The manner in which the United States established an economy based on fees of questionable value

The White House reports that Americans are collectively expending almost $65 billion on concealed fees.

These "junk fees," referred to as convenience fees or service fees, have become pervasive across various sectors, such as banking, telecom, entertainment, and hospitality. Companies reap billions of dollars from these extraneous charges, which are increasingly prevalent due to their appeal to shareholders and investors as a means of generating additional revenue without requiring competitiveness.

CNBC has categorized the most prominent junk fee violators into three categories.

Category 1: Banking Charges

This group encompasses expenses such as account maintenance fees, late fees, overdraft charges, or fees to pay bills, as outlined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

According to Director Chopra, the credit card industry imposes roughly $120 billion in fees and interest charges each year, with this figure potentially increasing due to mounting interest rates.

In 2019, card issuers charged fees totaling $23.6 billion, with late fees alone accounting for $14 billion of this amount, according to the CFPB's estimates.

Category 2: Recreational Fees

These charges are additional expenses that customers may encounter when engaging in leisure activities such as booking a flight, purchasing concert tickets, or reserving a hotel room.

For example, resorts may impose fees for amenities available during a customer's stay, regardless of whether they use them.

Founder of Kill Resort Fees, Lauren Wolfe, recounted an experience where a hotel charged a mandatory $40 per night amenity fee and a compulsory $1 donation to a charity that the hotel itself established.

According to Consumer Reports, these "junk hotel fees" and ancillary charges bring in an estimated $3 billion per year for the hotel industry.

Category 3: Household Expenses

Purchasing a home and owning a car may result in unexpected fees for American households.

This category encompasses closing costs and other charges that arise during the home-buying process, such as fees for document preparation or title insurance.

There are also "junk fees" associated with cable and internet services.

As Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel at Consumer Reports, noted, customers may be charged an additional fee, such as an internet infrastructure fee, to "maintain our high-speed fiber network," despite already having paid a significant sum for the service.