Direct answer
A premium card is worth it only when rewards, used credits, and genuinely useful perks exceed the annual fee and beat a no-fee baseline. If you carry a balance, interest drag usually overwhelms the rewards story.
Why this is not generic
Segment assumptions
Interest drag guardrail
Structured card value dataset
Advertised value is not realized value
Premium cards often add up every possible credit. Reality Index discounts credits by segment behavior so forgotten or awkward credits do not count as cash.
Balance carriers fail the rewards test
The model subtracts interest drag before judging rewards. That prevents a high-APR card from looking attractive just because it has large credits.
Segment fit matters
A premium travel optimizer and a homebody cash-back user should not receive the same answer. The guide points to segment-level assumptions instead of universal rankings.