charge, on credit card late payment fees.

What US rules require

US Regulation Z requires the issuer to disclose any annual or other periodic fee, including how often it is imposed and the yearly amount. Those rules are 12 CFR 1026.6 and 12 CFR 1026.60. The number that applies to you is in the card agreement and in the account opening table. A blog's refund window is not that disclosure.

A different section, 12 CFR 1026.55, limits some fee increases after the account is open. It does not require the issuer to refund an annual fee when you close the card, and it does not require a prorated refund for the months you will not use. If your agreement is silent, ask the issuer. Do not fill the silence with a 30 day rule from a points website. Chase and Capital One did not have a public cancel refund sentence on a page this guide could verify on 18 October 2026, so their windows are not printed here.

What American Express and TD publish

The American Express Plum Card member agreement, the public file dated 31 December 2025, says American Express will refund the annual membership fee if you notify them that you are voluntarily closing the account within 30 days of the closing date of the billing statement on which the fee appears. After that 30 day period, the fee is non refundable. If your billing address is in Massachusetts when you close, that non refundable policy does not apply to you. If they reopen an account at your request, they may charge a $25 fee. This is the Plum Card agreement, a small business card. It is not every American Express card.

The Platinum Card member agreement, the public file dated 31 December 2024, has the same 30 day sentence: a refund if you voluntarily close within 30 days of the closing date of the statement that billed the fee, and non refundable after that. The closing section opened in that file does not repeat the Massachusetts sentence. Read the agreement for the card in your wallet. A different American Express card can use different words.

In Canada, the Centurion Card member agreement says you may cancel within 14 business days after you receive the card for a new account, or longer if American Express permits or the law requires. If you cancel in that window, they refund or credit any annual fee for the new account. If you used a benefit before you cancelled, the value of the benefit is deducted from the refund. Charges you or a supplementary cardmember made still have to be repaid. That 14 business day sentence is about a new account. A later section says you may close the account by paying what you owe and asking for closure. It does not promise a refund of a renewal fee. Centurion is not a typical card. Another American Express Canada card can say something else. RBC, TD, and CIBC card fees that this site already opened are on credit card fees by bank in Canada.

TD's Borderless Plan terms, on the USD fees page opened 18 October 2026, are a rebate, not a cancel refund. The plan can credit $39 US toward the primary cardholder annual fee on one TD U.S. Dollar Visa, if the plan and the card are open and in good standing when the fee is charged. The credit posts within two monthly statements. Closing the US dollar card, or switching products, before the rebate is provided can forfeit it. That is the opposite of a refund for cancelling. The All Inclusive chequing rebate works the same way for eligible Canadian dollar TD cards: the rebate needs the chequing account and the card to stay open, and closing the card before the credit posts can forfeit it. Those rebates are explained with the card on how to ask about a TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite fee.

Call the number on the card. Ask whether closing on this date refunds the fee that already posted, whether any months are prorated, and what happens to points. They can say the fee stays. Closing can also change the credit you have available. This page does not tell you to close the card. If the amount on the statement does not match the agreement, ask the issuer to explain it. In the United States, a charge that does not match what you were told is covered on how to dispute a charge. In Canada, the Centurion agreement says the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada supervises federally regulated institutions and does not resolve an individual complaint. The Canadian dispute steps are on how to dispute a charge in Canada.

Questions

Does US law require a prorated annual fee refund when I cancel?

Not in the Regulation Z sections cited here. Those sections require the issuer to disclose the fee. They do not require a refund of the months you will not use. Your card agreement is the rule for a refund.

Does every American Express card refund the fee within 30 days?

The Plum agreement and the Platinum agreement opened for this page both say yes, if you voluntarily close within 30 days of the statement closing date that billed the fee. Another card can use different words. Read yours.

If I close a TD card, do I get the chequing rebate?

TD's All Inclusive and Borderless rebate terms say closing or switching the card before the rebate is applied can forfeit the rebate. That credit is not a cancel refund.

Sources

• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.6
• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.60
• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.55
• American Express Plum Card member agreement, file dated 31 December 2025
• American Express Platinum Card member agreement, file dated 31 December 2024
• American Express Canada Centurion cardmember agreement
• TD USD account fees, including the Borderless annual fee rebate

Related guides

• How to ask about a card annual fee
• Credit card interest
• Canada credit card fees