People already listed some of the perks, but: in general you choose a card based on things you already are doing (flights, hotels, etc.) so that the perks of th

People already listed some of the perks, but: in general you choose a card based on things you already are doing (flights, hotels, etc.) so that the perks of the card are worth as much or usually more than the annual fee you pay to keep the card. For people who travel a lot, for example, an annual travel credit + Global Entry fee covered + lounge access + redeemable points from spending on the card provides much, much more than $450 in value. Back when I flew more than I do now, several of the available cards had returns for me well above the cost of their annual fees.