NEW YORK (AP) — How much would you pay to keep your credit card?

For Randy Dawson, a new $29 annual fee pushes the limit. But he'll likely pay it to keep the Bank of America card he's had for five years.

“I feel as though they're holding me hostage over my credit score,” said Dawson, a 46-year-old resident of Johns Creek, Ga. who owns a marketing firm.

The problem is that closing an account comes with repercussions, since the average length of your credit history and the total amount of your available credit factor into your credit score.

Annual fees for credit cards have become a rarity, but more cardholders may soon have to decide between paying them or forfeiting their cards. Bank of America this week said it's “testing” annual fees of $29 to $99 on select customers starting next year.

Customers were selected based on “risk and profitability,” but the company declined to explain how it decided who was charged $29, versus $99, or anything in between.

Analysts say the move is a harbinger of things to come.

“They're trying to understand what the market will bear in terms of annual fees,” said Ben Woolsey, director of consumer research for CreditCards.com. “They're seeing what level (the customers) will endure without going away.”

The experiment by Bank of America comes as the credit card industry searches for ways to make up the revenue it stands to lose as a result of new regulations. As part of the sweeping new reforms that go into effect in February, banks will be limited in how and when they can hike interest rates and fees.

That has left banks examining their books for accounts that aren't very profitable. For example, cardholders who never carry a balance — and never pay late fees or financing costs. Such customers went unmolested for years as banks reaped profits from those who weren't as vigilant paying bills. But in the past year, even customers in good standing have seen interest rates hiked and credit limits lowered. Now, some are among those being slapped with an annual fee.

Bank of America said it hasn't yet made any decisions about applying the fees more broadly. Yet how customers react to its test will no doubt play a role in any changes.

There are of course credit cards that already charge annual fees, including rewards cards tied to specific airlines or hotels. But for most credit cards, including general purpose rewards cards that use point systems, annual fees have become an alien concept to many consumers.

It's why notice of the new $29 annual fee came as a shock to Pamela Jones-Tintle, who never carried a balance on the card she's had for 18 years.

She's leaning toward closing the account, but worries about the consequences.

"My top concern is my credit score," said Jones- Tintle, a 39-year-old resident of Pomona, Calif., who works as an administrator at Cal State Fullerton.

Not only can closing an account lower your credit score, but opening a new one can too since it indicates you're in the market for new credit.