I'll throw my hat in for the exact opposite with Citi. Both my wife and I got nice sized bonuses, and both of us got our AF waived without much trouble. We're on year 2 with the card, gaining between 1.2 and 2.2 miles per $, and have been able to use up gobs of the miles without trouble. Now they're offering 10% discount on redemption of miles as well.

YMMV, but again, really put all cards on the table and then look at your spending and travel patterns. Either push for waiving of AF or downgrade to a fee free card.