Card Insurance and Add On Fees You Can Switch Off Today

There is a good chance your credit card statement has a monthly charge on it that you never chose in any meaningful sense. It was added during the application call, or offered as a free trial that quietly started billing.

The quickest win on a UAE credit card is usually not a better rewards rate. It is finding the optional add on charges on your statement, deciding which ones you would buy again today, and cancelling the rest. Most banks will remove an optional product on request, though what counts as optional differs by issuer and by product.

What these charges look like

They rarely say "optional fee" on the line. Look for names along these lines:

• Credit shield, balance protection, or payment protection cover.
• Purchase protection or extended warranty plans.
• Card protection or identity protection subscriptions.
• Roadside assistance or concierge subscriptions.
• Card replacement, statement or SMS alert charges.
• Free trials from third parties that started billing after the trial window.

Two shapes to watch for. A flat monthly amount in dirhams, which is easy to spot. And a percentage of your outstanding balance, which changes every month and is much easier to miss, because it never looks like the same charge twice. Charges like these are part of how a free for life card pays for itself.

Anything on your statement that repeats every month and is not a purchase you made is worth one phone call.

Finding them in ten minutes

Take the last three statements, not just the most recent one. Some charges are quarterly or annual, and one month will not show them.

Go line by line through everything that is not a merchant name you recognise. Circle every repeat. Then sort them into three piles: charges from the bank, subscriptions from third parties, and things you cannot identify. Late payment, over limit and cash advance fees belong in the first pile.

The third pile matters most. An unidentifiable recurring charge is either an add on you forgot about or something worse, and either way it needs a call.

Deciding what to keep

Ask one question about each: if this were offered to me today, at this price, would I buy it?

Some of these products are genuinely useful for some people. Payment protection cover can matter if your income is unstable and you carry a balance. Travel or purchase cover can be worth it if you have no other insurance. What is rarely worth it is paying for a benefit twice, which is common when your card, your employer and a separate policy all cover the same thing.

Read what the cover actually pays before cancelling, especially if you carry a balance. Cancelling protection you rely on to save a small monthly charge is not a saving.

The wording to use

Call the number on the back of your card, or use secure message in your banking app, which has the advantage of leaving a written record.

Say this:

"I would like to cancel the optional add on products on my credit card ending in [last four digits]. Please list every optional product currently billed to this card, with the monthly charge for each. I want to cancel [name the ones you have chosen]. Please confirm the cancellation date and send written confirmation. Please also confirm whether any charge is refundable for the current period."

If the agent offers a discounted rate to keep it, remember that a discount on something you do not want is still a charge. If they say a product cannot be removed, ask them to point you to the term that makes it compulsory.

Then do two follow ups. Check next month's statement to confirm the charge has stopped. And check the month after, because reinstatement after a retention call is not unheard of.

Keeping it from creeping back

Add on products usually get attached at three moments: when you apply, when you call about something else, and when you accept a free trial. Say no by default at all three. You can always add a product later once you have decided you want it. The same call is a good moment to check where your spend based fee waiver stands.

Wealthwise reads a card statement on your own device, uploads nothing, and shows what is actually on it, including how your spending compares against 19 UAE cards from 8 banks and what the wrong card costs you over a year. It is advisory: it shows you the line items and the comparison, and the cancellation call is still yours to make.

Products, prices and cancellation rules vary by bank. Confirm the terms of anything you are covered by before switching it off.